To my martial arts Facebook friends, I have a question for you. When you consider the Asian martial arts, there is a general belief that all Asian arts derived from China via kung fu (skilled man). It is my opinion that much of what exists in Chinese martial arts is more choreography than self defense. This is due in part to Chinese arts being intimately connected to Chinese folklore and mysticism. Pace Chinese arts, this is not to imply there is no value in the Chinese arts for fighting. My opinion is that other Asian cultures (Japan, Korea, Thai, Okinawa, etc) saw martial arts qua martial arts. Thus when they were introduced to Chinese arts, they stripped the choreography out and developed legitimate fighting skills without the fluff. As a case example, when you compare Japanese and Okinawan martial arts to Chinese arts, the former are linear and very economic in movement. As a second case example, Chinese sparring, whether in tournaments or in actual death matches, NEVER use the colorful, circular, animal movements of Monkey, Hung Gar, Snake, Tai Chi, Choi li fut, Tiger, or the 5 animal styls in competition. The one exception being Wing Chun. In fact, arts like Judo and Thai boxing practiced their skills against a fluid moving and resisting opponent, without the choreography. This is exactly what you see in BJJ, using only what works. What are your thoughts?
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 01:22:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015