Cirsus of Shaolin or not ?

[bawang]

Actually, I got the concept originally from Shuai Jiao. Later as I was learning my martial history, I discovered that forms were never the major part of the curriculum. Fighting was. Prior, to at least the Ming dynasty, all styles were taught like Shuia Jiao is taught today. Additionally, up untill the last 3 or 4 generations, MOST styles were still taught like this. It's only very recently that forms were taught first.

Form, without the understanding of how the art works, are useless. The practice only make sense after you can already fight. They are best used to refine already learned body mechanics.

They also make a good reference point for teachers. Not for students, in my opinion.

the heart of hobby kung fu is the denial of kickboxing.

as long as the application doesn't look like scary kickboxing, it can be anything you want it to be. anything is possible. you are a boy again. kung fu is magic.