aku aku

Hello,

I was just wondering why the difference between traditional and modern types of MA structure. So many traditional styles seem to stand flat footed, punch from the hip and do many things that might be considered poor form by a kickboxer. More modern arts seem to prefer a structure more similar to western boxing. I like to think that people back then weren't dumb. Some of the systems seem to have a lot of sophistication so I assume they had good reason for doing things the way they did?

Thanks.

Burton

You are right that people (fighters) back then weren't dumb, but many "traditional" martial arts are less than a hundred years old. I believe that fight training for warriors was much simpler and more arduous than what people get to see now. The average person will not train as a warrior actually trained, because they do not have the motivation- immenent warfare. Therefore, the more appealing aspects of the arts are given to the masses, and are mistaken for traditional warrior training.

__________________
"If you want to learn how to fight, you must practice fighting against someone who is fighting back!" Burton Richardson

aku aku

Would you say that the kung fu, etc that fighters used to practice actually looked different from todays "traditional" arts or was the training just approached differently?

Thanks.

medic06

I think the training back then was alot more rigorous and more combat orientated. The focus was problably more on living to the next day than to look good. In that respect I think it was more "quick and dirty" than what we have today.

gong fu

i agree with what people have said in this thread, its good to see this,


i train the traditional way, and it is alot different and for acctual battle, not for sport, self defence wise it does the job, but might land you in jail.


peace.

__________________
-Before Guns Men Had Balls-
-Shaolin Warrior-

Burton

I am confident that the warriors of old sparred each day. They had to in order to develop fighting skills that worked in battle. The technique is just part of it. You can learn to swing a baseball bat with good technique in ten minutes. That doesn't mean that you can go into a game and be an effective hitter. If you aren't sparring, you aren't training the way the gung-fu fighters used to train, and you won't develop skills that work in a real situation. You will only have techniques, like swinging the bat, without any real practice. So in my opinion, if you want to be traditional, spar more. Aloha!

__________________
"If you want to learn how to fight, you must practice fighting against someone who is fighting back!" Burton Richardson

bbbb

..is entertainment...that's why they stand the way they do- it's two people trading blow's woth rule's on what is fair.

The flat footedness of traditional martial art's goes with the idea of destroying your opponent in two to three second's...for the purposes of self defence and not aesthetic's! IMHO.

__________________
Use attack as your indestructable spiritual strength.
Awareness is the spirit.
Attack is the foundation of thought.
Attack like thunder from the heaven's.
Retreat like dust of the earth.