Empty hand fighting is ineffective when it gets down to it. Unless you are doing sport or have horrid manners and get into bar fights...
One technique? Squeeze, don't pull.
Don't get me wrong, I cultivate my Kung Fu and remain aware when in urban areas, crowds etc, but this kind of thing can be totally solved by simply using a weapon. I ain't gonna kid myself about my capabilities when they are relative like anyone else's.
Kung Fu is good for you.
If you can't counter your opponent's counter, you are still not good at that technique. If your technique has 20 different ways to counters, you should be more familiar with those counters than your opponent does. You should also master all the counters against those counters.
For example, my teacher's brother was a left hand person. On the wrestling mat, he always moved in with his left side forward. When his left hand sorrounded your waist, his left leg sticked on your right leg, his right hand grabbed your left arm, he would just wait for you to make a move. If you tried to move in front of him, he would use embrace to pick you up. If you tried to move behind of him, he would use hip throw. He was very good in both techniques along with all the relative techniques such as 蹩撩扣轟裏擓, ....
So to master a simple technique is just the starting point but not the ending point. If you just want to deal with average Joe, that may be enough. If you want to be champ o the mat, you have to know more.
Last edited by YouKnowWho; 11-22-2012 at 01:11 PM.
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The only people who need more than a few techniques are MA teachers or Sifu. If you have many students they all may differ in approach and flavor, so naturally MA teachers have 100's of techniques to offer to many varied student.
The reason I like 8 techniques is that 8 is a small enough number of techniques to get you by for most all situations. This example is grossly perfect but serves to make a point:
2 Striking methods
2 Kicking methods
2 Grappling methods
2 Throwing methods
Each method should have 8 different variations of each. There are a total of 8 methods X 8 variations each = 64 variations to use in any fighting situation. This is plenty, might even be a bit much however, the point is that you should take a few good techniques you like to work and try them in various sitations.
ginosifu
Well that's the reality...MAs serve a purpose for self defense, but is it really worth it to train 30 years for a fight that may never happen? It's pretty easy to carry a gun in the truck...and there's the very real risk of retaliation from friends/family/gang members of whomever you whooped up on in the street...
However...even during the hey day of TCMAs empty hand fighting wasn't practical for battle. Wars have been fought with weapons since the day someone picked up a club.
The flip side is Chinese generals believed the empty hand fighting made them better soldiers. Harder men I suppose. When the Mongols were conquering the world wrestling was still one of the 3 manly arts they were expected to practice....they weren't winning wars with wrestling, the horseback riding and archery was far more practical...
Maybe that's what it all comes down to...the manly arts...it is undeniably cooler to be an awesome fighter than to carry a knife.