Matt Polly interview. American Shaolin
Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 10:10 pmhttp://tma4mma.com/shaolin-sanda-mma-matt-polly/
Interesting stuff.
"As I mentioned in American Shaolin, the idea of chī kǔ (吃苦 ), eating bitterness, is central to the Chinese understanding of learning martial arts, and the value of suffering. And the way in which that contrasts with the western idea of trying to avoid pain in any way. We have an entire society built around the idea of alleviation of pain. We have an opioid crisis because we’re trying to avoid all sorts of pain. I admire progress and evolution in the way mixed martial artists do, but I have a nostalgia and sentimentality for tradition and the way that old man practised the same form for 60 years. There’s something beautiful about that and a sadness in seeing that wiped away as MMA goes like a bulldozer through the traditional kung fu and karate world."
Review of American Shaolin:
"Feeling insecure about his manliness, the book's author decided to drop out of school and go and train Shaolin Kungfu at the Shaolin Temple in China. After arriving in China he did not know where the Shaolin Temple was, asking the locals, they gave him conflicting statements, including it no longer exists, he turns out it had been destroyed but was now rebuilt and he managed to find it. After doing traditional Shaolin for three months he switched to Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) because they seemed to be much better at fighting.
If you are looking for Kungfu stuff, there is a explanation of how Iron Body (body toughening)techniques such as Iron Forearms and Iron Crotch are done along with some basic Sanda theory. Some Iron Body techniques can cause deformitys, Iron Fist causes oversized hands, Iron Spear Hand results in all fingers been crushed to the length of the pinky and all the Iron Head practitioners had knots on their head and spoke with stutters. Amazon has restrictions on what can be said in reviews so all I will say about Iron Crotch is that it sounds very painful to practice!
The book claims that the two finger handstand some monks can perform is only possible for teenagers, adults have greater bone and muscle density making them too heavy for two fingers to support.
A lot of the book is about Chinese culture, the current economic changes and what it is like to be a white man there in the 90's.
I found this book is be a fun and informative read."
Interesting stuff.
"As I mentioned in American Shaolin, the idea of chī kǔ (吃苦 ), eating bitterness, is central to the Chinese understanding of learning martial arts, and the value of suffering. And the way in which that contrasts with the western idea of trying to avoid pain in any way. We have an entire society built around the idea of alleviation of pain. We have an opioid crisis because we’re trying to avoid all sorts of pain. I admire progress and evolution in the way mixed martial artists do, but I have a nostalgia and sentimentality for tradition and the way that old man practised the same form for 60 years. There’s something beautiful about that and a sadness in seeing that wiped away as MMA goes like a bulldozer through the traditional kung fu and karate world."
Review of American Shaolin:
"Feeling insecure about his manliness, the book's author decided to drop out of school and go and train Shaolin Kungfu at the Shaolin Temple in China. After arriving in China he did not know where the Shaolin Temple was, asking the locals, they gave him conflicting statements, including it no longer exists, he turns out it had been destroyed but was now rebuilt and he managed to find it. After doing traditional Shaolin for three months he switched to Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) because they seemed to be much better at fighting.
If you are looking for Kungfu stuff, there is a explanation of how Iron Body (body toughening)techniques such as Iron Forearms and Iron Crotch are done along with some basic Sanda theory. Some Iron Body techniques can cause deformitys, Iron Fist causes oversized hands, Iron Spear Hand results in all fingers been crushed to the length of the pinky and all the Iron Head practitioners had knots on their head and spoke with stutters. Amazon has restrictions on what can be said in reviews so all I will say about Iron Crotch is that it sounds very painful to practice!
The book claims that the two finger handstand some monks can perform is only possible for teenagers, adults have greater bone and muscle density making them too heavy for two fingers to support.
A lot of the book is about Chinese culture, the current economic changes and what it is like to be a white man there in the 90's.
I found this book is be a fun and informative read."