Bhassler wrote:MaartenSFS wrote:To say that MMA has achieved as much, even more, in twenty odd years is preposterous at best. As I said before, MMA has got a lot of good going for it, but if CMA (and other TCMA) were added to it, it could become far greater, a sum of Earth's martial achievements.
MMA already pulls extensively from boxing, Thai boxing, various forms of jujitsu, and greco-roman wrestling. The wrestling alone dates back to the 8th century BC. Taiji is about 600 years old-- a mere baby by comparison. So your notion that CMA has all this history that MMA does not simply doesn't hold water. Do you seriously think some guy who practices kung fu in the park after working in the factory all day is breaking his art down with greater intensity and sophistication than a professional athlete who trains all day every day with a group of coaches who train professional fighters all day every day?
I'm not an MMA guy and I don't buy into the notion that sport fighting is the best preparation for street encounters, or in fact anything other than sport fighting, but I've been around enough to know that the gap between even a very talented and dedicated amateur and a true pro is enormous, and also to know that when you get to the highest level of something there are more convergences than divergences. Those differences are really, really important, but if you think that TMA have not been very seriously examined by all those ultra-competitive MMA guys who are busting their asses to try to make it and put food on the table or get the million-dollar endorsement contract, then you are either very arrogant or just don't have a great understanding of how the world works.
I can understand your point of view. I would say, though, that Taijiquan, for example, is not just six hundred years old. It's just a label that someone recently put on one variation of a martial lineage stretching back God knows how far.
When I say that CMA are more sophisticated, my meaning is not that other arts such as boxing are unsophisticated. What I mean to say is that there are a lot of skills that have been lost or were never even developed [to such a degree] in other regions of the world. That's especially true for IMA. And I'm not talking about "sorcery" here, but actual things that can easily be taught and learned with tangible combat applications. For sure, what Ali practiced was also some form of "sorcery" and I definetely wouldn't take him on. The difference between pro fighters and mere mortals is huge yes, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a whole lot that they could learn in China to improve their game. That's my main point. Let's just say that the power generating methods in CMA are very different and that they are worth learning and leave it at that.
I do not think that serious pro fighters have examined CMA in depth because there are so few combat-proficient teachers out there that haven't spun a web of bullshit around themselves that they just wouldn't go out of their way to find them. Even when we get television programmes like Fight Quest and Human Weapon I never felt like they were looking for the right people and that Kungfu Quest was the same. Even in China they aren't that easy to find, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth looking for.
If you're looking for my agenda, it is this;
I took me seven years here to find a true master and during most of that time I believed that CMA were dead and that all that was left was Wushu dancing and Sanda (at least better than TKD..). Knowing what I now know it should be easier to find proper masters in other cities in China. When I finally found that master (and others that he introduced to me), their skills were awe-inspiring and totally different than anything that I've experienced in the previous twelve years, including MMA, boxing, Judo, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Fencing, FMA, Karate, wrestling, Kendo, Sanda etc. And what do I find? Everyone either wants to play computer games or wants to do fucking Taekwondo or Sanda, MMA and believe that CMA are worthless. Masters are struggling to find disciples to pass on their knowledge to. Many arts have already been lost and more are on the way. That sickens me. So my agenda is to promote CMA before it's too late. There you go.
