Originally Posted by
Judge Pen
I don't care what someone wears, it's the movement, the method and the understanding that's the issue. I took a local chen tai chi class with another buddy of mine. I love my teachers, and they taught excellent applications for our tai chi, but the attention to detail in that one class was greater than I received in my SD tai chi training. The problem with the other local class was that they didn't fight, spar or teach applications.
Before people are too harsh on people practicing SD, keep in mind that not everyone lives in a "martial arts mecca". Some people, especially in areas of rural Appalachia and many parts of the south, have very limited options in training in martial arts. I can tell you that my SD training was miles beyond many of the other options that I had growing up. The teacher cared and was conscientious in his training. We trained hard, fought hard and laughed hard. Even though there were limitations in the art itself, it was better than the generic karate and TKD classes that were around. I made a point to spar people from those classes and could tell that my training was better. When I moved to a more populated area, I continued to meet, train and spar with as many people from other arts that I could, and I still felt like I could hold my own with anyone with the same level of experience as me. So I can sit back now and pick at everything that is wrong with SD. That's easy. But I can't discount what is right with it either. The marketing and stories are a farce, but if you have a teacher that cares, and you work hard at making it work, then there is plenty good there. But it needs to be labeled for what it is: a patch-work system that is a blend of kung tao, karate and kung fu that is it's own animal. The Pa Kua is applicable, but it's only a shadow of traditional pa kua. the Tai chi is applicable, but it is only a shadow of traditional tai chi.
This is the best I can say about SD. I will teach my kids what I have learned. How to apply what I know. I won't tell them bogus stories of hairy monks and lineages that no one knows about. I will say this is how you respond if this occurs and work their asses off. They will be fine. I am.