Okay, here is a quote from another thread:
It is said that in the old days one practiced a single kata for 5 years. So, it seems that we don’t need that many katas or forms, to start with, just key ones, to master and “explore”.
so, if you opened a school, focused it on drilling and fighting and decided to teach only ONE form, which one would it be and why?
each style has its repertoire of open hand forms and weapon forms.
depending on the students
some would just practice san ti shi and pi for years before anything else
guo used half step beng fist and defeated a lot of people.
some would just practice standing in posture and dan huan zhang for years.
liu feng chun practiced dan huan zhang for 3 years and used it to defeat a lot of people
tai chi: cloud hand
tong bei: 5 element palms
ba Ji: liang yi ding and xiao jia.
long fist: tan tui 12 roads.
once a dude only used 1 road and defeated all challengers.
in short:
quality over quantity.
i would choose to have the form that was not the form. 
if I was of the opinion that kata training for fighting was important and if I HAD to pick one, it would be Tekki / Naihanchi 1 & 2 (under the assumtion that they were originally actually part of one form); basically because it’s a very cut-to-the chase set of principles that encompass a wide-range of stand-up skills (athough, of course, there are a bunch of ground-fighting techniques hidden in there as well; yes, deeply hidden; verrrrrrry deeply…:rolleyes:))
a close second would be Bassai Dai, it’s also got a lot of neat “stuff” in it;
btw, when I practice these forms, I “TCMA-ize” them, in terms of the quality of the movement, and if I may, I daresay that I practice them “internally” (ugh, yeah, I know…); so it’s a weird sort of blend…
(btw, Ross knows I’m kidding, he knows that the ONLY form I have ever practiced is Bik Da…:D:D:D:)
hmmm…
SPM-Sam Bo Ging
Hung-Ga-Fu Hok Seurng Ying Kuen
Wing Chun-108 Mook Yan Jong
Karate Bassai, Sanchin/samjien
longfist 8 mother fist: straight , cross, uppercut, haymaker, hook, chop, overhand, backfist
five elements: forward , back, left , right, down
If by system, you mean there are other training elements involved, and the mind boggles at the options there, and there was one form that you thought would bring something to the other mass of good fighting techniques?
Gau bo Twi
(said with all the myopic self centered perspective you’d expect from a Pak Mei guy.)
I had combined 10 Longfist forms into one. I named it " - Longfist Summary" (similar to the prey mantis summary form). Until one day I just realized that instead of having to train 10 forms, I now have to train 11 forms.
I had created a SC form. Until one day that I found out some people treated it as a performance art. I regretted my creation since then.
We don’t need forms. Even one form is too many. All we need is drills.
You can always image that you have to fight against 4 opponents on 4 sides of you. You attack one opponent on one side and then attack other opponent on different side. If you always use different move (or combo) for each attack, you can train 4 different moves (or 4 different combos) if you go through 1 rep, 8 moves (or 8 different combos) if you go through 2 reps, and 12 moves (or 12 different combos) if you go through 3 reps … If you repeat this kind of training for a period of time (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, …), you then change your rep into a complete different set of moves. This way, you can train a lot of different moves (or combos) through your life time without even have to train a single form. At the end, you may be able to “perform” as many forms as any form collector can do, also you will have excellent footwork.
What advantage do you have by training this way? You will never have to be burdened by forms (I have learned over 50 forms in my life so I do know what I’m talking about here).
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1026294]I had combined 10 Longfist forms into one. I named it " - Longfist Summary" (similar to the prey mantis summary form). Until one day I just realized that instead of having to train 10 forms, I now have to train 11 forms.
I had created a SC form. Until one day that I found out some people treated it as a performance art. I regretted my creation since then.
We don’t need forms. Even one form is too many. All we need is drills.
You can always image that you have to fight against 4 opponents on 4 sides of you. You attack one opponent on one side and then attack other opponent on different side. If you always use different move (or combo) for each attack, you can train 4 different moves (or 4 different combos) if you go through 1 rep, 8 moves (or 8 different combos) if you go through 2 reps, and 12 moves (or 12 different combos) if you go through 3 reps … If you repeat this kind of training for a period of time (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, …), you then change your rep into a complete different set of moves. This way, you can train a lot of different moves (or combos) through your life time without even have to train a single form. At the end, you may be able to “perform” as many forms as any form collector can do.
What advantage do you have by training this way? You will never have to be burdened by forms.[/QUOTE]
so basically, all kung fu should be trained like ross’ school, or perhaps like SC?
[QUOTE=TenTigers;1026286]Karate Bassai[/QUOTE]
sad / funny Bassai dai story: I learned it originally from my moo duk kwan sabumnim years ago - it’s not a disgusting version either, although a lot of the nuance has been filtered out, and of course his understanding of the apps is very superficial - anyway, there’s one move that looks like you do a “down block” in horse stance and then turn 180 deg to do something else - off course, the move is actually a low hammer fist done to someone after you’ve swept them - so, one time I was visiting my old school and was talking about stuff w/some of the BB’s I had “come up with” and one of the relative newbie BB’s was waxing philosophical about stuff he basically knew nothing about - I wasn’t going to say anything, but the senior BB rolled his eyes and gave me a “go ahead Chris”, so I asked him, in Bassai, what’s the app for that move - so he was like “well, it’s a down block”; so I was like, “well, why would you do a block and then turn around to face another direction w/out doing a counter?”, so he says, I swear to God, “well, maybe after you do the block, the guy gets discouraged and goes away”…:eek::eek::eek:
to make matters worse, I showed him the correct app - his response was, “well, ok, that’s one way of looking at it…”:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
it was a sad, sad day for TMA’s…
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1026298]so basically, all kung fu should be trained like ross’ school
[/QUOTE]
you know, now someone is going to send you a nasty PM 
[QUOTE=lkfmdc;1026302]you know, now someone is going to send you a nasty PM :p[/QUOTE]
LOL, I’ll probably get several.
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1026298]so basically, all kung fu should be trained like ross’ school, or perhaps like SC?[/QUOTE]
if everyone trained like Dave, TCMA would be very boring - drill basics, drill basics, drill basics; conditioning, conditioning, conditioning; hit pads, hit pads, hit pads; apply against resisting opponent, apply against resisting opponent, apply against resisting opponent; rinse; repeat;
[QUOTE=lkfmdc;1026302]you know, now someone is going to send you a nasty PM :p[/QUOTE]
what, r u afraid it will cut down on the volume u get? don’t b so selfish, share a bit…
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1026298]so basically, all kung fu should be trained like ross’ school, or perhaps like SC?[/QUOTE]
It’s always fun to train CMA by using different methods. Every 2 or 3 years, I would like to try something new.
[QUOTE=taai gihk yahn;1026304]if everyone trained like Dave, TCMA would be very boring.[/QUOTE]
Instead of training the same CMA forms year after year, now for every 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year, you have to come up something complete new and different, that’s more fun and challenge IMO.
[QUOTE=taai gihk yahn;1026301]sad / funny Bassai dai story: I learned it originally from my moo duk kwan sabumnim years ago - it’s not a disgusting version either, although a lot of the nuance has been filtered out, and of course his understanding of the apps is very superficial - anyway, there’s one move that looks like you do a “down block” in horse stance and then turn 180 deg to do something else - off course, the move is actually a low hammer fist done to someone after you’ve swept them - so, one time I was visiting my old school and was talking about stuff w/some of the BB’s I had “come up with” and one of the relative newbie BB’s was waxing philosophical about stuff he basically knew nothing about - I wasn’t going to say anything, but the senior BB rolled his eyes and gave me a “go ahead Chris”, so I asked him, in Bassai, what’s the app for that move - so he was like “well, it’s a down block”; so I was like, “well, why would you do a block and then turn around to face another direction w/out doing a counter?”, so he says, I swear to God, “well, maybe after you do the block, the guy gets discouraged and goes away”…:eek::eek::eek:
to make matters worse, I showed him the correct app - his response was, “well, ok, that’s one way of looking at it…”:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
it was a sad, sad day for TMA’s…[/QUOTE]
One day I was sparring with a guy and some of the other students were watching. after we finished I was explaining some stuff about boxing to him, and one of the senior students interrupts and says “boxing isn’t a martial art - they just stand there and slug each other.” I was like wtf? This same guy also said that with three months of working the hidden grappling in his style, he could probably take out ANY grappler. Ironically, this guy now trains in Judo…
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1026307] This same guy also said that with three months of working the hidden grappling in his style, he could probably take out ANY grappler. Ironically, this guy now trains in Judo…[/QUOTE]
well, maybe the “hidden” grappling in his style actually spelled out the phrase “go study judo u dumb-asz muther-fu(ker!”
I dont’ know which is worse, the “hidden grapplng” in some TMA or the students who are oblivious to the grappling that DOES exist
I was in a Hung-like style school, the guys were doing what was clearly a sweeping technique (in their FORMS, not with partners! heck no, not with a partner) and a prospective student comes in. Mr Dai Si Hing tells him “in this style we don’t have an throws, trips or takedowns” and I swear to G’d I am starring at the ENTIRE CLASS drilling a takedown in their first form :eek:
okay, so on the path we are taking right now…
youknowwho - would you keep or eliminate stance training?
ross - when you drill techniques, are they fight based - like clinch work, slipping, countering, etc. or do you take movements from the forms you know and drill those, or both?
[QUOTE=SevenStar;1026310]
ross - when you drill techniques, are they fight based - like clinch work, slipping, countering, etc. or do you take movements from the forms you know and drill those, or both?[/QUOTE]
We warm up “shadowing” the techniques, ie in the air
Then we do them on focus mitts, shields, bags, small woodland creatures, you know
Then we drill them with people… random strangers off the street
Then we rinse and repeat