Ambidextrous?

[Ray Pina]

Do you train both sides equally?

[David Jamieson]

in most southern styles of tcma, yes. you do everything on both sides with equal intensity.

with the exception of weapons which are usually favouring a side.

some styles don't do this, but most will train both sides equally and advice is often given that whichever side you find the most difficult, you train that much harder.

for myself, yes, i train both sides equally in everything from heavy bag work to lifting, to simple body work and of course forms are even sided.

[MasterKiller]

Do you train both sides equally?

I train striking from orthodox stance only. Clinching and wrestling I try to train everything on both sides, though.

[Lee Chiang Po]

With Wing Chun we only have 3 forms for bare hand and foot techniques. Not fight forms as such, but technique forms if you will. Each set is done left hand first, then right hand. This teaches dexterity with both sides. We also use both hands at the same time, doing each a different task. Both hands and feet need to be equally fluid in motion and accuracy or you would only be half a kung fu fighter.

[TenTigers]

I train both sides, and I fight both sides. When I first learned to box, I started out southpaw. Now I can switch up. There are definately some things I do on one side better than the other. I do to maintain internal balance as well.
I know some schools like ACK, Bak Mei,and Buk Sing CLF advocate strong side foward, and I understand their logic
If you train two hours a day, and train both sides, you are actually training one hour a day as far as skill development goes, so you are progressing half as fast. I get that, but I always wondered,"What happens if you hurt your good arm?" That, and if you know I only fight one side ,you also know my blind side. If I am ambidextrous, I have no blind side.
If you are fighting close, you also need to be equal. You need both hands alive and able to reach and strike, shift and move to either side.
Also think about multiple opponents.
Although my grappling knowledge is limited, I would think that you would need to be ambidextrous on the ground as well, since can things change so often.

[YouKnowWho]

People always train "看家本領 (Kan Jia Ben Ling) - door guarding skill" only on one side in the past. For those none "door guarding skill", you can train some on one side and some on the other side. This way you will have twice as many moves that are all dependable.

For example, if you prefer to fight right side forward, you may want to train your front kick, side kick, hook kick, and scoop kick on your right leg, and your round house kick, leg sweep, straight back kick, and spin back kick on your left leg.

[xcakid]

in most southern styles of tcma, yes. you do everything on both sides with equal intensity.

with the exception of weapons which are usually favouring a side.

some styles don't do this, but most will train both sides equally and advice is often given that whichever side you find the most difficult, you train that much harder.

for myself, yes, i train both sides equally in everything from heavy bag work to lifting, to simple body work and of course forms are even sided.

Dittto :cool: