Originally Posted by
sanjuro_ronin
Absolutly agree.
No way I could have picked up what my SPM Sifu teaches without prior training, it's all about the feel and the touch and he uses lots of point of references from other MA.
Funny thing though, he said I will never have a pure SPM hand, I have too much ingrained form other MA, but he said that was a good thing.
I didn't get it when he said that after the first lesson he gave me, which involved me getting a nice old fashioned beating, but 3 years later I totally understand what he meant.
I'd like to expand on Sanjuro's comments. He nailed it when he said it all comes down to touch, feel and power. The same touch feel and power can be put on top of any techniques, and while it may not improve a technique, it often creates another, or a variation, and from there your skills come into play.
Now, the early part of Pak Mei, is about learning techniques, and for gross simplicity lets say they are optimised for the advanced pak mei that comes later.
So, a 'virgin' student is indeed different to a '****' but as we all know, ****s can be a lot of fun... Can't really say which is better with all the variables.
Just touching back on Sifu Cama, and while I can't speak for him, only for my own experiences, but I think that people looking at his exercise and saying "how is that fighting?" are missing the point. I think he is demonstrating a core skill (call it energy, technique, whatever) that is at the root of many more applicable techniques.
Guangzhou Pak Mei Kung Fu School, Sydney Australia,
Sifu Leung, Yuk Seng
Established 1989, Glebe Australia