Yesterday the importance of controlling an opponent, perhaps even taking him to the ground, particularly if they were armed, was widely proposed and vastly accepted.
This is good news for Kung Fu. If I was full heartedly studying Kung Fu, feeling the ancient Chinese vibes, and saw those videos… seen other videos of how people are really training takedowns, live drilling etc., I would go find myself a good Chin Na teacher. Really learn about grips and standing locks. There’s a very good chance a Chin Na master has a ground game too, or could easily assimilate his skills to the ground and with a gi… so then I could go test them.
But first I’d want to go find a Dog Boxing master. Learn how to change levels. Learn takedowns and how to attack the legs… OK. Now I combine that with some Wing Chun training, Chia Sau and sparring. OK. Now we’re getting somewhere. Now we’re understanding the ins and outs.
What we got to be careful of though is being misguided by the guys that love to wear the uniform but will do anything to avoid a punch towards the nose. They’re going to tell us that “sport” is different than “the street.” Watch out… they probably have no experience in either.
Listen to this guy Ray Pina. He’s fought in all the different forums AND he’s got over 10 years of Kung Fu training (with fighting. with video). He says it’s not that the rules don’t allow for the deadly stuff, it’s that the other guys are tough, courageous, skilled and will kick you literally in a way you’ve never been kicked before… not like in the gym with training buddies.
OK.
But what if we can’t find a Chin Na expert nearby? They don’t grow on trees. And Dog Boxing? Who wants to learn that? Though there’s probably a cool Bull Dog emblem involved. Maybe we can encourage the old man to broaden his horizons… a cool Bull God T-Shirt with maybe some cage/fence trim… now we’re looking cool and tough at Starbucks. I could wear it to the next UFC party. With some jeans. The girls will notice.
But now we have a real dilemma. Now we know we need this type of broad understanding, and we certainly want to keep the incense and Chinese calligraphy around… OK. We’ll keep the Wing Chun but insist we spar at least 15 mins a week. If it turns out China Na is not that hard to find, that most Chinese styles incorporate it, maybe we’ll just moon light at a wrestling or BJJ gym. We just won’t tell anyone and call it Dog Boxing and make the T-shirts anyway.
And in the meantime, while we get it together, we’ll write a letter to Kung Fu magazine suggesting this Ray Pina guy. He could probably write some interesting pieces an do some fighting and represent. He’s even had a Chinese teacher. I’ve seen him fighting with the Chinese jacket… maybe we’d take a little less slack.
