The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
~ Mark Twain
Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
~ Joe Lewis
A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
~ Author unknown
"You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"
"Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"
I keep trying to quit this place, but where else can you find a forum with nachos, ninjettes, awesome trolls, STEP, and of course the philosopy that Kung Fu is dead on a Kung Fu forum. Fellow, it's kind of like Old Milwaukee, "It doesn't get any better than this".
"The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero projects his fear onto his opponent while the coward runs. 'Fear'. It's the same thing, but it's what you do with it that matters". -Cus D'Amato
Psalms 144:1
Praise be my Lord my Rock,
He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !
The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
~ Mark Twain
Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
~ Joe Lewis
A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
~ Author unknown
"You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"
"Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"
*Shrugs* So far I think it is giving me a better foundation than my old training, only because it fits my own aims and objectives though.
Modern Sanda is a good example, while magnificent to watch just like all kickboxing/ mma, it's hard to spot traditional footwork and patterns being used.
I simply want to compete in Sanda using traditional methods, not ones that have been cross-trained into it.
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."
- Sun Tzu
Psalms 144:1
Praise be my Lord my Rock,
He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !
Teaching is a hard earned skill. You don't really have to know much about the subject in order to teach it. A book, and a bit of advance study and you can teach any subject. The idea that one must be a champion fighter in order to teach is foolish. Most people will get ahead of themselves and start working students in things they shouldnt be doing. A student must know every aspect of the things he is taught, and this requires you teach everything in the sequence it belongs in.
A bad example would be to start by teaching a quick version of sil lim and then start chi sao almost immediately. Depending on the number of students and the number of hours the student spends in the kwoon, a beginner is many months away from chi sao.
certain systems of gung fu are represented by certain concepts and methods. If you go and learn another system of fighting first, you will always find fault with the new system and alter it to match up with what you have already learned, be it good or bad. You mix black and white, you get gray. Mix good and bad and you get mediocre.
Jackie Lee
I don't teach kids, but when I did...
It's about keeping their attention and playing games that are somewhat physically demanding for a kid.
co-ordination balance and structure are important to develop in children. When they are aware of posture and stepping etc, it will benefit them greatly as they grow into the art further.
there should not be any full contact striking against each other at all whatsoever until at the very least they are in the 16-18 yr old range.
Not only for liability concerns, but because of real physical concerns. IE: a kid is not developed, their bones are still forming and their skull is not completely sealed until at least 18 years old.
so games in the spirit of kung fu that encourage and produce co-ordination, balance and comradeship amongst them.
form is also a good place for kids to start.
For older people, it is a concern to me personally that they actually have the guts to fight. this can be read pretty quickly with light sparring, gloved up, headgear etc. You can get a look at how the person moves and feels about the situation as it is going on.
heavy bag can show good or bad structure.
mitts can show good or bad timing, reflexes and footwork if you get that in there.
Depending on where a persona is at, they could start from anywhere. But typically it's first, develop strength and condition. When that is good or solid, move on to technique. Move that to drills, move that to sparring then build, rebuild and keep building.
by the time the law of diminishing returns kicks in, you should have yourself a pretty handy individual.
Practice on their own cannot be encouraged enough. This is where most fail. Quite frankly it takes some time before a person develops good practice habits. Basically, they really have to want to succeed to get into good habits.
That's something you cannot turn on or off. It's either there or it's not. Either way that's ok.
I still won't teach kids. lol (mostly because they bring all their parents' baggage with them)
Kung Fu is good for you.
I ask because my two boys are showing a lot of interest, actually one is more so than the other, and are asking me to teach them kung fu. I have started with the basics stances and moving around in them but was curious how other went about this.