Originally Posted by
Yum Cha
This is one of my favorite topics...
Firstly, most TCMA people with skill agree that stances are not static, they are an evolving motion, a series of transitions. One frozen moment in time, coordinating the entire body, linked to striking, evading, agressing, whatever.
One practices them statically to develop strength, body mechanic and physical memory.
Footwork is both the most basic and most advanced skill in martial arts.
However, if you train traditional, than fight "modern white fist" you deserve what you don't get from those trainers, and I call them trainers because they are being rather self indulgent to call themselves Sifu. Yea, I know I'm being bold, but its just one man's opinion. Give me 35 years of perspective and I'll listen, I don't come to this conclusion theoretically, or lightly.
If you want quick results and good sportfighting/self defense, by all means get into the modern sportfighting groove, but don't be tricked into thinking you are training traditional arts because you do some traditional forms and fight modern kickboxing. People lament the death of traditional arts, than pull out their daggers and strike it down themselves using "modernisation" as an excuse. Et tu Brutus?
Learning to fight "in style" does NOT mean putting a chinese name on a jab, hook, cross and haymaker, front kick, side kick and back kick.
If you want to make the style work, you have to work the style. Yes, you will get clobbered by kickboxers at first. Yes, it takes much longer. Yes, its not easy and it takes intelligence as well as heart and comittment. But, it can be done, and those who can do it will become superior to most. If of course, it is the fighting component that interests you in the first place. There are other gifts from traditional training.
You have to train differently. Commercial Kwoons love the formula, 1/2 hr conditioning, 15 minutes forms, the rest of the time Sparring. Fits nicely into slices of class time, fires up the testosterone, burns the flab. Very managable with large groups. More power to them, its obviously a popular pastime.
READ THIS and be sure, I'm NOT condeming the sport, its skills or effectiveness, just the misconception that they are somehow "Traditional Chinese Kung Fu." Don't come back at me with some ill-considered vitriol, I won't bite.
That rant being ranted, here's the flip side. Young trainees need the hardening of this kind of training. They need the ring craft, the lessons in pain, the lessons of courage, timing and interaction against a resisting opponent. But, you have to take it beyond that if you don't want your art to freeze in that format. Unfortunately, that is where too many freeze. And then, they begin looking for the next challenge....or retire "undefeated".
The trick, the elusive missing link, is to work them into "live" training that uses the style, not whatever defaults under pressure. Eventually, the style will default under pressure, and that's where the cut is made.
To my mind, a good sifu is not satisfied with raising good fighters unless they can demonstrate the skills of the style within their free-fighting interactions. The hardest thing is taking a well trained student and teaching them to use their trained skills in actual confrontations against unpredictable, agressive and motivated opponents.
Remember, fundamentally, kickboxing is strategically different to traditional fighting. The sprint v the marathon. The sword v the club. Traditional arts fight to finish within less than a minute, not to last 3 x 3 minute rounds.
No its not easy, that's why so few good Sifu can be found.