[QUOTE=PM;1036949]trying something similar in Hung Ga Kyun, see http://www.hungkyun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=955 …[/QUOTE]
PM, I have always respected what you had to say. Even though we never spoke much.
Regardless this is something I believe Chinese martial art should have. No, beyond that. This is something that we NEED in order to weed gain back respect from the global martial art community, as well as establish the FACT that our styles are capable of being used in an intense, pressurized, full-contact situation. Maybe it will be 3, 5, or even 1 long-ass round. Those are the details which need to be discussed at length.
However, why can’t we (as Hung Kuen and CLF) establish standards for which practitioners of these styles can test themselves in? Why can’t there be a standard to which “fighting skill” is measured? Not just as an abstract concept, or something that only your Sifu and classmates know. But a standard that your entire style, other students, and other schools can look and see? Of course Hung and CLF are two different styles. I don’t wish to carry over a format better for CLF as something for Hung Kuen. You know, all the CMA styles are so different, even with similar ones. We need to set our own standards first, before worrying about cross-style competition. If all the different sects of Karate can do it… hell, what’s so **** difficult that we can’t do it?
I don’t see this straying away from our systems being “traditional.” Yes such events are competitive, and competition breeds ego and pride. But let’s be real also, most people who are very good fighters have pride. Maybe not ego, but pride in their abilities, I’m sure. And for those who are living the Martial Way as a lifestyle, great! WE CAN GIVE THEM A FACILITY TO TEST THEIR FINELY-HONED, HARD-EARNED SKILLS.
If say, there is an AMAZING Choy Lay Fut fighter somewhere in this world, and he decides to participate, and beats up everybody else bloody, that person should be recognized for his actions. He has taken CLF to a level that the other fighters have not (just as an example), perhaps. And maybe we can see OK, this is how he trained, how his Sifu taught, the way the prepared for the fighting competition…
Eventually - not immediately, or even soon. Maybe it will take many years, but EVENTUALLY - people will strive to be better, in my opinion. People will train harder, more effectively, and more efficiently. The fighting will be back as one of the most important aspects of Gung Fu. Fighting schools WILL BE RECOGNIZED for producing fighters, and non-fighting schools will NOT be recognized for any such thing.
This is… we need a standard. We need a way to test ourselves, amongst our own family. This isn’t about MMA, or Kung Fu vs. Muay Thai, or Kung Fu vs. Karate. This is about fighting the fighting blood, about evolving, becoming better than before, faster, stronger, smarter.
-V
