Why Doesn't TCMA Include Ground Fighting and What are you going to do about it?

[Frost]

I agree with this statement. Everyone should train some type of ground work. I do not possess the same skills as a BJJ fighter, but I have enough to feel confident if taken down that I could handle myself.

How much ground work is enough? Do you need a Black Belt in BJJ or a couple of years workouts at a MMA gym? Is the Northern Shaolin ground fighting stuff I have enough? My training would probably be 40% stand up / 40% SC grappling / 20% ground work, is this enough?

ginosifu

Depends on what you are looking for

To compete in MMA wrestling and ground work should be the majority of your training, especially at lower levels about 70%, at higher levels it should be 50-60% (the bigger cage, allowing headshots on the ground and elbows etc changes the game a bit)

If you are looking to defend yourself on the street a year or so at a good grappling school would be enough with some rolling time in your normal class afterwards

If you are a good stand up grappler and train that a lot, then the time you spend on the ground should be less because you are less likely to end up there

In all honestly a blue belt in BJJ, which takes a year to two of hard training, would be enough to destroy most people on the ground

[bawang]

i tell people i train kickboxing. no one ever bothered me about groundfighting.

[David Jamieson]

i tell people i train kickboxing. no one ever bothered me about groundfighting.

Here's the thing, Kung Fu tends to be in the realm of esoterica often enough that people will say "you don't know the real -x-". This in turn creates an artificial air of superiority and nobody likes to be told they are stupid by a construct that is 100% artificial.
That is the reason that Kung Fu gets ridiculed so much and that is the only reason.

People who have never demonstrated anything significant at all get smug about what and who they train with as opposed to trying to really understand the art form for what it is.

As time passes, I think more people are looking at their Kung Fu practice realistically and as far as the martial art aspect goes, are removing as much of the cryptic stuff as possible to make it clear what is what. This is leading to other discoveries about these arts too. Some positive, some negative.

Change is the constant here though, so it's good.

I tell people I'm working on my destiny as a power ranger, they also don't bug me about wrestling. lol

[bawang]

that was my whole point man. i just say more with less. i smrat

[Indrafist]

Here's the thing, Kung Fu tends to be in the realm of esoterica often enough that people will say "you don't know the real -x-". This in turn creates an artificial air of superiority and nobody likes to be told they are stupid by a construct that is 100% artificial.
That is the reason that Kung Fu gets ridiculed so much and that is the only reason.

People who have never demonstrated anything significant at all get smug about what and who they train with as opposed to trying to really understand the art form for what it is.

As time passes, I think more people are looking at their Kung Fu practice realistically and as far as the martial art aspect goes, are removing as much of the cryptic stuff as possible to make it clear what is what. This is leading to other discoveries about these arts too. Some positive, some negative.

Change is the constant here though, so it's good.

I tell people I'm working on my destiny as a power ranger, they also don't bug me about wrestling. lol

Nicely said. Shame we don't have an historical perspective on our own times. Decades from now the results of the changes ocurring today, will be known, and no doubt, argued about in the light of what will then, be new. Today's changes will become tomorrow's TCMA.

[Jimbo]

Here's the thing, Kung Fu tends to be in the realm of esoterica often enough that people will say "you don't know the real -x-". This in turn creates an artificial air of superiority and nobody likes to be told they are stupid by a construct that is 100% artificial.
That is the reason that Kung Fu gets ridiculed so much and that is the only reason.

People who have never demonstrated anything significant at all get smug about what and who they train with as opposed to trying to really understand the art form for what it is.

As time passes, I think more people are looking at their Kung Fu practice realistically and as far as the martial art aspect goes, are removing as much of the cryptic stuff as possible to make it clear what is what. This is leading to other discoveries about these arts too. Some positive, some negative.

Change is the constant here though, so it's good.

I tell people I'm working on my destiny as a power ranger, they also don't bug me about wrestling. lol

+1.

But I do feel this happens in cycles, when a general trend of smugness has set in to many practitioners (in CMA and some other types of arts, too). It's definitely not the first time period in history this has occurred. Then comes another period of, "We must rediscover what really works about our systems at this time, streamline, and open up/cross-train what we don't currently have." It may happen again at some point in the future, as well.