kali is a traditional style, as is wing chun and boxing. muay thai is a modern sport, but was derived from a traditional style. silat is traditional... It's not that he was against traditional styles. He was against the mindset seen in some of them. Ever see the guys who only practice forms, but never spar? What about the guys who only talk theory and nothing else? And then there are the guys who don't spar anyone outside of their school and base everything they know about fighting solely on that...
This, is part of the classical mess. If shotokan or hung gar were your base (TKD is NOT traditional - it's less than 70 years old!), then that would be fine. After all, a karge part of the original jkd is wing chun trapping. Use your shotokan, but break the traditional mindset and habits. Technically, ANY style can fit within the jkd framework. The "classical mess" he refers to is the general mindset and strict adherance to tradition for whatever reason - the uniforms, the lack of sparring, the over emphasis of forms, the closed mindedness you see in many schools in regards to cross training, etc.
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.
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