Where do you folks see Chinese Martial Arts in 10 years from now? Will they still be the same?.... or will they evolve as some schools have.....adapting to the changing minds of the American Student?
Yes, In America. Additionally, do you believe the instructors will teach the old ways, or will they change and or adapt the arts to fit into the need of the student, or what the Martial "Trend" will be in 2017? Kew-Do
OK.......... think about where you live, and apply the same question then, "Think Outside of the Box". Kew-Do
Though MMA/BJJ/MT is gonna be popular for years to come. I see Kung Fu coming into the spotlight again, simply cause of this. For years now, alot of Kung Fu schools only focused on forms and point sparring. These days while those skills still exist, more and more Kung Fu schools are incorporating grappling, and are fighting full contact in both Sanshou and MMA.
I think we will be seeing an increase in the levels of contact employed across the board and an increased ressurection of lost arts and techniques (e.g. Shuai Jiao). In essence it is returning to where it started; which really has been a common theme for martial arts throughout the ages. "The field of martial arts is particularly rife with flamboyant showmanship, with commercial popularization and profiteering on the part of those who teach the science and those who study it." ~Miyamoto Musashi Each time through the cycle another step of evolution is taken.
I'm a bit curious. In the past, the martial arts survived because their practitioners didn't die when they used them. Today though, what is the survival criteria of a martial art? What are the characteristics that cause them to be preserved? Or are we doomed to an eternity of form fairies, continuous sparring that show nothing of the CMA flavor and endless McKwoonism/marketing? In the past, we saw a lot of full contact without safety equipment, a lot of fists breaking bones, feet crushing internal organs, and so on and so forth. Today, it's few and far between. Today's culture has changed, so the martial arts change with it. I'm afraid that this time through the circle, we're going to lose something.
depends on the teacher...my sifu teaches the traditional way so if i go on to teach .. then thats what i will be teaching. many schools are changing and today and you dont really see the old styles anymore. partly because of how MA's are viewed today - and in this part of the world- compared to 100 years ago. Another thing is the cultural differences that many instructors have to work around. 10 years from now i think CMA's will have to change... they already have here...so im pretty sure that this will continue
Well, I’d have to say that the “survival criteria” would be more along the lines of “proof” rather than fantasy. While we’re not off lopping heads off ala the Three Kingdoms Period, proving your worth in martial arts (or style) is done today by how well you can hold your own against other skilled opponents. Well, what exactly are you wanting to see regarding the “CMA flavor”, per se? It seem we’ve more or less HEARD about “…fists breaking bones, feet crushing internal organs…”, rather than actually seeing it. Growing up through CMAs, I can say that I’ve heard my fair share of tales like this. But realizing them in reality is a different story altogether. The way I see it, if any of these tales were true, then they would’ve been seen by more than CMAists by now. Nothing’s secret anymore, there are no super-techniques and pigs don’t fly. With that said, Chinese martial arts will go where CMAists WANT it to go. If continuing to complain about how this person don’t have “the real _ing _un”, or how that person doesn’t represent CMAs because they didn’t necessarily jump into some sort of Fu Jow stance, then it’ll go nowhere. Only the people within a group can help that group; only Chinese martial artists can help Chinese martial artists. In other words, quit whining about lineages, forms, subsets of schools and overcomplicated, obtuse techniques. And instead, start putting some leather and feet to faces already. But that’s just my two cents.
There always has been more to the picture then combat effectiveness, there has to be for the art to survive. Without the discipline to practice and the honorifics to soothe social interaction between soldiers the art would die as well. With discipline, courtesy and structure you have an army, without them you have a situation where even a perceived slight could be the catalyst for your soldiers to kill each other. The Miyamoto Musashi quote listed above is bemoaning the same situation in Japan in the 1600s. It seems to be a perpetual issue. It's been going on for centuries and hasn't neutered martial arts yet. The golden age for the martial arts was the pre-firearms period; nothings been quite the same since firearms were introduced. The hand-to-hand skills took a backseat in warfare but still found a niche in the civilian world. We also have fewer injuries and a much greater productive time in our lifespans with which to refine our skills. Injuries that we would consider a training setback would be career-enders for people of the past. With the current growing popularity of fight sports and MMA I don't foresee a move to the more esoteric/philosophic side of the arts in the near future. In order for that shift to occur the level of violence both in sport fighting and in everyday life has to become so problematic that people desire that type of change.
one thing I can guarantee will still be around in 10 years time: politics of kungfu, students and teachers spending more time arguing over who is more from direct lineage, or who is registered with the better association rather then everyone coming together and working together to make something more of themselves. If anything there may be more students who go off on their own to train in different schools and compete using what they have learnt.
10 years is nothing, especially in CMA. Yet there'll be huge changes in Western interpretations and uses of CMA in that time to come. Fortunately, a Christian/Republican numbnuts will outlaw all MA in America by 2011 . We will surely have video internet forums by then . We'll be video warriors protecting our identities with mysterious disguises and super-hero costumes! Rgds, David
Just real quick as my internet is flakey while I'm travel. I think that the claim that injury never happened in the past is a pretty fantastic claim, myself. Even in my McKwoon, I've seen a kick snap someone's arm, and the poor guy had to be taken to the hospital. I've seen kidneys get hit in past streetfights and the guy was ****ing blood for a while. I've even seen someone's ribs get broken through a protective pad during a tournament. Heck, I've personally had two of my toes broken in the same POING SPARRING round. Perhaps you've never seen these things, if so, you're lucky. I'm not talking about touching lightly and suddenly your organs explode. I'm talking about things like getting your kidneys hit, as above, or causing your heart to be compressed three inches like what they measured in National Geographic's Fight Science, or just having your bones broken due to impact. I'm NOT talking about anything mystical, because it never was. Give me a break.
Well the "mystic" stuff was what I was touching on; didn't mean to "attack" you, dude. But this type of stuff does add to the problems of CMAs and their proverbial future. Obvious fighting injuries aside (like my jamming a knee during Xia Lai Jiao--sp?), CMAs' future will be decided on how much reality its practitioners are willing to accept. Believe you me though, the more reality that IS accepted, the less fairies and Paper Tigers we'll have involved within it. Including on these boards.
Honestly, I think there will be a lot of change in the commercialized, mainstream face of martial arts, due to a large degree of dissatisfaction with fake masters who over inflate themselves. Much of the publicized martial arts stuff will have an overhaul, to say the least, due to recent developments in competitionand media. On the other hand, there are real good quality teachers still out there. They don't advertise for students, they don't post videos on youtube, and they have no interest in participating or worrying about competitions. Their studens are satisfied and confident, and their styles will continue to be taught in the same good, traditional manner that they have been, because people are happy when they learn the real thing.
Well I'm very sure that they're satisfied and confident. Mostly due to the fact that they almost never venture out of their circles in order to find out if what they do actually works. As the term goes, "Ignorance is bliss". Under that ideal, I'd be happy too. Till I get hit in the face by someone who isn't a apart of my clique, somehow.
I feel like San Shou is going to become a more important part of CMA in the future, especially if people like Cung Le continue to grow in fame and popularize the sport. Also, I feel like there's starting to be a resurgence of traditional CMA alongside performance wushu in China itself. From what I understand, traditional forms divisions are becoming more popular.
Yep, feel the same way. To me, Sanshou is the future and with Cung Le and others as strong examples, it can be more along the lines of Chinese "Vale Tudo". So essentially with groundwork, Sanshou will be free fighting in its purest form. Via heavy emphasis of CMAs, of course. At least that's how I see it. As far as traditional forms are concerned, I think we've pretty much had enough of the Forms demos. Unless you're talking about traditional forms as the entire Fists/Styles themselves. Then I'd like to actually see them fight efficiently as well.
