I wonder which style of Chinese martial art in America has the most practitioners of Asian decent?
I’ve noticed that there is definitely a subculture in the African American community that gets into CMA.
And while it seems that all organized CMA in America is dominated by White people, it seems especially true in Jeet Kune Do. Particularly, I notice the lack of people of Asian decent in JKD/NHB centered arts. Any idears?
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I wonder which style of Chinese martial art in America has the most practitioners of Asian decent?
Taiji
interesting… kinda sorta… the only asian kid I ever worked out with was Korean and this was @ a KF school…
Hispanics now comprise nearly 13 percent of the U.S. population, which grew to 284.8 million in July 2001. That’s up from 35.3 million, or 12.5 percent of the country’s 281.4 million residents in April 2000.
Blacks make up 12.7 percent of the nation’s population, up from 12.6 percent in April 2000. The black population grew by 700,000 in the 15 months after the census was released.
Whites remained the largest single population group, numbering about 199.3 million in July 2001, nearly 70 percent of all U.S. residents.
Asians are the next largest minority group after blacks and Hispanics, at about 12.1 million, or 4 percent of the population.
So, technically, only 4% of any class in America should be Asian. Take into account that Chinese people are only a small portion of all Asians in America, and you get the picture.
Maybe 1 person in 100 will be Chinese in any given population sample. And that’s stretching it.
So, technically, only 4% of any class in America should be Asian. Take into account that Chinese people are only a small portion of all Asians in America, and you get the picture.
Maybe 1 person in 100 will be Chinese in any given population sample. And that’s stretching it. [/B]
But you’re assuming an even distribution. My point is that the distribution is uneven. And so the issue becomes that of choice. Why do people of Asian decent gather most to ___ CMA and least to ___ CMA?
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That’s assuming an equal propoertion of each ethnic group is equally interested in the martial arts.
There is a subculture of African Americans interested in CMA and there may be a greater percentage in a CMA class then their proportion in American demographics, but I’m not sure why.
Because of obvious cultual connections one would think that there would be a higher percentage of people of asian descent in a CMA class then their proportion in American demographics, but that’s not always the case. I’m caucasian and my finacee is Chinese but neither her or anyone in her imediate family has any interest or background in CMA. Go figure.
Then I would have to say you are over-generalizing.
Different locations have different dispersals of races. I live in an area of the country dotted by military bases, so we have a dis-proportionate amount of Korean people here because soldiers who go to Korea tend to bring back Korean wives/husbands. So, in this area, Koreans study Tae Kwon Do, and white people study Shotokan, and lucky white people live close to one of the few CMA schools and study Kung Fu.
I dare say that in Atlanta, more Black people study CMA than Hispanics. But in Dallas, the situation is reversed. Just because the Wu-Tang clan takes Kung Fu, it doesn’t mean all Black people only study CMA.
You can’t say more black people take Kung Fu than Koreans without regarding the fact that there are more Black people in America than Koreans.
Just to say, I see more white people in JKD classes means that in your location, there are probably more white people there to study JKD. In other parts of the country, that situation may not occur in the same percentages.
MasterKiller-
I concede to your point. It is way inaccurate to compare other races, and who does how much of what in relation to each other, because the demographics of location are radically different from each other.
However, I am still interested in the issue of choice, with the question of:
Why do people of Asian decent tend to gather most to ___ CMA and least to ___ CMA?
There has to be some generalizing…because what is available is a factor.
True. These percentages are dependant upon so many independant variables that its imppossible to say what percentage of a cultural group will be interested in a type of martial art. I think your point was that the largest single factor would be the proprotion of an ethnic group in a certain location would dominate a martial arts class. I think that’s undisputed. My point was that its not going to fall preciscly down the population percentages.
Wu Tang actually studies kung fu? I had no idea. I just thought they wanted to sound like bad a@@'s. Maybe I’ll start to listen to them now
TAIJI
LOL
Wu Tang actually studies kung fu?
You obviously don’t read the magazine…
Rza has been a student of Shi Yan Ming for some time.
Gene wrote and article about Rza at Wudan and Shaolin.
Dirt McGirt aka odb, he studies jailquan
[i]
You obviously don’t read the magazine…
[/B]
I was being sarcastic. I heard that they studied kung fu. Actually, though, I had not read that article. Sorry Gene.
Dirt McGirt aka odb, he studies jailquan
is that the southern form of 52 or a bastidized version of the Brooklyn style…
The lineage comes out of the Brooklyn Zoo.
Forms:
Raw fist
Shame on You Fist
Small frame Shimmy fist
Stomp
There is a drunken form
Snake fist
and Damage Fist.
123,
However, I am still interested in the issue of choice, with the question of:
Why do people of Asian decent tend to gather most to ___ CMA and least to ___ CMA?
There has to be some generalizing…because what is available is a factor.
I guess the first question should be: Is that really an issue? What evidence do you have that it’s a true statement at all? I’m not trying to be argumentative here. But do you know that there are more asians flocking to one CMA style than another across the board?
But even that’s not enough. I would guess that taijiquan probably has the most asian practitioners. As a form of exercise. But if they’re practicing solely for calesthenics, do they figure into your equation?
And of the classes I’ve attended, there have always been a percentage of asians that I would have expected. Quite a few filipinos in my eskrima classes. Quite a few asians in the JKD classes. I was never struck by the presence or absence of any given group. And I’d like to think that’s not simply because I had my head up my arse.
Stuart B.
It’s not an issue, but I’m making it one! 
And by all means, be argumentative- intelligent debates is what this forum is all about.
I’m trying to pose a question of race in a highly racialized country within the context of martial arts. Just havin’ some fun!
Well, getting to your points, how do the number of Asians taking those martial arts you specified compare to the numbers of Asians taking other CMA, such as wushu, or Choy Lay Fut, or whatever?
Not sure about the taiji question. I would argue that it isn’t martial arts if they’re not training the combative functions (like push hands or martial applications) with the form.
intelligent debates is what this forum is all about.
What turnip truck did you fall off of?
LOL! I should have said that it what this forum should be about…
…on the rare occasion, it is!
Arrggghhhh… MK u beat me to it…
It is my observation that Chinese Americans don’t have much interest in Martial Arts in general. I think that it is because it is the higher levels of education that tend to leave China for the USA and many simply find kung fu beneath them.
Of course then again Judo is the most popular art in China (after Taji of course) so maybe they are just tired of seeing Modern WuShu?
Originally posted by Kuen
[B]It is my observation that Chinese Americans don’t have much interest in Martial Arts in general. I think that it is because it is the higher levels of education that tend to leave China for the USA and many simply find kung fu beneath them.
Of course then again Judo is the most popular art in China (after Taji of course) so maybe they are just tired of seeing Modern WuShu? [/B]
This is a good point. I think there is a little bit of a class issue involved, maybe? Isn’t kung-fu seen as lower class, and Taiji seen as scholarly?
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