Originally Posted by
Jimbo
TBH, I’m always much more impressed by a good, solid traditional form, performed to near-perfection by a seasoned practitioner, than all the flashy acrobatic forms in the world. I’m pretty sure that in most cases, the acrobatics and lightweight weapons were incorporated into traditional sets due to the influence of wushu (and/or XMA).
The thing about traditional forms is that they adapt, grow and change with the practitioner. The young people who are doing the modernized XMA, wushu and “nandu” will decline sharply beyond a certain (still-young) age, in the same way that gymnasts decline.