Drunken Boxing / Drunken Kung Fu

[Shaolinlueb]

i have a little bit of master hu's drunken form. not that much though.

[Vash]

Do the styles which incorporate one or more Drunken forms place any particular emphasis on them, or are they regarded as less than essential for fighting?

[Gangsterfist]

Drunken boxing is designed for combat, there is no doubt about that. The reason I haven't learned much is mainly because of the dynamics and the stances of the art itself. You have to be able to root yourself is akward positions, and non traditional kung fu stances. It can be effective and you could possibly win lots of fights with drunken style. Its just not practical to train it and use it in a fight, because its hard to master and really hard to make it actually combat effective. At least thats the impression I get from everyone who has studied it. Or perhaps they are just reluctant to teach it to anyone else, I am not sure.

[Vash]

From what I've heard from Sifu Troy Dunwood it is effective, it just takes a good bit of time to get it down enough to be able to apply it.

[Gangsterfist]

I never said it was not effective. Its just a lot harder to learn and if you are cross training it with another kung fu it can develope bad habits with your other style of kung fu. It really depends on the person training though I guess. If you can pull it off then more power to ya.

[Vash]

Indeed. Training two different standup, striking styles probably won't work too well.

Anyone have any reviews of this?

[Vash]

Originally posted by Vash
Choy Lay Fut Drunken Set Article

Video for ^

The video is finally here! I'm gonna watch it tomorrow! Not going to start any type of training on it until several months after I get back 100% into my karate training! Yay!

[Gangsterfist]

Here go some words of wisdom from a friend of mine who is a drummer in a band. He could never play drunk very well he said. Everytime they would play at a bar and get free drinks he would get drunk and their set would suck. So, he started practicing his drums while drunk, so he could get more proficient at it. Now he can play the drums much better while drunk. Perhaps you should just practice your kung fu drunk eh?

[Vash]

Well, I finally got a chance to watch it today. Had rather high expectations. And, for the most part, they were met.

The Bad News: Same thing as with any other instructional tape; demonstrations (and applications), but no specific verbal instruction of stances. But, since all is rather easy to see, this is not a big deal.

The Good News: The production quality is high. The demonstrator, Instructor Joe Keit, is obviously quite proficient in the form, and does an excellent job of detailing the form through his slowed movements.

Overall, I'd give this video a 9.0. I was not expecting an indepth, how-to of the Eight Drunken Immortals form, but this came as close as I think a body can to learning a form without an instructor present ().

And, for the record, here's my expected training routine as relates to this video after I've gotten 100% back into regular training:

There are Eight sections to the form. That's not counting the basic stance work which is detailed by Master Li Siu Hung at the beginning. So, I figure that I can work on the stances for a good six months, then take a step or two from the first section of the form once I've got what I feel is a decent level of proficiency in the stances.

I know I'm gonna catch much in the way of flack for this, and honestly, I'm probably oging to agree with most of it. But, this is something I need to add to my training. I may not be the most able person to apply the lessons contained within the form, but as long as it at least gives me a new angle from which to look at my karate, I'm okay with it.

[norther practitioner]

Enjoy it bud..

Yeah, you don't have someone there to show you, but there is still some stuff you can learn from it.

[Vash]

Indeed. When he was doing the form's applications, I noticed something I hadn't seen when he was just demonstrating the form . . . techniques which are nearly identical to a few forms of Isshinryu . . . namely, Kusanku (of Shorinryu origin) and Seiunchin (of Gojuryu origin). The applications he used were nearly identical to those which I have been taught, and which I've seen as part of independent study. Hmmmm . . . this deserves mention in the Ultimate Okinawan Martial Arts Thread

Ooooh. And drunken boxing is mentioned the the perenial text on karate, the Bubishi . . . interesting.

[Gangsterfist]

Vash,

Good luck in your training of drunken kung fu. I am not a sifu so please do not think I am trying to teach you here. I would just like to give you one practical piece of advice. Be practical with your drunken training. If you want to expand out and cross train then do it. Thats great you are learning new things. However, what you learn from the video should be tested in a controlled manner to see if its practical for you. Just try some techniques here and there when sparring and if you seem to be able to pull them off then train them. If something feels very unnatural and very impractical for you body to perform, then I would say don't worry about it.

It may look cool and seem practical to the master on the video, but its probably not practical for you to use in a real fight.

[Vash]

Good, practical ideas, Gangsterfist. I'll definetly keep them in mind.

As for the practicallity of the Drunken form, I think that yes, it's gonna be hella hard to apply it to fighting. But, I've heard the same said of Mantis, White Crane, and Hung Gar, and several other kung fu styles. I've seen, though, the ability of the more experienced instructors of these styles fight in the same visual manner as their forms. And they didn't do half bad.

I figure there's a much larger learning curve with this type of training, but the style, once properly understood, could be a most effective one.

I've a few thoughts on the study of forms for combat training (what a heretical thought, but I don't mean it like that), but I don't want to start it here.

[Gangsterfist]

Well good luck man. I understand your intrest and your thoughts. My sifu's first kung fu he ever took was hung gar and the 5 animals of shaolin. So I have been taught some crane and snake techniques, but he always tells me that are not as practical as others.

Whats even harder is sparring a good white crane boxer. That blew my mind the first time I ever fought someone using crane techniques. Once you get used to it, it doesn't shock you as much.

Let us know how it fairs out.

peace,
GF

[Vash]

Indeed. Unorthodox techniques and principles can be effective. But, that learning curve is long, depending on how much application/application in sparring you train.