Originally Posted by
Shaolin Wookie
Disagree 100%. IF you change a form, it's not always ego. Sometimes the application changes the form, sometimes body training changes the form. Sometimes you change a form because what works for some other dude doesn't work as well for you. Sometimes the form changes in your hands and you don't even realize it.
The way I see it, if your form doesn't change, you're probably not improving, and you're probably not learning anything. My forms are my forms. Not GM Sin's. Not my teacher's, not his teacher's. They're mine. Static forms are wushu forms. Great forms, no martial sensibility whatsoever. Just like that Wudang guy who was hitting hte bags. I've seen some dudes who can hit bags pretty **** awesome, but couldn't hit another dude unless he was holding the bags...LOL.
I was training some wushu/Longfist from a dude, and he did an introductory bow exactly like Chin kung fu hu chien/Chie Chien, but much smoother. Transitioned from the arms to the hips and left knee raised to a cat ("cat" not stressed at present in SD bow) then slide out to bow stance and pull up to natural with hands chambered at sides--1 very fluid motion. So now my bow in those two forms is the same one I did in wushu, lol. Same movements, better body mechanics. Someone called me out on changing the form, and I was like......ok, whatever. (translation: Train your own stuff, get over it):D. I didn't change the form. I changed, so the form changed. I'm pretty sure forms changed under GM Sin. After training bJJ and a little Judo, you see just how many throws are in the core material--and why it would be helpful to wear a gi if practicing the material by its literal interpretation, since gi's hold up so much better--(but in Shaolin-Tao's defense, gi's do suck for forms, big time).
Nobody ever trains in a style so to speak. You train yourself. You're your own style. I'm not pure SD. I've seen/practiced w/ tons of dudes. So, I'm not a purist by any means in any style. It's always my interpretation, because it's my body. I'm integrating stand up grappling with tai chi. So it's not pure tai chi, but it is remarkably applicable against non-cooperative opponents. My roundhouse has picked up Muay Thai elements, so it's more of a round kick now. Lands 2X as hard, and better for close-in fighting, since my shin nicely fits in most people's ribs---just the right size. If I want to get in close, I use a common hand-to-ear block I picked up in MMA classes. bEtter for what I'm doing. I added that into some of my monkey movements, since it's the same motion wushu monkey dudes use for monkey antics....only, mine is applicable...L"OL.
I'm not someone who thinks a form has to look exactly like the application, even though I think the short forms look exactly like the applications. (4-7 look like foot-sweep throws to me, almost straight out of sanshou/judo or jujitsu). My tai chi took on some of hte C.C. Chen aspects I learned. My footwork improved a lot in the little wushu training I did. SD made my stances freakin' great though....but it's footwork does leave something to be desired, at times. My Chen 18 has a little of the bits of Chen 60 I learned elsewhere. I'm sure some SD "purists" would call me out on that, but ****, man. Who cares? If it works better for me, it works better. Sometimes my forms change a little, but then change back. Sometimes my favorite movements change for the better and become something else--at least in my head they do:D. Nobody has a 100% claim on effectiveness, and SD has plenty of "ineffective theories" IMO. So do most others, by the way.
I mean....come on. There's a one-handed RoadHouse Patrick Swayze "rip out the throat" maneuver in 3rd bird...LOL. From an underhanded snatch, much less.
100% effective from that position....I'm thinking no. 100% untrainable, 100% impractical. I still do the "technique", but seriously...LOL.