70's was a different MA era

[Blacktiger]

I posted this on the black kung fu experience thread.

And then it got me thinking....wanted to see what others thoughts were.

I really like alot of the masters from this era. They seem to be cut from a different cloth. Alot of them were Vets who brought back their art from the Orient etc.

And I think you can get a feel for that in the way they train, no games.

Check out the Pete Siringano section - he is nailing Bob Long - the red head.

I think in the main today, sadly if you ran classes at this intensity it would leave you with very few students, only those who really wanted it.

Even though this is the stuff you actually need from a quality view point as a potential new student.

Just putting it out there, thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V0NX2ILihg

[jdhowland]

All of my teachers opened up their schools in the '60s and early '70s. It was a good era because there was so much enthusiasm about the arts, yet it was still relatively hard to find schools. None of my teachers taught for profit. I think that was a major difference. Nothing wrong with teaching as a business but these guys taught because they were enthusiasts themselves and they weren't babysitters. They kept to hard traditional training.

Now there are so many concerns about liability, catering to youngsters to pay the bills, rising costs for tournaments, etc.,.

Some things, I think, are better now though. Improvements in sparring equipment and more exposure to different schools allow for better information and cross training.

[Jimbo]

I began training in the '70s, and I agree that the attitudes were a lot different in the MA. No whining or BS was ever tolerated. Also, people weren't sue-happy like today. But I do agree with a lot of what you say, jdhowland


Of course, someone's inevitably going to say, "They weren't as tough as modern MMA, blah blah blah".

[Kellen Bassette]

Of course, someone's inevitably going to say, "They weren't as tough as modern MMA, blah blah blah".

Unfortunately a lot of the "old school" guys have been marginalized in the modern era. Sadly, nowadays, more of the guys with a "tough" mentality are likely to gravitate towards MMA simply because there's no place for them in many traditional "martial" arts schools.

[Jimbo]

Unfortunately a lot of the "old school" guys have been marginalized in the modern era. Sadly, nowadays, more of the guys with a "tough" mentality are likely to gravitate towards MMA simply because there's no place for them in many traditional "martial" arts schools.

That's a good point. MMA is a great thing, IMO. But it is sad that so many TMA schools must rely on kiddie classes to survive, and much of the ruggedness is gone from a lot of them.

[Kellen Bassette]

That's a good point. MMA is a great thing, IMO. But it is sad that so many TMA schools must rely on kiddie classes to survive, and much of the ruggedness is gone from a lot of them.

It breaks my heart. I love TMA. I consider myself a traditionalist. But I like to fight; I often find myself with the MMA crowd because too many TMA guys don't want to train for real.

I'm convinced the only thing MMA has on TMA is a willingness to do the real training you need for fighting. These methods came from TMA.

[YouKnowWho]

I had my commercial school from 1973. I still remember the following.

- A guy walked into my school and asked, "Can you jump kick at the celling?"
- A boxer came to my school and challenged me with boxing rule, no kick and no throw.
- If you can't kick as good as Bruce Lee did, you won't have any students.
- Back then, I sent my guys to fight Karate guys and TKD guys. Today, I send my guys to the MMA gym.