MMA Killed Kung Fu?

[wiz cool c]

I was in a barns and noble yesterday in long island new York. first time I have been back in the states in 5 years. the first thing I did was go right to the sports section of the magazine stand, and to my surprise no kung fu tai chi magazine, about three mma mags and a grappling mag. then latter to the martial art book section, I think I saw two or three kung fu books at least.


then I met my first kung fu teacher I ever had. an American guy from my home town, we hung out and chatted .one of the first thing he said[kung fu is dead, mma killed it] if anyone wants to learn to fight they just go to mma, ...... I thought this happened to some extent ,but not to the point that kung fu would be wiped out. how about the kung fu school owners here. are you guys doing ok?

[SoCo KungFu]

MMA didn't kill kung fu, just stole its girlfriend. Kung fu committed suicide in a Denny's parking lot

[mooyingmantis]

We are far from dead.

In Northeastern Ohio alone you can study:

1. Four styles of Mantis
2. Four styles of Monkey
3. Choy Li Fut
4. Hung Gar
5. Northern Shaolin
6. Two styles of Shuai Chaio
7. Three styles of Taijiquan
8. Wushu taught by a "shaolin monk"
9. Wing Chun
10. Bagua
11. Hsing I

All that is within about an hours drive from my school.

Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine and several kung fu books can be found at Books A Million less than 2 miles from my house.

[wiz cool c]

that is very good to hear, are you a school owner?

[bawang]

mma didn't kill kung fu. the tightey whitey killed kung fu.

[wiz cool c]

it is the opposite in reality, but I like that name tightly whitey cause in china cause of our size it fits tightly ,you know with the women there and all

[mooyingmantis]

that is very good to hear, are you a school owner?

Yes, I am. I have practiced martial arts for about 45 years and taught for 35 years in Indiana and Ohio. The last decade that I have taught, I have only charged other instructors. All others can train without a fee.

My students are always looking for people to train with/against. If you are ever in or passing near North Canton, Ohio, please look us up. Anyone that has a school within a reasonable distance that would like to invite my students to come and spar, we would be honored to accept the invitation.

In my school we practice mantis boxing. We use both ancient and modern training methods.

I can tell you which kung fu schools in my area don't have a clue about fighting and which have some of the toughest fighters that I have seen. Sadly, the clueless ones are the majority.

I believe that kung fu schools will always survive because we have the most to offer over the course of one's lifetime. Exercise, strength building, flexibility, self-defense, sport fighting, forms, weapons, Chinese medicine and Chinese philosophy/religion. We are a cradle to grave art.

[SoCo KungFu]

Yes, I am. I have practiced martial arts for about 45 years and taught for 35 years in Indiana and Ohio. The last decade that I have taught, I have only charged other instructors. All others can train without a fee.

My students are always looking for people to train with/against. If you are ever in or passing near North Canton, Ohio, please look us up. Anyone that has a school within a reasonable distance that would like to invite my students to come and spar, we would be honored to accept the invitation.

I like your business model, and your open door policy. By removing the necessity of student income in making overhead, do you find you attract those more willing to go hard, at least more so than other TCMA schools? Or rather, do you find you can go harder without losing too much of what would otherwise be a timid student base, in favor of those more willing to come in and bang?

[Syn7]

We are far from dead.

In Northeastern Ohio alone you can study:

1. Four styles of Mantis
2. Four styles of Monkey
3. Choy Li Fut
4. Hung Gar
5. Northern Shaolin
6. Two styles of Shuai Chaio
7. Three styles of Taijiquan
8. Wushu taught by a "shaolin monk"
9. Wing Chun
10. Bagua
11. Hsing I

All that is within about an hours drive from my school.

Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine and several kung fu books can be found at Books A Million less than 2 miles from my house.

What do you think the ratio is between serious wrestlers and serious kung fu in Ohio? What do you think is more likely for one to train after or during a wrestling career, kung fu or MMA?


MMA hasn't killed kung fu because for so long kung fu has refused to engage. The examples are few and far between.

Anyways, they are two different things. Two different goals. Kung fu is more than just fighting, whereas MMA is pretty much all about sport fighting. Where MMA may win in the cage, they will probably not win in a sword fight. MMA is a big deal in pop culture these days, but kung fu will always push along. In some cases it will readjust with the times, in others it will stand tall on it's original principles. Depending on the style, this may or may not be a good thing. The only thing kung fu really needs to do is recognize that old doesn't mean better. What was tried and true at one point is not always the case at another. Like any martial strategy, it should adjust to the times. You don't see people flank tanks with horses and sabers because it's obvious that is just stupid. When it comes to kung fu larpers, it's not so obvious because so many are caught up in the romance of it and never actually have to use it in diverse ways. But those who do use it in modern context with a wide variety of opponents and styles seem to do ok. Time will tell. And as far as it compares to MMA, again, we'll see. MMA is growing in China, it will be interesting to see how much of their kung fu core they bring into the ring five/ten years from now.

[Jimbo]

Do I think MMA has killed CMA? No. For one thing, CMA is still in existence. Secondly, CMA has always lagged far behind TKD, karate, boxing, wrestling, etc., in popularity and visibility. Many people from these arts have long belittled CMA. If anything, MMA has probably had a far more chilling effect on these various arts, particularly karate, TKD, etc., in a certain age bracket.

In Taiwan, TKD has been the number one MA for *decades*. I've also heard the same was true in Hong Kong. This was long before the rise of modern MMA.

[Syn7]

Do I think MMA has killed CMA? No. For one thing, CMA is still in existence. Secondly, CMA has always lagged far behind TKD, karate, boxing, wrestling, etc., in popularity and visibility. Many people from these arts have long belittled CMA. If anything, MMA has probably had a far more chilling effect on these various arts, particularly karate, TKD, etc., in a certain age bracket.

In Taiwan, TKD has been the number one MA for *decades*. I've also heard the same was true in Hong Kong. This was long before the rise of modern MMA.

You could argue that MMA is more related to JMA's, KMA's, western boxing, wrestling etc than it is to CMA's. One could also argue that most of the crossover between MMA and CMA is purely incidental. This is just a natural consequence of self segregation. It doesn't really speak to the quality.

[wenshu]

Kung fu committed suicide in a Denny's parking lot

I've heard reports that Kung fu is still alive.

It was too much of a pussy to go through with it.

[mickey]

Greetings,

In the past, if anybody wanted to learn to fight they would go to a boxing school, a karate school, a judo school, a tap dancing school, a pilates school, a beautician school. They would stay ten thousand hells away from a kung fu school. MMA has not done any damage at all. And SanDa only serves to justify what people "knew" all along: TCMA does not work. This is what is killing kung fu: The perception and the transmission of said perceptions through improper teachings.


mickey

[SavvySavage]

I was in a barns and noble yesterday in long island new York. first time I have been back in the states in 5 years. the first thing I did was go right to the sports section of the magazine stand, and to my surprise no kung fu tai chi magazine, about three mma mags and a grappling mag. then latter to the martial art book section, I think I saw two or three kung fu books at least.


then I met my first kung fu teacher I ever had. an American guy from my home town, we hung out and chatted .one of the first thing he said[kung fu is dead, mma killed it] if anyone wants to learn to fight they just go to mma, ...... I thought this happened to some extent ,but not to the point that kung fu would be wiped out. how about the kung fu school owners here. are you guys doing ok?

Was traditional gung fu ever big outside of Chinese communities in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s?

[David Jamieson]

Killed?

I doubt it. Kung fu never was a ring sport.
MMA has had a more adverse effect on western boxing in my opinion.

MMA bouts are fast becoming bigger draws than boxing matches and especially at the amateur levels where mma has become very popular.

Even traditional boxing clubs had to go out and start white collar boxing clubs to generate interest. lol Those are now as common as pigeons.

P.S Kung Fu is the secret well that mma visits when it wants to change up the game a little by being unpredictable.