practicing different styles

[gojuman]

I am always interested in why some martial artists chose to train in different styles. Or, why after achieving rank in one style switch to another style and then post on their martial arts resume that they have a this belt in that and a that belt in this. Perhaps I have been lucky that my ryu offers so much depth and diversity that I couldn't imagine leaving it to train in another form.

It is not that I live in a vacuum of only thinking that my style is the only style worth studying, because I visit other stylists, attend seminars and read. I do this from the vantage point of adding thought or technology to my style. My Sensei teaches that with out change and evolution we stagnate and ultimately die, so he is constantly infusing new concepts into the form but maintianing the roots and foundation of our style.

Please add you thoughts.

[hwarang]

training in different styles exposes you to techniques and situations that you might not always (or ever) experience in your own style

i don't understand people who quit and switch arts just after being promoted to black belt (or the equivalent) in a particular style, because i think the things you learn after black belt are totally different than the foundation that you have been learning to get there

i think it's good to try different styles, to develop your techniques and to gain more understanding of what you are capable of or not capable in various situations (not everyone out there train only in your style - how would you respond to a technique that you have never seen before)

having said all this, once reaching black belt in a particular style, i would continue in that style while trying others, otherwise you will become average at many styles and never a master in one