by Fubo on Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:11 pm
Yes, here are fat CMA practitioners, but I'd be curious to see how the CMA guys spar with higher levels of resistance on a regular basis look. You can practice the CMA forms and body mechanics without the need of a highly conditioned body, it if you're wanting to train with a lot of resistance and take punishment, you have to be conditioned. My guess is the typical fat CMA guys are not engaging in much sparring with resistance. When all things are equal, skill, body mechanics, timing etc... the person with better conditioning and endurance will have a big advantage. The pic Rob posted about of the Shuai Jiao guys debunks the theory of the fat bellied CMA guys being the norm of the past. And before anyone says "well those guys are external ", look at Sun Lu Tang", Cheng Ting Hua, Zhang Zhao Dong, most of the Xing Yi guys... in the old days, when CMA guys fought, the fat martial artist was the exception, not the rule. Sure, the over development of specific muscle groups beyond their martial function were probably not the goal, but in western martial arts it wasn't the goal either. A certain amount of muscle development as a byproduct of the training happens when you train to have a base level of fighting fitness. Look at Muhammad Ali, he wasn't over developed. Look at the catch wrestlers of the past, many of which are relatively skinny.
Perhaps we can also partly attribute the extra girth around the waist to the individuals diet
Last edited by
Fubo on Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.