Reasons to study TCMA (IronFist likes TCMA)

[SimonM]

Well, what of it? I prefer the German sword schools over the French and Italian.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Well, what of it? I prefer the German sword schools over the French and Italian.

Spanish all the way

[bawang]

i hate tcma becausei love tcma.

to save kung fu, you must destroy kung fu.

*stroke beard

[Lucas]

i hate tcma becausei love tcma.

to save kung fu, you must destroy kung fu.

*stroke beard

One of the most profound things said here in a while.

[Faruq]

Fitness, and it's fun.

[RenDaHai]

Reasons to train TCMA, defence.

I train Sanda and Shaolin. I find Sanda not so good at defence, but Shaolin very good.

Because Sanda sacrifices everything to attack most effectively. Off course it can defend but the defence is designed to give you as much oppertunity to counter attack as possible. Its footwork leaves itself open but it does so to attack with more power and in faster succession. TCMA however defends much more conservatively.

Now, if you live by the advice 'Attack is the best form of defence' then it makes sense to train a style with high attacking potential. However this advice is only true in a specific circumstance, the circumstance that destroying the opponent is necessary for victory.

The way a lot of people train, this is the only way to win. However in real life this is not the prerequisite to win. The attacker has to destroy his opponent, the defender just has to survive. In fact destroying the opponent brings with it a lot of problems in our society. So in my opinion and experience having good defence is more important to your life.

[bawang]

Reasons to train TCMA, defence.

chinese martial arts can teach you to defend your life , but the true spirit of chinese martial arts teaches you to sacrifice your life.

[YouKnowWho]

chinese martial arts can teach you to defend your life , but the true spirit of chinese martial arts teaches you to sacrifice your life.

I agree that the "侠(Xia) - heroic" spirit is very unique in TCMA. The spirit that to help the weak to defeat the strong is always needed in the society.

[Raipizo]

1. Helps me save lives. The better my kung fu, the better my Chinese Medicine. The more in depth I study it, the faster I can make an accurate diagnosis.

2. I am a 侠, I go to dangerous areas in China and quite literally need it to stay alive. I have friends who are dead because they were outnumbered. That is why I train myself harder.

3. Have you seen the movie limitless? That is what traditional training does for you. I'm not saying I'm a genius, but I am firing at my best consistently and have the ability to improve rather than getting stuck on a peak.

4. Keeps me healthy in all areas of my life. It is a great way to start the day and sets the pace for a relaxed and efficient day.

5. It is a good intellectual exercise.

6. To preserve the keys to opening Chinese martial arts. Most kung fu is dormant and has yet to be unlocked. There are some key aspects to training which are outlined in the yi jing. Once these are applied, even seemingly limited martial arts become vast and simple at the same time.

7. My kung fu education has given me respect and clout with certain Daoist, political and business circles in China.

I used to partake in MMA style sparring, but I don't now because it can give me bad habits that could get me killed. It is a great way to train certain aspects of martial arts, but there are other areas of training I am focused on now such as the ability to use footwork to fight your way through a crowd of armed people. I know a few bagua masters with long knife scars. Its an unfortunate reality in some areas and part of being a knight ( 侠).

Bad habits such as dropping to the ground always like a sack of rice. It's good stuff to know in combustion with Tcma. I wish you good luck

[kuniggety]

I can agree with all eight in the original post and for all of those reasons is why I study TCMA.

2. Fitness: I do bak sil lum along with northern praying mantis and doing a bak sil lum form properly with the right intensity is like sprinting. The forms are such a work out. Southern schools teach strength in a certain way too but what northern has got going for it is the plyometric aspect. The problem is that a lot of schools don't really train with a "martial" intent and when you don't involve that then you're missing a lot of what the training has to offer. A form isn't just something you need to learn to advance in a system but should in itself be a good calisthenic workout.

6. Brotherhood: I love both the rivalry and the brotherhood that I see. Of course you have the *******es out there but at the end of the day, most of the people that I have met respect each other as martial artists. It's a great community to be a part of.

[EarthDragon]

andy Mile, not to sound argumentitive but since when are you saving lives and diagnosing people?
you are not a doctor nor a O.M.D. and last I heard sifu Shyun placed you in cheng du which is not violent city towards americans so where are you fighting for your life?

[Frost]

andy Mile, not to sound argumentitive but since when are you saving lives and diagnosing people?
you are not a doctor nor a O.M.D. and last I heard sifu Shyun placed you in cheng du which is not violent city towards americans so where are you fighting for your life?

grabs popcorn and awaits response.......

[md1]

One of the reasons I started training TCMA back in the 70's was the excitment of doing something that hardly anyone else was doing And for the most part exercise. There was something way different about the Family feeling I had working out that I never got from playing ball or other sports growing up. I will NEVER forget the first time going to Chinatown in Toronto and eating at Goodyear restaurant, having Chinese food for the first time… not knowing how to use chopsticks lol and asking countless times what the heck is this I’m eating, until being told to just shut up and eat.
Working out in a school yard at midnight with only a 60 watt bulb lighting up the lot.
Staying up till 2 or 3 in the morning with Sifu to get the stories from the “old country” **** guys, you can say what you want about fighting and MMA or this and that… Think back about some of your times though the years. Sh*t I could go on forever.

We all know why we were there, because we ended up getting something we couldn’t get ANYWHERE else and I for one wouldn’t trade that for anything.

[bawang]

andy Mile, not to sound argumentitive but since when are you saving lives and diagnosing people?
you are not a doctor nor a O.M.D. and last I heard sifu Shyun placed you in cheng du which is not violent city towards americans so where are you fighting for your life?

mars

sdfsdfdfg

[Lebaufist]

10. The chicks...

There ain't no better posterior in sports. Kung fu girls have that coco finesse you can't ignore.