Tai Chi in the cage

[northern_mantis]

Hi all

Looks like this is a new promotion in the UK. Nick Osipczak is headlining the event with his combination of Tai Chi and BJJ. Will be interesting to see, just about to have a search to see if there is any live streaming of the event.

http://www.mactochampionships.com/player/nick-osipczak/

[jonathan.bluestein]

Unfortunately, I could not locate any Taiji in the following videos of his:

[I am...]

Honestly Jonathan?

If it was a forms video you were posting, then I suppose that would be a valid concern. Those are videos of fights and it is entirely possible that that is what his Tai Chi looks like (at the level he has internalized the concepts at present) when mapped onto the platform one needs to fight MMA at that level of competition. I don't think you have a leg to stand on criticizing someones performance there unless you have stepped up and done the same at a similar level.

I have personally put it on the line many times and while I may prefer how some fighters fight more than others, I generally don't criticize what they are or are not doing well unless there is a glaring flaw that implies they are out of their league. The realities of being in front of a well-trained athlete that has dropped weight just like you, trained his ass off just like you, and sacrificed just like you, when you both know you are fighting at the same time, in front of a crowd of people is just not something 90% of martial artists I meet understand.

Sorry if my post sounds abrupt but I would level the same argument on those that delude themselves enough to think they could do better when watching the NFL or NBA athletes doing their jobs as well.

[neijia_boxer]

yeap, pretty much what I Am.. Said.

There was a video of him doing Tai Chi but maybe they took it offline.

I def started interviewing guys who actually put it on the line with a podcast show, i just couldn't get the sound right, and my time putting into it sucked out time better needed for studying traditional chinese medicine. I def had a wide list of former fight competitors and fight coaches who agreed to do some.

I refused to interview that 90% of guys who haven't braved using the kung fu to test their own abilities in a legal and sportman-like environment. a few of the guys were internal artists who competed in Lei Tai, San shou, and push hands. Most the people who get interviewed on these other popular internal arts "fighter" shows have nothing to show for it but some pretty forms and a lot of talk.

http://polariswushu.net/blog/2015/01/20 ... r-edition/

[Ian]

What I am... said.

[Bhassler]

+1

<snip>unless there is a glaring flaw that implies they are out of their league.

You mean like lying on the floor drooling? 'Cause that's pretty much how I've ended up playing with guys who are out of my league. The nice thing about that is that it's pretty easy to come to a consensus about what the flaws are.

[Rabbit]

I cant see the vids here at work

Is this the same Nick who trains with Steve Morris?

[cdobe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsdiJ52T4wI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QADhidajz60

[mrtoes]

I cant see the vids here at work

Is this the same Nick who trains with Steve Morris?

Nope, doesn't look anything like him. Also doubt Steve's guys would be seen dead cross training tai-chi to be honest!

[GrahamB]

Fighting looks like fighting. This continues to amaze some...

[jonathan.bluestein]

My argument has been:

This person claims to practice Taiji Quan and use it in his fighting arsenal, yet this is not actually seen in his fighting.


People who commented on my reply reasoned I meant:

This guy does not fight well or does not know how to fight.

And also took care to stress that:

My argument is invalid because you do not fight in the ring or cage.


_______________________

False logic abounds.

My further comments following the posting of his Yang 24 video and push-hands video:

- This is very low level Taiji.

- Claiming that because he can practice Taiji on that level he has "Taiji in his fighting arsenal" is akin to claiming Anderson Silva is a Wing Chun player because he likes to play around with a wooden dummy.

- There is no correlation between that man being an undoubtedly good MMA fighter to him being not so good at Taiji.

- Taiji, like all the other Internal arts, cannot be used as a fighting art until your body has acquired a certain structure. This is why with the Internal arts, self-defense and fighting takes more time to get to. This man does not feature the structure of the art in any way, shape or form - not in his fighting, and even not in his casual training yet. This is fine. He might be a great Taiji player pne day, and he already knows how to fight in general. However, his striking and fighting ability he learned by practicing skills which are not Taiji.

[GrahamB]

It's an interesting exercise in philosophy to construct these mental castles in the air, but it's all just endless attempts to define something. This is Tai Chi, this is not Tai Chi, etc...

None of which have any relation to actually doing it.

None of this really exists beyond mental abstraction.

[mrtoes]

All that matters is that we are clear about our practice and why we do it. Personally I don't see any obvious sign of tai-chi training in his fights but who cares - it's obvious clear to him why he trains and he's winning fights.

[Dmitri]

So a guy studies tai chi, gets into the ring, and says "this is MA from which I draw my stand-up and striking game"

A guy on the internet watches his clips and posts:

his striking and fighting ability he learned by practicing skills which are not Taiji.

Whose opinion should we listen to? The mind boggles!

Who cares how good or proper (anyone thinks) it is. It is what it is.

[middleway]

None of this really exists beyond mental abstraction.

truth bomb from Mr B. bravo sir.