Changing Arts and Styles

[Hebrew Hammer]

Hey Sports Fans,

I was interested in a general discussion on why many of you/us have changed martial art styles or schools. Aside from some of the basic reasons, like relocating or your school closing, what were some of your reasons for changing schools? Was it the Sifu? The Sensei? The Art? Did you become disenchanted? Bored? Or were you looking for a school that trained harder or that you felt like you fit in? Has anyone been in search of their 'Sifu', their teacher? Or is that a fallacy?

I'd love to hear some details of what led you to wear you are today...of course you don't have to name names, I'm not looking to have anyone thrown under a bus.

Please no hair pulling or biting.

Thanks!

[SPJ]

as the saying goes

the teacher leads/guides you thru the door, to get better is entirely upto you.

师父领进门 修行在个人

shi fu ling jin men; xiu xing zai ge ren

I learned some mantis in high school

then I had opportunity to learn some ba ji and tong bei. tong bei from a mantis teacher.

then in college, I learned cheng ba gua and some tai chi (yang, wu and chen)

it is not that I completed one style and moved on

it is the opportunity occurred with teachers, then I learned.

my high shool was in taipei

my college was in taichung.

I took some lessons and then I continue to study and practice till today.

---

:)

[David Jamieson]

I fail to understand folks who stay in a constant student teacher relationship for years and years without ever really getting all that good at their chosen style.

Having said that, I don't change styles or arts, I add to former knowledge and skills with what I learn and practice both old and new.

I've had teachers who have moved on to other things and left the country. I've had a teacher who passed away, and I myself have moved away.

Life is constant change. Doesn't mean you have to abandon stuff.
:)

[sanjuro_ronin]

I think that many people that stay within their chosen system all their life are under the erroneous impression that those that "cross-train" for some reason "abandon" their "original" system.
They think that if someone started with Hung Kuen and then went to MT, for example, that somehow and for whatever reason, never does HK again.
I have NO idea what would make anyone think that, but I have found that to be the case with many people.
One certainly has the perogative to leave any system they have trained in behind, but I don't know of many that have done this, they always bring something from every system they are exposed to and, typically, add it on to their core system, very rarely do you see the core being "dropped".

[David Jamieson]

I believe the core is 'ejected', but that's here nor there. :D

As an aside, there are also examples of people who have moved on after many years only to have their former teacher say "they don't know anything" which frankly is reflection on the teacher more than on the person who left.

Honestly, can you say that a person knows nothing after they've been with you for years and years? lol.

This can happen especially when there is a personality conflict of some order.

And again, that's related directly to face games.

[Iron_Eagle_76]

SR hit the nail on the head. Most MA'st I know who went on to study other things did not drop what they had learned in their previous style, just added things that were more effective or could be done better. I think style is a moot point, training methods are what the real bread and butter are. For example, cross training in Muay Thai and kickboxing did not teach me any kicks I didn't already know in Kung Fu, but the training method used was more effective. The other point is who you train with and who you test yourself against. To quote Randy Couture, "You are only as good as your training partners", and you can train and spar your instructor or fellow students for 30 years and never improve because you stayed stagnant in a system you are completely accustomed to and the people you spar. There is a reason professional fighters train at different camps and spar vastly different people all the time, so they do not get stagnant. I realize most here will never be pro fighters, but testing yourself against different people, style, and training methods can only make you better.

[sanjuro_ronin]

SR hit the nail on the head. Most MA'st I know who went on to study other things did not drop what they had learned in their previous style, just added things that were more effective or could be done better. I think style is a moot point, training methods are what the real bread and butter are. For example, cross training in Muay Thai and kickboxing did not teach me any kicks I didn't already know in Kung Fu, but the training method used was more effective. The other point is who you train with and who you test yourself against. To quote Randy Couture, "You are only as good as your training partners", and you can train and spar your instructor or fellow students for 30 years and never improve because you stayed stagnant in a system you are completely accustomed to and the people you spar. There is a reason professional fighters train at different camps and spar vastly different people all the time, so they do not get stagnant. I realize most here will never be pro fighters, but testing yourself against different people, style, and training methods can only make you better.

IE has crotch smashed the correct.

[David Jamieson]

yes that is absolutely true and it is a failing of closed schools to be sure.

it is becoming more well known that in the micro scale of one's self, this is a better training regimen as well.

to not do things that your body gets used to.

If an exercise regimen is easy to do, it is worthless.

If it provides change and difficulty each and every time, then you are onto a great training cycle especially if it factors in task specific drills and functional strength development directly associated to the tasks required of the end result of the method.