Bao wrote:
People can be interested in a the practical method and the history of an art. They are not mutually exclusive.
Theory has always been explaining models for practical things and it has meant ways to organize practical knowledge into teaching models. Theory is mostly nothing more than an intellectual coat hanger, it helps people keep what they learn organized and separated. Thus theory Is hard to avoid if you are interested in teaching or if you want to understand your own learning process. That means you need to intellectualize it. If someone says that the best way to develop punching power is to hit a bag 1000 times every day, it might be an expression of practical knowledge. But for anyone else who hasn't done that for ten years, that's a theory. You teach people about practical methods by theory. Your teacher says "Punch that bag to test your punching power". Before you have done that it's theory. So if you are interested in learning practical methods and have no interest of theory, don't learn a system, because any martial arts system is practical knowledge organized in theory. So if someone is studying a any kind of traditional martial art, even boxing, and says that he or she is not interested in theory, that person is just talking ridiculous crap. Ignorant to say the least.
I never dissed anyone's interest in both practical method and the history of an art. Don't know where you're getting that from what I wrote. I'm referring to the innumerable discussions here which have had practical methods offered up in detail for people asking about such things, and all but a very few have ever taken those practical methods any further than their computer screen. Least of which are the people who started the thread asking for practical method. So yeah, my remark isn't all that stupid. It's actually on the money.
Your example of someone developing punching power from theory is what's stupid. Mechanics and body-type are the basis for that. After punching power is got, the trainer and trainee have a concrete method with no theory required.
So if someone is studying a any kind of traditional martial art, even boxing, and says that he or she is not interested in theory, that person is just talking ridiculous crap. Ignorant to say the least
Lots of people have taken their art into practical arenas without any theories on how or what. Happens all the time. I've never personally been interested in tai chi theory and haven't spent more than a minute thinking about it in the years I've spent practicing. I organize it around Neutrality Principle and Personal Combat, so theory is nothing but a waste of time.
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 5:17 am