Yeah, now that I have your attention, I have no video. Sadly, i wasn't logged into my youtube account and don't have the video saved in my history. However, I know it was a video about Shotokan, TKD, Aiki Jujitsu, or Kajukenbo. It wasn't so much the video that resonated with me but a comment that the instructor made. He was talking about the need to study multiple styles in this time. However, one thing he stressed was this. Get a strong foundation in a martial art before you start merging one style with other styles. He stressed a black belt imparting one with a basic foundation on which to build and expand. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with the Master? He also eluded to the fact that Bruce Lee never completed his Wing Chun studies but imagine if he had achieved a high rank before he started to merge WC with Savate and other styles?
I think you need a solid base in universal principles of movement before you start learning things on you own time but so long as the classes are good (competent instruction and regular resistant training) I've never seen any problems with people learning multiple styles at once. The only real issues I've seen have come from poor instruction and exclusively compliant training.
Kurtka, agreed. I think the teacher was eluding to all of these new styles that are popping up that aren't complete. Meaning the people who are merging multiple styles don't have a good enough understanding of they styles that they are merging before they do it. However, if you are studying Muay Thai and Shotokan or Judo and Aikido there should be no problem because one can gain something from all of them without turning them into something else, right? Personally, I'm in between martial arts right now. One of the schools I'm looking at offers ITF TKD, Judo and Kali. At first I thought it might be a McDojo but, thanks to folks on this website, I learned it is a very good school. I also have Shotokan and Muay Thai on my list as well as Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Will I get to all of them? Nah. Kajukenbo is on my short list too. Look at what happened with Kajukenbo. All of the guys who created it were experts in their respective art. They all chose Kenpo as the base but added Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Kenp and Chinese Boxing. Each of them crosstrained the others but everyone brought proficiency and created one of them most powerful self defense systems on earth. That wouldn't have happened if someone dabbled in Kenpo and Chinese Boxing would it?
