I've long felt that having a solid background in non-CMA prior to taking up kung fu is a big advantage. The vast majority of kung fu people I've personally known who really excelled at actually fighting with kung fu against all types of opponents already had extensive experience in other arts/methods: judo, various styles of karate; boxing, kickboxing/MT, etc. There was already an extensive foundation of sparring or fighting in place.
The article in the link below is long, but I thought it might be relevant to this thread. I WILL point out that, although some things are very true and/or quite plausible, a lot of it is presumptuous nonsense. In fact, I have never read an article with such a bizarre combination of truths, half-truths and utter BS.
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-Chines...ot-used-in-MMA
First off, I'll mention some of what the article says that I know are BS:
1. Mas Oyama beat every karate master in Japan. FALSE. His own top student, John Bluming, even stated that Mas Oyama himself probably never had a fight in his life. And as for his fighting bulls, I'd have liked to have seen him fight a real fighting bull, like the Matadors face. Of course, he would have been gored to death in seconds.
2. Of all the CMA, only Wing Chun was effective against other styles. Total bull****. The author is obviously a Bruce Lee/Ip Man worshipper. He either ignores or is unaware of the fact that CLF has stepped up and been proven effective in various formats, including against Muay Thai. Maybe not in MMA yet, but CLF fighters have put themselves out there for decades. But obviously, those who did trained to fight competitively with it.
Related to No. 2: Wing Chun can be used to easily beat up karate or TKD guys. Depends on the individuals. I've seen many examples to the contrary.
3. Chinese parents are proud and happy for their kids to learn traditional kung fu (Wing Chun, etc.) but equate fighting sports like MMA with gangsterism. When I lived in Taiwan, many kids' parents equated traditional kung fu with gangsterism, and preferred them to study Taekwondo, kendo, etc., considering the latter to be cleaner, more professional, and more wholesome.
4. "We need yellow pride, holmes". Where does this guy come off saying 'we'? The author's name is Kenneth Ketchum, and from the photo he's a black guy. It's not his or anyone else's place to tell members of another racial group how they feel (or should act or feel). Plus, he continually says "Asians" when he's referring specifically to Chinese.
5. All Chinese, all Koreans, and all Japanese are the same as each other within their own nationalities. What a crock of sh!t. That's like saying all Italians are shorter and have better muscle definition than all Germans, and that all English are prissy and sit around drinking tea with their pinky finger sticking up. But for some reason people allow for the fact that Europeans are distinct individuals, not walking stereotypes off an assembly line.
Like I said, some things in the article are pretty much spot on, but there's a load of BS to sift through as well. Many people who don't know the difference will probably take it all as gospel.