Ray,
I would modify your list in these regards.
1. Being that not all branches of WC, have the same training curriculum I would break up the forms like; SLT and CK = beginner stage, should develop strong stance/footwork, able to use and understand basics of body mechanics and flexible force (soft force, relaxed power-whatever you want to call it). BJ and Dummy = Intermediate stage, should be able to express technique effectively in 'live' resistance testing, refined sensitivity outside of chi sau, and the ability to adapt and 'think outside the box' (a 'first step' toward 'formless in form and beyond all technique'). The pole training should start relativlely early (after SLT, and maybe CK) and BCD as an 'advanced' stage work. The dummy would serve as a segway into advanced work and the knives, part of the development, as these two forms tend to vary and are the setting for 'personalizing' WC.
2. The terms 'competitive fighter' and 'street combatant' don't fit into the structure of a system as a 'level' of development, IMO. They are more fit to describe a person's doctrine than development.
3. To me the title of 'Grandmaster' is gratuitous. Once a person has reached a level of 'Mastery' that's the end of the rainbow. Not to say that one does not learn beyond that, and not to say that one is 'finished' with the system, just that it has been 'mastered'. A 'Grandmaster' would then be just a 'Master' who has 'fathered' someone to mastery. Therefore, your statements regarding a Master and Grandmaster would both reflect (more or less) my view of a Master. I would also add that a Master would be able to answer any question regarding form, strategy, tactics, attributes and their development, clearly and effectivly to ANYONE who were to ask.
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P.S. I like the way Gary (Lam) breaks down his system.
and, OJ, you are quite modest.
Last edited by AmanuJRY; 09-30-2004 at 09:30 PM.
Sapere aude, Justin.
The map is not the Terrain.
"Wheather you believe you can, or you believe you can't...You're right." - Henry Ford