by Enjinno9 on Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:09 am
I'll be moving back to the states, probably boston or ny, from abroad in a year or two, and I'm scouting Xingyi/IMA instructors in advance.
A short while ago, I had the opportunity to take a couple of classes with a well-reputed Xingyi teacher in the Boston area. He was a nice guy who played his cards very close to his chest, as wise teachers tend to do, and I could tell he had proved himself long ago. I respect him; I don't, however, think I could become one of his long-term students, because his courses were light on application and, according to his students, never included sparring. The students themselves weren't there to fight; they wanted healthy exercise. There wasn't much discipline.
I understand the master surely has several private reasons for not emphasizing application; his attitude is also fashionable in China right now. My own master in Shanxi, who grew up in the old, harsher system, actively dissuades us students from hard sparring. And now, when one approaches many students of IMA and asks about hard contact training, many reply, "Well, I'm not going to go out and start fights," as if there were no difference between the two. And I'm sick of getting thrown around like a rag doll or punched into Swiss cheese every time I step up to wing chun students or my best friend, who takes Pai Lum, because their teachers teach the practical core of the art and, lo and behold, what they teach works.
Are there any Xingyi and/or bagua teachers in Boston or NY who push their students hard and commit to combat? If I have to, I'll find an EMA teacher who does, then try to understand it in an IMA context, though I'd prefer not to.
Thanks, all.