Faith in what you do

[spring]

A question springs to mind emerging from this thread. IT calls for a new thread.

[Fubo]

YES! But then it is something quite different from 'cross training'...

Actually no, it's not that different - the point of cross-training is the compliment what one already has with something they don't - good cross-train IMO is built on training arts that work in different ranges but work around similar principles - but in the end, whether you cross-train having mastered one art or not, it's still all cross-training. Sure you may be able to get more out of your 2nd art if you are already experienced in one, but it's still cross-training.

[Ron Panunto]

cross-training is like cross-dressing, it simply does not deal with the underlying problems.

Hey Spring, I don't mind you putting down cross-training, but putting down cross-dressing is just going too far.

[Elliot]

Can anyone name a single "style" of martial art that was not invented by someone who cross trained in several other martial arts?

[Jeice]

Can anyone name a single "style" of martial art that was not invented by someone who cross trained in several other martial arts?

But that is the path of the master!!!11!!one!Eleven.

Mere mortals dare not aspire... unless of course masters were once students themselves... oops.

[Jeice]

Aw, I killed it.

[klonk]

Aw, I killed it.

Better that way, really...

[klonk]

Has anyone noticed unusual movements of cloud formations lately?

[Jeice]

No, but I totally messed with the Zohan the other day.

[MAFAN]

Have faith in the art you have chosen to take you through life. If you have chosen Xingyi or Bagua, find a great teacher and delve deep.

If you need to mix it with anything you have missed the point.

Protect the art by training hard, and it will protect you. Why protect? Because you will keep it alive for the next generation.

If you really think Xingyi or Bagua dont have principles and practices for the ground, or for projectiles weapons, or for escaping the corner, you simply havent gone deep enough into your art.

Dont worry about MMA, BJJ, or ninja fads. or whatever seems to be popular right now - you have chosen to walk an ancient path that will see you fine through life and maybe further.

The everyday gruelling and fun slog of your discipline IS the Way, its enough reward - forget aiming for trophies, prize money , public acclaim or to be on the front of IKF.

This kind of discipline will develop in you qualities that are worth far more than you might imagine right now - that is to say that many of them will be hidden or kept as potential until the time is needed. At that point you and the 'needed' may see some good stuff come out.

Love your teacher by training harder than any other student.

Have faith in your chosen art, it is enough to deal with whatever comes. And if its NOT enough - as Cheng Ting Hua so memorably displayed - you will die living your art.

Spring

Well said mate.
I respect your dedication- without that mentality, no arsenal will be worth squat anyway.
also- a bit abstract but- wooden Buddha good at floating on water- no good at going through fire. and on, and on.
so y'know f8k em if they don't take the point hey? (sorry- I feel a bit direct today.)
It is not hard to find a way to argue with someone

[Bao]

If you need to mix it with anything you have missed the point.

Why people cross-train is usually not about a need to mix their art with an other style.
1. You want to learn about other styles so you learn about their different strength and weekness so you can defeat them more easily.
2. Also if you believe that your martial skill (not style or art knowledge) has gaps or you lack some knowledge that you think is necessary for different reasons, you can take something from another style, lineage or method and later "replace" it with what you get from your main-style. Sometimes when you miss a piece of the great big puzzle, you can fill in the blank space by yourself, to better understand the whole. This can be a short-term solution but it can even help you to solve the puzzle quicker or make you better understand what kind of quality or skill you lack.

Protect the art by training hard, and it will protect you. Why protect? Because you will keep it alive for the next generation.

Actually, in old chinese tradition there is an expression, that you must not just keep something alive, but you must develop it and for every generation it must become better. Otherwise, there will not be any development. Every "true" teacher of CMA will demand their disciples to become even better than himself. And everytime a disciple fails to surpass the master, it will be considered a failure. A teacher I had was very sad because he had not fulfilled his teachers wish and he also understood he could never become as good as his teacher. But therefore it is also very wrong to treat any teacher or master as something that can not be reached. But also, this means that it is wrong to treat an art as something sacred, something that can not or should not be changed. Development, or with the chinese expression "refinment", means change.

anyway, nice post

[Darth Rock&Roll]

sorry to be a dick, but spring, you're a dreamer and with your attitude, see that last line of your own thing. You are setting yourself up for an epic fail if you try to take something as visceral as combat and apply "faith" to it.

That's self evident and proven a million times, nonsense. Just ask all the guys who got killed in the boxer rebellion with all their faith in their secret kungfu. Or ask any number of theory in their head fighters who got their teeth crammed down their gullet in a match if that applies.

NOt faith, hard work, diligent practice and valid methods of testing the development of the skills. Perpetuating your line is gonna get you or someone else hurt. If you want to live in ladebloodyda land that's cool, but don't for a second think you are a "martial" artist by any extent.

You have to be that thing you want to see in order to provide the example. For too long this flaky cryptic nonsense has poisoned martial arts. Time to stop it. THis is the new age and bullshit can't be tolerated anymore.

[Elliot]

It is not hard to find a way to argue with someone

Oh yes it is!

[spring]

Darth, good try, but you have not directly addressed a single point in the original post.

[Chris Fleming]

Well then, have some faith and get into some fights. See how it goes.