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Thread: TCMA Survival

  1. #181
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    Quote Originally Posted by bawang View Post
    trying to revive American kung fu is like trying to revive any other obscure old fad hobby. just imagine trying to revive hippy culture or nerd tabletop dice game.
    Ok, first of all, Cannabis is getting legalized everywhere and a lot of people are still not into the establishment, so that hippy thing is doing alright.
    D&D is in it's 4th edition or so and there are entire cafes and bars dedicated to table top gaming.

    In summary, you need to get out more bud. Stuff's going on!

    Kung Fu will be fine as long as there is even one honest practitioner out there. It's a concept anyway, some people get it, in fact, lots of people get it. It's not like everyone should be doing it or know it anyway. It's special.

    If you want to know if your kung fu is any good, then find a way to use it and test your mettle. If you stay in a bubble or echo chamber,, your screwed, Truly..
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  2. #182
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Jamieson View Post
    Ok, first of all, Cannabis is getting legalized everywhere and a lot of people are still not into the establishment, so that hippy thing is doing alright.
    True. There are actually LOTS of young hippie types out there nowadays. I know some. They don't call themselves hippies but that's what they are. If anything, it seems to be growing. Hippie culture seemed to start coming back sometime in the '90s (after almost everyone seemed to go corporate in the '80s). Not saying it's good or bad, it just is what it is.

  3. #183
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    True. There are actually LOTS of young hippie types out there nowadays. I know some. They don't call themselves hippies but that's what they are. If anything, it seems to be growing. Hippie culture seemed to start coming back sometime in the '90s (after almost everyone seemed to go corporate in the '80s). Not saying it's good or bad, it just is what it is.
    True, I notice that too. The hippie culture does seem to be growing. I think some people like to refer to them as tree huggers or naturalist, but we live in a culture now that is free from labels so I don't think they call themselves anything.

    But doesn't everything that is old make it's way back? Old style clothing is now vintage ware, new cars looking like old models like the Thunderbird. I remember Yoga disappearing during the 70's and 80's and making a strong come back in the late 90's.

    As a culture we are getting more open and receptive to old ideas. It was just a short time ago that chiropractors were not considered doctors by the medical industry and now every insurance covers them and they are everywhere. Taiji started making it's come back just a few years ago and I think it will continue to slowly grow as more and more medical practices are referring people to search out yoga and taiji. Some work insurances are even classifying taiji as a health alternative and compensating their employees for participating in it. Unfortunately, most taiji taught is for health and not as a TCMA. But maybe this will open the doors for more qualified teachers.

  4. #184
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    Quote Originally Posted by Surf-Rider View Post
    As a culture we are getting more open and receptive to old ideas. It was just a short time ago that chiropractors were not considered doctors by the medical industry and now every insurance covers them and they are everywhere. Taiji started making it's come back just a few years ago and I think it will continue to slowly grow as more and more medical practices are referring people to search out yoga and taiji. Some work insurances are even classifying taiji as a health alternative and compensating their employees for participating in it. Unfortunately, most taiji taught is for health and not as a TCMA. But maybe this will open the doors for more qualified teachers.
    Good points, Surf-Rider.

    I'll admit that when I went through massage therapy school, one of the lesser requirements was to learn some Yang Taiji, but only one simplified form, and mostly for body mechanics. Because we were always taught to keep our feet under us and to move the entire body as a unit, from the legs, as opposed to using only the hands and arms when massaging. It was easy for me and I didn't really need the Taiji, because due to my CMA training I could already do all that. However, the idea of whole-body mechanics in massage is a sound one that works very well at being more effective at your work while preserving your own body from undue strain. But after graduating and passing the national certification exam, I stopped doing the Taiji form (I barely needed to practice it anyway).

    IMO, Taiji is inextricably linked with purely health practices in the Western mind. With few exceptions, people will not seek out Taiji for its combative aspects. It's probably the most-practiced CMA in the world; either it or Wing Chun. In the West and probably most places, Taiji is put into the same category as yoga and other 'alternative' health practices, and mostly for older people. Even though the original Taiji was/is very combative.

    I think it's fine if CMA remains a small part of the MA world in the West. It was that way before the 'fad' of the early '70s and didn't die out then or after. In fact, the so-called 'kung fu fad' probably resulted in more business for karate schools than genuine CMA schools, which were fewer and harder to find anyway. The 'boom' immediately following Bruce Lee's death was called kung fu, but TBH most didn't know the difference at the time. But the 'kung fu fad' was not a big cultural phenomenon in the overall mainstream culture; not even close to, say, the 'British Invasion' in pop music of the early/mid-'60s, or even the aforementioned hippie counterculture.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 12-06-2016 at 07:28 PM.

  5. #185
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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gdnIP6dakA

    critical speech regarding kung fu survival

    Honorary African American
    grandmaster instructor of Wombat Combat The Lost Art of Anal Destruction™®LLC .
    Senior Business Director at TEAM ASSHAMMER consulting services ™®LLC

  6. #186
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    Quote Originally Posted by bawang View Post
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gdnIP6dakA

    critical speech regarding kung fu survival
    Great insight in that video. Thanks for posting that, bawang.

  7. #187
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    Great insight in that video. Thanks for posting that, bawang.
    np bro
    r u near san jose bro

    Honorary African American
    grandmaster instructor of Wombat Combat The Lost Art of Anal Destruction™®LLC .
    Senior Business Director at TEAM ASSHAMMER consulting services ™®LLC

  8. #188
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    No, man, I live in SoCal.

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