Originally posted by freehand
Well, when I trained under Al Rubin, who was a master student under Jimmy Woo, I and my favorite workout partner studied aikido. He also studied judo. We had a student who also boxed. One of Al's senior students taught San Soo as well as Kali. Al insisted that we do only San Soo while in his studio, but otherwise had no problems with it.
He insisted that San Soo was the best for fighting that he knew of, but most teachers think their art is the best. He did say things like
"This is no guarantee; it only improves your odds"
"A TKD guy, who spent as much time on his art as you have, will have a better roundhouse kick, but you will know more about throws, So too, will a judo man have better throws than you, but you will kick better."
"If you win a fight, you will have a bloody nose, your favorite shirt will be ripped, and you will probably go to jail."
"There may be some cowboy out there who only has one technique - perhaps a good right hook - and he might beat you with it, if he does it better than you do your defenses."
He called it a complete martial art, because it combined strikes, chin na, throws, and pressure points. He never insisted that it was impossible for another art to know something ours didn't know, (that I recall). How could one know that, anyway?
And even if it had all the broad categories of techniques, that wouldn't mean that there were no ways of training that would teach some of them better or supplement the ways we trained already.
My current kali crowd includes students of San Soo, jujitsu, kenpo, and aikido. We are all interested in bridging; we have techniques which work to finish and control, if only our attacker would be kind enough to let us get our hands on him!
One thing San Soo says, though, is that there is no test for real fighting except a fight. How could I test myself against a boxer? If we box, I cheerfully admit he would win. But if we street fight, and all he knows is boxing, it's unlikely he could handle shins kicks, head butts, back elbows, biting, and such. But I still remember what Al said about that guy out there with the good right hook...
I like al's outlook, except for the bit about no other style having a technique that ss didn't have...
As for sparring the boxer, try mma style sparring.
i'm nobody...i'm nobody. i'm a tramp, a bum, a hobo... a boxcar and a jug of wine... but i'm a straight razor if you get to close to me.
-Charles Manson
I will punch, kick, choke, throw or joint manipulate any nationality equally without predjudice.
- Shonie Carter