u/dragonsign asked about my progress in another post. My thoughts were kind of long winded so I figured I’d post something new rather than make a comment.

Hung ga practitioner for about a year. The focus has been mainly on forms and drills.

Overall, I like it and intend to continue learning and practicing.

My background - modern combat sports to a fairly high level. Former amateur fighter and have been striking coach at a couple mma gyms, cornered fighters, etc. so that is the lens I am approaching things from.

Pros- Very traditional elements, which is what I was looking by for. Kung fu culture and fiction has always been one of my interests, so wanted to connect with that a bit more directly, and I feel like I have. And it’s another physical activity I can practice as I age.

Get all the stereotypical kung fu stuff. Forms, various traditional conditioning methods (three star, iron palm, etc), the home made dit da jow. Other aspects of tadtional Chinese medicine such as acupoints, meridians, qi/ging.

I’m not a big believer in any of it, but I enjoy learning it just for the taste of authenticity.

Cons- My criticisms are mostly specific to my particular school, not really about the system as a whole.

The one thing that I think carries over more widely is a sort of delusion about the martial arts that many traditional schools encourage. We should focus on what we are, a cool traditional style with interesting cultural ties and some interesting techniques.

Instead, there is often a bit of denigration of other styles, especially anything modern like kickboxing and grappling. I’m not terribly offended or anything, but it just comes off as uninformed. So, I have to do a bit of tongue biting from time to time.

The future- I’m looking forward to learning more of the traditional techniques and integrating them into my base, making it my own. It’s already been interesting contrasting the body mechanics of Hung Ga with my kickboxing experience, so interested to see what other differences and similarities there are. I’ve been meaning to write up some of these thoughts, perhaps I’ll share in the future.

Definitely looking forward to some weapon training and weapons forms.

I have been gone too long. Looks like I am not the only one. I am most definitely biased, but SKF styles embody what TCMA should be recognized for and we have a special responsibility to keep that alive. I would love to see this sub become more active and I'm happy to do my part to help (as soon as I figure out what that is and how to use this damned app 😀 )

Born a Masshole🖕 then Flo-Grown🐊🌴☀️ and Dragon 🐲 till I die.

🐉🤘

/martialarts had a poll 21 days ago about who would be willing to compete if reddit ever held a tournament. There were a lot of people down to compete so I figure let's actually make it happen!

I run a martial arts group in NYC, we are about to start doing monthly hard sparring day again and I thought that would make for a great environment for the qualifiers. My Idea is to have two hopefuls spar three special* 2 minute rounds and the 'winner' moves on to the tournament, do this for the next three months and have the tournament be around July.

There will be people with extended grappling and striking experience present to supervise, the locale will be a grappling school in Astoria, though the actual tournament might be held somewhere else. Obviously this is not a sanctioned event and no pros will be allowed to compete, certain protection will have to be worn, and liable forms will have to be signed. Weight classes will probably by divided into 3 divisions. If you are interested and/or have any questions just send me a message or chat. Hope to see some of you there!

It'd be a novice level Tournament, so no 'veteran' level fighters (more than 10 fights, any martial art tournament counts as 1 fight) or pro fighters.

Absolute rules are as follows: (no strikes to the back of the head allowed, no elbows unless both agree and have elbow pads, no knees to the face, no ground and pound, no twisting leg locks, no spine locks, no groin strikes, no eyepokes, no slamming, no spiking people on their head/neck, no jumping guard, no scissors throw, no oblique kick to the leg)

Fight format will be as followed: Three 2 minute rounds. First round is called Style Wars, you are to adhere as much as possible to the ruleset/strikes of your respective martial art (sans the ones that were already stablished as not allowed in the absolute rules) the one who veers the most away from their style is the loser of the round. No finishes, must go the full 2 minutes.

Second round is the Wild Card round, chance will decide what rules you will both fight under. The one who sticks the most to the style wins the round. Finish depends on the ruleset, E.g. if Judo ruleset is stablished then if you get an Ippon you win the round.

Third round is an MMA round. The one who dominates wins the round. Finishes allowed via TKO at referees discretion, tap, or verbal tap.

It will be full contact "friendly" sparring essentially, so no trying to knock out or damage your opponent if he is already compromised (there will be a referee to make sure). Gear at minimum will be gloves (at least 12 oz), shinguards, groin cup, mouth guard, and headgear up to the individual.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

Question for all the CLF practitioners out there:

If you had to choose only 3 empty hand forms to teach CLF (a beginner, intermediate, and advanced form), what would they be?

Hello! I'm trying to write a character for a story, and have been trying to do research for a hot minute on Kung fu. My only introduction to this style of Kung Fu, as well as principles and ideals is very (barely) surface level, and I want to put more effort then just I watched a few action movies and saw some YouTube video that we 2 minutes long. If you could suggest some places to look , or even a decent channel I would greatly appreciate it. Or even first hand would be a great help if you would be willing. Thank you for your time!

What are the characteristics of Bak Mei, Wing Chun and Southern Praying Mantis?

Is he doing okay?

Dear Kung Fu brothers or sisters,

My name is Xueying Cao, a Ph.D. student at Zhejiang University in China. We are researching the spread of Chinese martial arts in the world. This research aims to explore the influencing factors of the international spread of Chinese martial arts so as to promote its global development better. We would be very grateful if you could help us complete the questionnaire <Survey of Overseas Chinese Martial Arts Disseminators> or the questionnaire <Survey of Overseas Chinese Martial Arts Practitioners>. It is anonymous. Your responses are highly appreciated and will contribute to our understanding of this topic.

We created questionnaires using Google Forms. Here are the links:

<Survey of Overseas Chinese Martial Arts Disseminators> is for Sifu: https://forms.gle/cmTEwTeFKHb4W5Mr7

<Survey of Overseas Chinese Martial Arts Practitioners> is for students or disciples: https://forms.gle/p8urPboJaGX1nnqE7

Any comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated! We are looking forward to your responses, and thank you in advance for your help and cooperation. We hope you and the loved ones take the necessary precautions and stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Xueying Cao 曹雪莹

Thesis Advisor: Xiaomei Lin 林小美

Department of Sports Science, Zhejiang University

866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou

Email: xy.cao@zju.edu.cn

One of the things I've been criticised on reddit for (but not ever in real life) is the focus on dealing with the drug afflicted and mentally ill.

Those who do so, hang a sign around their neck saying "I have no real life experience at all, and I have no idea what I'm talking about. Watch me eat cheese."

And yet, these utterly inexperienced clods, continue to talk. Which is pretty weird when you think about it, but as a girl I know once said "They have no understanding, yet they have opinions all the same."

In the deluded opinions of the 'martial artist' they will get in a fight by walking down the street and someone will say "Ha! I am from a rival school! Now let us kung fu to see whose kung fu is stronger!"

Yeah, that never happens unless you are dealing with a crazy person.

Drugs are the other factor. My city has a particular problem with cocaine and meth, neither of which are known for producing rational behaviour.

It also has a major problem with steroids, and the cocaine and steroids combination is not a good one.

if you're training does not involved learning how to deal with the drug afflicted and mentally ill, your training is not appropriate for my city and most likely....is not appropriate for any city in the western world, or anywhere else.

The drug afflicted and mentally ill, are unlikely to respond to reason.

I am on the smaller side of being a 'big dude' at 6'1" and 220lbs, and trust me, even if it looks like you could crush them like a bug, the 125lbs weakling on meth....doesn't view you as being that big.

Which is sad of course, especially if you have to introduce them to a wall, but the point remains.

Who on Earth would you ever be fighting if you were behaving well?

The drug afflicted and mentally ill, for only they are so fucking out of it to have a go despite rationality.

Be aware that whatever descalation training you have done, or whatever skills you may have, it doesn't always work on people fucked out of their mind on coke or meth.

Martial arts of all varities must be based in reality or it is no more than waving your arms and legs around while yelling.

Consider this carefully.

Only through serious training will this be understood.

Take good care of yourselves, and try and stay safe.

When it comes to the direct real life application of 'martial arts' understanding where you are is of direct importance and something far too many fail to contemplate beyond 'don't go to the really shitty areas'.

My city has a lot of problems with drugs of various types both prescription and otherwise, and this causes a lot of 'interesting' problems.

In the more shitty areas (although not confined to just those) there are a fair amount of people with meth and heroin abuse problems with correspoding anti-social behaviours.

In the wealthy and well to do areas in my city...it's cocaine and steroids amongst the young and wealthy which breeds a total disconnect from reality and a staggering degree of entitlement and arrogance.

De-escalation with someone under the influence of drugs or mental health issues is something that doesn't always work so well unfortunately.

But understanding where you're going and what you're quite likely to walk into, is a basic aspect of tactics that many who practice 'martial arts' seem to neglect all too often.

Tactics and strategy are your first line of defence. Keep that in mind and may it serve you well.

Take good care of yourselves.

So I was wondering: what exactly are the main differences between Choy Lee Fut and Lama Pai?

I've always been interested in both systems. On one hand there seems to be a good deal of similarities between Lama Pai and Choy Lee Fut, but I always see it stressed that Lama Pai is very different in how it is applied, perhaps even in comparison with all other TCMA. Can anyone elaborate on the unique differences of Lama Pai, especially in terms of the hand techniques/seeds/elements? Like, is a "gwa-kup" in Lama Pai very different from CLF?

bonus question: What are the differences between Lama Pai and Hop Gar?

One of the things that I tell people in real life, is to watch for the small. That is the indicator that will lead to the large, and spotting that early is essential.

Sometimes it's easy, if the guy getting recylcing out of the garbage is wearing a bucket on his head, that's a good indication he might not be all that okay and may well turn around and scream:

"DON'T YOU TRY STEAL MY RECYCLIN YOU CUNT!" while brandishing a potato or something, but the small sign was the dress sense not the potato brandishing.

While waiting on the street today, the small sign was a small kid strutting. It was a very small sign, but it indicated the large later to come. He was walking around like he was the toughest thing since forever, which I found hilarious so I turned and looked at him and he stopped.

I thought that was weird, but didn't think anything of it, but it later showed that it pays to pay attention.

Quite a few g-funks rolled down the street that day, and while none of them where what I'd consider particularly serious, the same thing was present in all of them.

They were not entirely okay.

It was about then that I went "Hrmmm. Weird mood in the air."

One incident of crazy road rage screaming later and I thought "Oh yes, this is not exactly normal."

Another thing happened that might have turned a little bit more serious but thankfully didn't, but the point is...the small was there to observe.

Because that's how it always begins. Verrrrryyy small.

N.B.-There's a lot in Big Trouble In Little China, including some very good old school Southern Style Kung Fu.

The main branches of Southern Praying Mantis that I usually see are Kwong Sai, Jook Lum, and Chow Gar. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what are some unique differences between these lines (and others).

Also, if any of you Southern Mantis guys don't mind answering another question, what is Sam Bo Jin to you (personally in your own training and in your family line)?

Some of you may have noticed in recent times Thunder Arising. Where you are inspired and driven to training for more so than usual, and also noticed that it seems to come and go and consistent training has become somewhat difficult for many people.

The way I go by myself at the moment, is to follow the thunder as I can. When the thunder arises, I train as much as it calls me to while trying to pay attention to not pushing it too far. When it ebbs, I take it a little easier and wait for the next pulse.

This is a great time to be alive, but training has been a little bit tricky for many people during this period, and continues to be so, with either manic fits of exertion that lead to burnout and/or injury, followed by long periods of idleness, or simple idleness and lassitude where even the slightest effort seems difficult for all too many sadly.

Neither beat them or yourselves up too much for this is my recommendation, simply notice things as they are and do what you can to mitigate some of the more untoward circumstances to a positive end both for yourself and others.

If like me you're being roused to train by the thunder arising, remember to take it easy. Training excessively beyond the point of intelligence after a long period of inactivity will only lead to injury, gently increase your training bit by bit until you reach your previous standard and then move beyond.

Don't be surprised it that thunder arises in a most remarkable way however, and if it does, be brave and ride it through to greater heights if you can!

Take good care of yourselves.

Hello there!

It's another /u/TheSolarian personal story with an applied lesson! If you're from /r/martialarts, feel free to go insane immediately, I really won't mind as I'm very used to it right now.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, one of the most easy deterrents is visible musculature. While this doesn't necessarily translate to skill or efficacy when in a fight, and there are countless examples of that on youtube, it is however, when combined with an upright posture and calm demeanour an excellent deterrent to those who aren't behaving themselves well.

Note that it doesn't work so well with the demented, the insane, the meth addled, or the very serious.

But it does work exceptionally well with the retarded who are trying to be tough, but aren't.

Especially when there's a group of them.

This evening there was a mixed group where some of them were good guys, some of them had just listened to too much rap music, and there was that nice point of friction where it could have gone either way.

When I was younger and less experienced, I would have gone immediately towards the more direct shutdown but I've learned over the years and the tactical jacket take off is one of the tools in my arsenal that has always served me well.

While I can fight with one on, I'd rather not, so there's a practical aspect to it as well.

It's fairly simple. Make sure there's space so you don't get the king hit half way through and then....just relax.

If you have visible musculature combined with an upright body posture and calm demeanour, they will get the message.

They certainly did this evening and that calmed the situation down quicker and more effectively than anything else I could have thought of.

The other point is the concept of 'anyone, anywhere, anytime'.

Are you ready to deal with 'anyone, anywhere, anytime'? Note that this doesn't always mean getting into the biff, you may chose to run away, but are you actually ready to do what must be done with anyone, anywhere, anytime?

Or when and if that moment comes when your sick, tired, injured, or not in the mood, will that prey on your mind?

Will you work through whatever issue you have in your mind and adjust accordingly, or will you invent phantoms and excuses to prevent the correct path of action?

Now me, now that the gyms are open again, I've been hitting it and after months of not doing that work, I have a few aches and pains.

While blocking a sly sucker punch from someone I know who really didn't understand what they were doing (but is okay at boxing) while I performed the correct action, I also went "ARGGH. NECK!" as I moved a bit too quickly for my aches and pains.

So I was very well aware of that when this situation started to venture towards the tense side of things.

As the master taught, it is better to avoid conflict when sick, tired, injured or distressed by other matters, noticeably heartbreak.

But as the master also taught, sometimes you don't get a choice in such issues, so learn to work around them.

If you can't work around your issues and injuries, the real world is not always kind, and it may happen when you'd really rather it didn't. For that reason, it is wise to spend some time training to do so.

Take good care of yourselves.

If like me you've been roused by sudden great shaking of the spirit and are getting back into training in a serious way, take it easy.

What you could do once without effort may be a little bit more difficult if you've had some time off.

This is truly a great and amazing time to be alive, where your actions can and will make a potentially greater difference than you ever imagined possible and that may be hampered if you injure yourself.

It's a wonderful time to be alive, but it may well be a bit of a bumpy road ahead, so again, hasten slowly, take it easy, be intelligent as you can, and eat in line with the season in your area as best you can.

Address the elements and don't neglect the healing ancillaries! If you're working on grip and iron fist and palm, don't neglect the hand care recommended, or you may have cause to regret.

The Shen (at least in my case) is roused and energy springs forth and hence training increases in duration and intensity, but if care is not taken the risk of injury likewise increases.

Train well with intelligence and be prepared for things to get a little bit strange on this bumpy road ahead.