How effective would these styles be in a modern day street environment?

[Rosa]

Ziranmen

Xinyiquan

Hung Gar

Bak Mei

SPM

Trynna learn more about these styles before diving into a style. What do people think of these styles in terms of modern day street defence?

[Neeros]

If the school includes force training and combat efficiency all of them, if the training is just forms then none of them.

Find a good teacher, style doesn't matter.

[Miqi]

Hi Rosa,
People's opinions will obviously vary - but I'll give you the view from one extreme. 'Styles' are nothing without being combined with an individual and their training ethic, natural ability, commitment and natural atrributes. These then need to be combined with an effective coach and training programme. Then these things combine to produce the outcome - it's not the style that is effective, it's you. However, it is almost impossible to find anyone who actually has even a reasonable level in any of those arts - but that doesn't mean that a commited student couldn't go further than a poor teacher.

As for 'the street' - this is really just a cover-all term for an infinite variety of possible self defence needs. Even if you go to a self-defence specialist, like JKD or krav maga, everything Ive just said above also applies.

All in all, volunteering to do wushu thesedays is a strange thing, in large part based on some affinity you feel with it - with its body language skills, its history etc. Getting anything practical out of it is a bonus - getting to a good level in those arts, is virtually unheard of, although, there are many bogus instructors who claim otherwise.

However, many people feel precisely the opposite. You pays your money...

[Rosa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnq1iKc8b1Y Miqi this guy seems pretty legit. His movements and all that seem lethal.

I would love to learn from this guy but I live in Australia (Melbourne).

[mooyingmantis]

Rosa,
For practical fighting I would put Southern Praying Mantis above all the rest that you listed. You should learn the most practical, common sense techniques in the shortest time in that style.

The "style doesn't matter" philosophy is BS. It is the person "blah, blah, blah" is BS. You need the right tool for the right job. A hammer will break up the dirt, but a shovel will dig a hole faster and more efficiently.

I guess style doesn't matter if you want to devote years to a style that:
1. Takes years before you will make the style natural to you and thus be able to use it effectively,
2. In the end is the wrong style for your body type.
3. Only has a small bag of tricks that only work in certain situations.

The person is more important than the style if:
1. The person is too lazy to practice. Styles are not learned by osmosis.
2. The person never overcomes the fear of getting hit. No style can give you intestinal fortitude.
3. The person is unwilling to do what it takes to subdue the attacker. Fighting is messy.

In my 45 years of training I have studied Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Filipino arts. Some were very effective, some were a waste of time for self-defense.

[MightyB]

I'd say look at the Bak Mei or SPM schools and try to find which one has the shortest amount of required forms and has a heavier emphasis on sparring and live applications and drills.

You'll get that Chinese flavor, but it'll end up being the sparring that matters the most for your "street environment".

[MightyB]

In all honesty it doesn't matter which style you choose if the teachers are any good. Try each out if you can and see which one you like the best.

[Syn7]

The "style doesn't matter" philosophy is BS. It is the person "blah, blah, blah" is BS. You need the right tool for the right job. A hammer will break up the dirt, but a shovel will dig a hole faster and more efficiently

And sometimes you have to break up the dirt before you shovel it.

I think that body type and aptitude do matter to a point. While I agree that a good style will produce results for any serious student, some styles do suit some people better than others. That isn't to say that some styles aren't garbage while others are relatively legit, just that if you recognize your strengths and limitations you can find legit styles that may suit you better than others. Give you that extra lil edge in your development.

For example, I wrestled in HS, moved into catch as catch can and then to BJJ. I was a slightly better than average wrestler, a decent catch wrestler, but I really excelled at BJJ because I'm lanky and flexible. It just worked for me. I could have worked harder on the other two and made progress, but I found BJJ played to my natural strengths.

[Brat]

And sometimes you have to break up the dirt before you shovel it.

I think that body type and aptitude do matter to a point. While I agree that a good style will produce results for any serious student, some styles do suit some people better than others. That isn't to say that some styles aren't garbage while others are relatively legit, just that if you recognize your strengths and limitations you can find legit styles that may suit you better than others. Give you that extra lil edge in your development.

For example, I wrestled in HS, moved into catch as catch can and then to BJJ. I was a slightly better than average wrestler, a decent catch wrestler, but I really excelled at BJJ because I'm lanky and flexible. It just worked for me. I could have worked harder on the other two and made progress, but I found BJJ played to my natural strengths.

That's an excellent point. I also think that the context of a person's particular situation plays a role. I had exactly the opposite experience with BJJ. At my school where fights were an everyday thing, if the fight went down you'd have every Tom, ****, and Harry coming in and taking shots at the dude on the bottom. No way even Royce would come out smelling like a rose in that one. Most of my fights never went to the ground and when they did I was usually the one on top. I had more call for stand up grappling sort if like when you are pressed up against a row of lockers which lent to Greco Roman more. I did two years in a BJJ school and learned lots of cool stuff but not much that I figure would benefit me in a street fight but with another person might just be what they need.

[SteveLau]

For example, I wrestled in HS, moved into catch as catch can and then to BJJ. I was a slightly better than average wrestler, a decent catch wrestler, but I really excelled at BJJ because I'm lanky and flexible. It just worked for me. I could have worked harder on the other two and made progress, but I found BJJ played to my natural strengths.

That's the point. The styles are very effective. Very good system. But are do they compatible to you? That's the ultimate question. It happens often that student pick up styles that are effective in a modern day street environment, but he is not compatible with them.



Regards,

KC
Hong Kong

[SimonM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnq1iKc8b1Y Miqi this guy seems pretty legit. His movements and all that seem lethal.

I would love to learn from this guy but I live in Australia (Melbourne).

Anybody can look hard punching the air. It's not the style; it's the teacher. More specifically, it's what the teacher teaches. If the teacher teaches fighting you'll be able to fight. If they teach dancing you'll be able to dance.

[Miqi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnq1iKc8b1Y Miqi this guy seems pretty legit. His movements and all that seem lethal.

I would love to learn from this guy but I live in Australia (Melbourne).

Hi Rosa,
Yeah, he looks pretty tough. There are many great wushu experts - just, not so many outside of China.

[MightyB]

Hi Rosa,
Yeah, he looks pretty tough.

As my grandfather probably would have said... Be wary of southerners with that many tats.

*just looked at some more of his stuff. He's definitely into sparring. It's a pretty hard core school. Obviously you're aware that his school isn't representative of all Bak Mei schools,

so you're going to have to go in - check it out and see if you like the school that's in your area.

[Rosa]

I actually really want to do Bak Mei but no schools around my area unfortunately.

But on the bright side. Wing Chun looks really appealing so might give that a shot and see how it goes.

[wiz cool c]

i would put hung gar up there at the top. with all the clawing and poking,along with the dynamic tension and body condition,makes you feel buff,strong and ready