TCMA / Kung Fu Approaches that I like:

The obvious is my Sifu’s approach which has always been open to cross training through exposure to other systems. He’s always stated that he knows his stuff so he’s not afraid that students will leave if they’re exposed to other systems because they’ll always come back for good kung fu… he’s right. We always come back for the good kung fu.

Anyway…

I like Liang Shou Yu’s universal approach meaning that style and geography aren’t as important as techniques and philosophy (at least that’s my take after reading a couple of his books). I like that a person could learn a Southern and a Northern system in the same school. He does seem to make a difference between the internal and external approaches in his writing but stresses the importance of doing both. I’d actually credit him with giving us westerners the notion that there’s only Shuai, Na, Ti, Da in kung fu.

I like the New York San Da MMA approach to CMA, same with Tony Chen. I guess you can put Alexander Tao’s no nonsense hard core kung fu in there too.

And lets not forget YouKnowWho and David Lin and the Combat Shuai Chiao organization. Excellent approaches.

I like all of these people for their focus on combat above style or name. I like the balanced, universal approach to martial arts study.

How about you guys… Thoughts?

Nice of you to mention Tony Chen

Sadly, I’m not training under Sifu Chen anymore as he is devoting his energy to promoting live fights with Wulin Feng. In fact, there’s one this Saturday in Las Vegas. Sifu Chen invited me to go, but unfortunately I have a prior family commitment. It’s killing me as it’s the second offer for a Vegas trip for one of these fights I’ve had to turn down. DS went to the first one last year (see our 2010 January/February issue: USA vs. China (or Blood and Rhinestones))

WuLinFeng Las Vegas Spectacular

Date: Saturday, November 13th, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM
Price: $75 - $150
Venue: Harrahs Ballroom
Reservations: 866-998-3427
Online Reservations: Purchase Tickets

“It has taken a whole year for WuLinFeng organization to select the Chinese fighters for this competition. Each and every one of them had to earn their place in the team,” commented Dennis Warner, president of In Sync Productions.

Fighters, representing the United States on November 13th come from all parts of the country: Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, California, Arizona and Nevada. They are the experienced combatants and the up and coming star.

Much tension surrounded the match up for Kang En, a former WBC MuayThai International champion after American fighter, Kevin Ross refused to defend his WBC MuayThai International title against Kang En. Ben Yelle of Michigan will now take a chance against the Chinese icon. Yelle’s TKO earlier this year against Ray Cole became a memorable performance for the California fan crowd. Both fighters possess comprehensive elbow strike skills, and therefore will fight according to full rules.

Las Vegas favorite, Jack Thames will stand up to Guang Hong, the star of the Art of War championship and national champion of China. Thames is coming off of two wins by KO and TKO against Mike Ryan of Los Angeles, and Eric Utsch of Penn. respectively. Thames is also set for a re-match with Craig Buchanan for a WBC MuayThai National middleweight belt after a controversial fight result in April of this year.

Heath “Cowboy” Harris is stepping into the ring with the leader of the Chinese team Wang Hongxiang, who demonstrated a spectacular win over Joe Schilling last year in Las Vegas. Harris is best-known for his knockouts, 28 knockouts out of 29 wins.

Two full-rules and seven modified-rules Muay Thai fights will make up the fight card at Harrah’s Las Vegas. The modified bouts will operate in the three rounds/three minute structure and will not include elbows.

Complete fight card is as follows:

WBC Muaythai International Super Lightweight Bout 5rds.
Ben Yelle vs Kang En

WBC Muaythai Super Featherweight Bout 5rds.
Nat McIntyre vs Li Ning

WuLinFeng Cruiserweight Bout 3rds.
Andy Kapel vs Guo Qiang

WuLinFeng Middleweight Bout 3rds.
Jack Thames vs Hong Guang

WuLinFeng Light Heavyweight Bout 3rds.
Heath Harris vs Wang Hongxiang

WuLinFeng Super Welterweight Bout 3rds.
TBA vs Xu Yan

WuLinFeng Welterweight Bout 3rds
Alfred Khashakyan vs Lin Shuai

WuLinFeng Women’s Featherweight Bout 3rds.
Tiffany vanSoest vs Wang Cong

WuLinFeng Middleweight Bout 3rds.
Adrien Grotte vs Yi Long

I like the TCMA

  1. they share universal approach or some common grounds

3 levels of the body, da na shuai die etc

  1. they also specialize in a certain skill

xing yi use the hand like a spear

ba gua use the hand like a sword

ba ji use the body to kao

tai chi specialize in following


I like the phases of MA life, and the breadth of interesting activity.

Apprentice
The gauwky youngster phase where its all so foreign, and your body just doesn’t want to do what your trying on.

The comfortable stage where you begin to get it, and get some results that you can count on.

The testing stage where you put your training to the test, [in whatever manner applies to your lifestyle and personal requirements :-)]

Journeyman
The exploration stage, where you look at the raw materials and become creative, based upon your experience. Putting the custom edge on your blade. Developing the subtle and unconventional skills and other ‘intellectual’ pursuits. You begin to teach maybe..

Coach
The Teaching stage and for want of better term, the health and sanity stage where you try to keep what you have with an ever more uncooperative body.

In TCMA, I like the separation between “sport” and “combat”. When you

  • complete your throw, your opponent can rotate and have safe break fall.
  • throw your opponent 1/2 way, your oponent can only rotate 1/2 way and end with head down first.
  • keep your body moving, you can take your opponent down.
  • stop moving and sink down, you can hurt your opponent’s leg joints.

This kind of separation can make the “sport” safe and “combat” effective.

Emphasis on foundation work, good combat skill and most important on ethics.

KC
Hong Kong

Yee’s Hung Gar the china town branch, is a great school. They teach forms and all the traditional stuff and work the application for modern attacks. They also have regular sparring classes and adapt their traditional techniques to modern sport competition as well.

[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1058732]In TCMA, I like the separation between “sport” and “combat”. When you

  • complete your throw, your opponent can rotate and have safe break fall.
  • throw your opponent 1/2 way, your oponent can only rotate 1/2 way and end with head down first.
  • keep your body moving, you can take your opponent down.
  • stop moving and sink down, you can hurt your opponent’s leg joints.

This kind of separation can make the “sport” safe and “combat” effective.[/QUOTE]

Word…:slight_smile:

[QUOTE=Syn7;1058772]Word…:)[/QUOTE]

The online discussion is all about “words”. The internet discussion is not online teaching class. There is no economic reason to share video for free.

Basics and Applications.

The key to good TCMA or any martial arts is application of the techniques or methods taught. My class was generally ran like this:

  1. Conditioning and stance training. (Warm up and rooting drills)

  2. Basics (Punch, Kick, Throw, Block)

  3. Circuit Training (Bag work, mitt work, kick shield, ect.)

  4. Sparring (Moderate to heavy depending on the night, but equipment we wore was 16oz boxing gloves, shin guards, mouth piece, head gear if sparring heavy.)
    or
    Throws and takedowns (Often this includes ground submission work, positions,escapes, ect,) *also do San Shou sparring which incorporates both

  5. Forms (usually the last 15-20 minutes of class practicing and keeping up on forms for the sake of testing and carrying on the tradition of the style.)

[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1058779]The online discussion is all about “words”. The internet discussion is not online teaching class. There is no economic reason to share video for free.[/QUOTE]

yes.

the contest/dispute of mouth water. kou shui zhi zheng

:slight_smile:

[QUOTE=SPJ;1058798] kou shui zhi zheng [/QUOTE]

When someone doesn’t believe what you have just said, you then put up a clip to prove it.

1st - Why do you need to prove it?
2nd - Are you trying to show off with your video?
3rd - Do you understand that some information just should not be shared in public?
4th - Did this forum just change policy such as “no videro -> never happened”?

Hey- come on now, this is supposed to be a positive thread about what’s right with TCMA and how some people approach training that’s more than applicable in today’s environment using pretty much nothing but traditional methodology.

That’s why I threw you in Master Wang - anybody that’s seen combat SC and knows who your master was knows that you are the real deal. Forget about all of the negative poseur posters. Who cares about them anyway.

I do have a video “how to hurt your opponent’s knee” to prove my point “the difference between sport and combat”. But I just don’t think it’s proper to show it online.

[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1058890]I do have a video “how to hurt your opponent’s knee” to prove my point “the difference between sport and combat”. But I just don’t think it’s proper to show it online.[/QUOTE]

John, over the many years I have done MA I have probably learned more ways to damage a knee than I care to remember, do you think that it takes a “Master” to figure out how to hurt someone ?
If people want to hurt someone there are 100’s of easier ways to do it then with MA skill that takes TONS of practice.

[QUOTE=sanjuro_ronin;1058893]over the many years I have done MA I have probably learned more ways to damage a knee than I care to remember, do you think that it takes a “Master” to figure out how to hurt someone ?
If people want to hurt someone there are 100’s of easier ways to do it then with MA skill that takes TONS of practice.[/QUOTE]
Some moves has counters but some moves has no counters. For those moves that has no counters, you will put your opponent into a helpless position. Those moves are even dangerous to train with partner.

When your leg is twisting wth your opponent’s leg, The chance that you can hurt your opponent’s knee will be equal to the chance that your opponent can hurt your knee. It depends on who has more “leg twisting” training. Now we are talking about “Kung” in TCMA that MMA guys just don’t beliegve it ever exists.

[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1058855][/QUOTE]

1st - Why do you need to prove it?

Some people are just like that, but mostly it’s either an FU thing or vanity. Teaching is almost always never done with a public audience.

2nd - Are you trying to show off with your video?
If it’s made public, then absolutely it’s an ego thing.

3rd - Do you understand that some information just should not be shared in public?
This is the most important quote here.

4th - Did this forum just change policy such as “no video -> never happened”?

This forum ebbs and flows. We get a tide of idiots, then flotsam and jetsam, then a respite and decent conversation for a while. then the tide of idiots flows in again. Mostly people who are desperate to try to convince you that what you do is wrong and what they like is the only way.

disregard those people, they aren’t here to help you in any way shape or form, they are here to stroke themselves and diminish you through taunting and juvenile behaviours.

:slight_smile:

In which case, the administration has faithfully demonstrated they will take care of that problem when it gets too much. (yay! :slight_smile: )

The nice thing about TCMA is the “Kung” training that MMA guys don’t believe it even exists. It’s very hard to convince someone that some moves only work with Kung. Without Kung, you may even put yourself in danger.

[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1058894]Some moves has counters but some moves has no counters. For those moves that has no counters, you will put your opponent into a helpless position. Those moves are even dangerous to train with partner.

When your leg is twisting wth your opponent’s leg, The chance that you can hurt your opponent’s knee will be equal to the chance that your opponent can hurt your knee. It depends on who has more “leg twisting” training. Now we are talking about “Kung” in TCMA that MMA guys just don’t beliegve it ever exists.[/QUOTE]

I learned some leg locks in BJJ and sambo that would make your hair fall off ( I know how much you love your hair;) )

[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1058895]Some people are just like that, but mostly it’s either an FU thing or vanity. Teaching is almost always never done with a public audience.

If it’s made public, then absolutely it’s an ego thing.

This is the most important quote here.

This forum ebbs and flows. We get a tide of idiots, then flotsam and jetsam, then a respite and decent conversation for a while. then the tide of idiots flows in again. Mostly people who are desperate to try to convince you that what you do is wrong and what they like is the only way.

disregard those people, they aren’t here to help you in any way shape or form, they are here to stroke themselves and diminish you through taunting and juvenile behaviours.

:slight_smile:

In which case, the administration has faithfully demonstrated they will take care of that problem when it gets too much. (yay! :slight_smile: )[/QUOTE]

Nah, if you can make a video to make your point clear or even prove your point, why not?
It has zero to do with ego and everything to do with sharing, the reason one assumes most people are here for anyways.