Ring Fu

[sanjuro_ronin]

The more specialized a systems is, the less ideal it is for a beginner.
To continue with the school analogy:
Advance calculus is only practical when you know base calculus and base calculus is only practical when you know basic math.
Start off a beginner with basic and natural fighting: kick boxing with grappling and ground work.
For the VAST majority that will be more than enough.
For those that continue and want to learn more, that is when you go into specializations.

[ginosifu]

The more specialized a systems is, the less ideal it is for a beginner.
To continue with the school analogy:
Advance calculus is only practical when you know base calculus and base calculus is only practical when you know basic math.
Start off a beginner with basic and natural fighting: kick boxing with grappling and ground work.
For the VAST majority that will be more than enough.
For those that continue and want to learn more, that is when you go into specializations.

ginosifu

[Orion Paximus]

OMG we all agree on something! Lock this thread now before it brings about the Mayan Apocalypse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Frost]

The more specialized a systems is, the less ideal it is for a beginner.
To continue with the school analogy:
Advance calculus is only practical when you know base calculus and base calculus is only practical when you know basic math.
Start off a beginner with basic and natural fighting: kick boxing with grappling and ground work.
For the VAST majority that will be more than enough.
For those that continue and want to learn more, that is when you go into specializations.

of course the problem then is everyone thinks they are studying calculus and being very clever when in most cases its just plain maths under a bad teacher

[sanjuro_ronin]

of course the problem then is everyone thinks they are studying calculus and being very clever when in most cases its just plain maths under a bad teacher

Yes, this is a possibility BUT only when people fail to grasp reality.
Lets be honest, you learn a system and this systems is different and exotic and not like typical "kick boxing" and when you use it, you get your ass handed to you by a "typical kick boxer", what do you do if you are smart?

[RenDaHai]

In my experience the overwhelming majority of people being attacked don't even try to hit back. Even amongst MAists.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Kickboxing is useless to these people.

Given this the first thing to do is to teach someone how to take a beating as well as possible. Then I'd teach the rest of the basics.

[Frost]

Yes, this is a possibility BUT only when people fail to grasp reality.
Lets be honest, you learn a system and this systems is different and exotic and not like typical "kick boxing" and when you use it, you get your ass handed to you by a "typical kick boxer", what do you do if you are smart?

well i quit for 10 years and studied thai boxing, wrestling and MMA but hey thats just me , then i went back and sort out a teacher who can teacher BOTH the exotic stuff and the meat and potatoes and train it alongside the other stuff to try to keep myself level headed

But lets be honest if we asked for a show of hands here from people that think they are training basuc and boring stuff, only Bwang would probably raise his hand the vast majority would say im learning something advanced special etc which is fine but as you say lets not kid ourselves

[Orion Paximus]

As long as you are testing yourself regularly with sparring/fighting matches, there is no way to kid yourself. I haven't done any of the new "standard" fighting MAs, i've only continued to train my my system with a few seminars of other styles for fun. But I regularly fight outside of my system and do as often as I'm given a chance to.

[Jimbo]

The more specialized a systems is, the less ideal it is for a beginner.
To continue with the school analogy:
Advance calculus is only practical when you know base calculus and base calculus is only practical when you know basic math.
Start off a beginner with basic and natural fighting: kick boxing with grappling and ground work.
For the VAST majority that will be more than enough.
For those that continue and want to learn more, that is when you go into specializations.

Excellent post.

I find that most (though not all) of the people I've seen or known who can use CMA the most effectively tend to have had a background in more commonly-known/"orthodox" methods of fighting, such as karate, kickboxing, judo, boxing, etc., before CMA. Some might disagree, but IMO, previous, non-kung fu experience is certainly an advantage going in. I know it certainly gave me a stronger base of experience than if I'd only trained CMA from the start. Not only the methods themselves, but also the sheer numbers of partners/opponents you have to work with/against in the more popular methods.

One of the great things about CLF, for example, is that, although it has its unique characteristics, it is NOT an art with a narrow specialization, so it's very flexible and adaptable; if it's trained correctly, one can learn to spar with it relatively quickly and naturally compared to many kung fu systems.

[GeneChing]

...but for a brief moment, I considered titling my latest ezine review 'ring fu'.

I went with THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY the Most Expected Film.

[MightyB]

...but for a brief moment, I considered titling my latest ezine review 'ring fu'.

I went with THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY the Most Expected Film.

That would've been awesome!

Already read your review.

- I'm seeing it tomorrow.

[GeneChing]

And we'll look forward to your review here.

Now what were we talking about? The Mayan Apocalypse, was it?

OMG we all agree on something! Lock this thread now before it brings about the Mayan Apocalypse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Raipizo]

of course the problem then is everyone thinks they are studying calculus and being very clever when in most cases its just plain maths under a bad teacher

I don't even like math!

[Raipizo]

As long as you are testing yourself regularly with sparring/fighting matches, there is no way to kid yourself. I haven't done any of the new "standard" fighting MAs, i've only continued to train my my system with a few seminars of other styles for fun. But I regularly fight outside of my system and do as often as I'm given a chance to.

As long as the system doesn't have you fighting like you're doing a sparring form you should be okay lol. If you're still doing the basic sparring stuff where it would actually be applicable in real life then you're doing yourself a favor by sparring.

[Lebaufist]

There in lies the rub. Today there are a lot of people in an either/or split in the CMA psyche. You are either doing lots of forms OR you're doing a lot of sparring going along a ruleset. You seldomly get those who do BOTH anymore.

There is no real need to "adapt" kung fu. Just use more of it. Lets see it your foot work. Not just waddle in when standing. Lets see that body structure change to power your strikes. Lets see it in your defense and well as offense. Lets see it in your strategies. You can't use "mantis hand" if you don't KNOW it. Even if you only draw and lock ONCE, at least you used it.