William Chen said that if you don’t have something you can really use in a “street” situation in 3 yrs., then you’ve been doing something wrong.
Also, we only have two forms–the CMC form, which you learn first, and then an old Yang family form which you learn after a couple years having been dedicated and become reasonably proficient in the CMC form.
I like having so few forms, because you can concentrate on refining and deepening what you know, instead of always waiting for the next form to learn.
I think it’s much better to practice 3 basic deflections or strikes 1000 times than to practice a whole slew of barely passable forms.
Actually, the CMC for is just a short version of Yang’s long form, and once you have the long form you can forget the CMC version as every thing in it is also in the Yang style long form.
Our Taji has two main forms. The first is the 64 move form. It is basically working the 8 original postues in the 8 gates. We also learn the 8 original postures in a simple line form. they are pracitsed sevral different ways in progression untill you learn the 64 move version though. Its still all the same stuff though.
Then we get the 37 move Chao family form. It’s different than the CMC set, but it’s basically a Yang style short from, however it’s origin may actually predate Yang style a bit.
Our external southern is the same way, once you have the long forms (3 of them), you just forget the short ones as everything in them is covered in the long sets anyway.
The jury is still out on the exteranl Northern system, but it still only has 10 sets, and I’m sure the same applies.
Technically, you "could just teach the long forms right on, but you’d have to hold back details quite a bit, and add them back in a little at a time as the student is ready.
6-10 is mastery, you should be able to fight pretyy good at 2-3 years. The 6-10 year guys will walk all over you, but you should be able to fight off the average thug at 3 years
You should be! If it takes longer than that to learn some basic self defense then there is a problem. Somebody else said you should be effective with the basics and without them you have nothing, I agree with that to. In most Kungfu systems you can begin to use it in about a year and it kinda seems like your proficiancy doubles with every year.
Look at the students around you. It doesn’t matter how many forms they have, can they use them? When do you start to spar in your school?
The wing chun system I study has 3 empty hands forms, 1 wooden dummy form, and 2 weapons forms (staff and twin knives).
There are no “levels” per se, although we do layer knowledge, starting with broad, coarse movement and gradually refining sensitivity and precision. Since WC is a principle-based, rather than technique-based system, one should be proficient (i.e. hold your own in a fight with an average unarmed street jerk) in one year, and master the system in 4 or so.
After 5 years, it’s about becoming scary good, as in it’s unlikely you will often run across somone who can take you out in hand2hand - you would have to actively seek such a challenge from the ranks of “martial arts masters”.
BJJers who train exclusively with the Gracie CD-ROM are to be cowered before and offered sacrifice. If such an ubermensch should approach you, your best bet is to throw your wallet at them and grovel for mercy.
We never train against anything except theoretical one-at-a-time attacks by a group of chinese opera second-stringers with aluminum flex swords. We most certainly never train against the possibility that somone might try to grapple us down, or (throroughly unsportsmanlike) team up with a second attacker.
This “Je ne sais quoi” look somehow makes me think about Georges Burns ! But who am I to talk about these feminine matters?..You are as pretty as ever.
