KJ - LOL!
OJ - Yup, real as real can be. Names can be known, but never true names, after all, just like the way can be talked about, but never the true way 8). Do we like WCK the way it is? Are we practitioners or preservers, martial artists or museums? If we look over the course of the generations, some of the most outstanding names have evolved their WCK (as the world around the evolved). Leung Jan crafted the Gulao version, a new approach to passing on the art. Yuen Kay-San, Yip Man, Sum Nung, and many others left their mark on it. Some wanted to make it easier to pass on, some more obvious to see, some to keep up with the newer fighters they met, etc. Is the MMA situation any different than when the Chin Woo first came south? When other systems wanted challenge fights? When Thai Boxers and Western wrestlers came to China? When the Japanese were there?
And I’m not sure you have to add priniciples from other arts. I think WCK is already very robust, its just a question of personal experience. As I’ve mentioned several times, our overall strategy is already similar to what BJJ will do (join, cut off, control, finish). They simply focus on submission, but as “ground and pounders” have shown, you can strike pretty darn effectively on a grounded fighter.
Uniformity of approach is not a new problem. I’ve had the good fortune of meeting some good people in several Chinese MA who looked very similar to WCK in the end, even though the paths they took weren’t that similar. We all live in the same world, have generally the same tools, and require the same outcomes, so like the Lotus vs. Excel lawsuit, its only natural similar things will develop.
r5a - WCK has already been modified by generations of masters. (Masters being the key word - many failures occur when novices think it easier to modify than cultivate). Hey, maybe in 200 years someone will have to develop WCK for Zero-G.
planetwc - very well said. (Though I still hope Mark Kerr never tries to mug me 8) )
Cowboy - If we’re honest with ourselves, WCK, and MA in general, are only a (small sometimes) part of self-defense. (anerlich once recommended to me the excellent book “Strong on Defense” which shows just how important other factors - preparedness, avoidence, mind-setting, etc. are). If you really want self-defense, you’ll familiarize yourself with likely environments, including the ground (you might even get jumped while sleeping in your bed), do defensive/combat driving, learn the laws of your area and in general (some places rear-naked and similar chokes are blanket illegal), work on the psycological aspect, and take all the most likely factors into consideration.
Joy - Actually, the BJJ folks aren’t known for their take-down skills (in fact, they’re generally dissed for them). Western wrestling is know for their takedowns and Judo for their throws, and I’d be much more worried about the former (since I’ve done the latter) than BJJ people. In fact, BJJ people (since the time of the late Rolls Gracie, I think) have been cross-training in wrestling and judo to improve their take downs. Of course, now many of them are cross training in boxing and muay thai as well (because, as Dave pointed out, they were getting countered using pure BJJ). Ironically, if you watch more recent events, the best strikers have been the grapplers (BJ Penn, Noguera, Bustamante, etc.) because they haven’t been afraid to get in and strike (while “purer” strikers have been afraid to strike and risk getting taken down). I agree with you on WCK, however, as long as its trained, and as you said, many don’t. (BTW- What led you to training on the ground back in the 70s?)
SH73 - I can’t think of an art designed for sport, just arts that have gone in that direction from combat roots. In some cases, (point sparring, IMHO) it has led to dilution of the art. In others (judo, bjj, sambo), it has led to a slightly compromised platform that allowed for fairly realistic training. Even in WCK, we have Chi Sao, where we compromise by not crippling each other, and can practice in a much more realistic manner. As to the principles, someone did it with the long pole… we’re remarkably good at being conceptual, either by analyzing something ourselves (and risking missing experiential insight or wasting time re-inventing the wheel) or by integrating it (and risking defects creeping in).
S.Teebas - Same way as standing, you just have to train rooting on your back (stop laughing, OZ members) and Ging from your back. Then you make contact (get a hold of their bridges), cut them off (position so you control one side of them and make it hard for them to base or post, or ride), break their structure (push and pull them in different ways so they lose balance), and get out (bridging is useful if you know how, but you can slip out, roll them, etc. as well). All this should be filled in with strikes to sensitive areas whereever possible (a good grappler will know how to cut these off, but an average one may not), and sticking to them to help you control their limbs and apply leverage. (BTW- the mount is not a be-all end-all position. For someone who has short thighs, or if you’re mounting someone much larger, you won’t be able to touch your knees to the ground on both sides, and it can be fairly easy to escape even for a untrained person. In that case, worry more about side mount/cross body)
AD - Ask your sifu? Traditionally he may shrug or laugh. Or both.
Rgds,
RR
Good job guys 
