Clashing styles

[MMAfreak]

Hey everyone...first time posting. I have studied different styles of martial arts over the past 20 years. I started with Alo Kenpo (from Prof. Chow's Kara Ho) which I loved. It had a great mix of what I would call "traditional" and contemporary applications. I learned kata, but it accounted for maybe 1/3 of what we did. I moved on to American Kenpo and then jiu jitsu. I decided a year ago to try a traditional art again, so I started taking Ryukyu Kempo. I HATED it. It was continuous kata with bunkai and learning about pressure points. The biggest problem I had was learning a way of doing things that went against the way I had learned in the past. One area that stands out is in the way we were taught punching. I don't want to bore with details, but I felt it was significantly different than the style I had developed over the past many years of training. I maybe could have gotten along with the rest of the training if not for the fact that I was continually "corrected" for doing the drills improperly. I also did not really like the "traditional" way of teaching. I thought many of the attacks that we were taught through bunkai to defend were attacks that would never happen today. I have yet to see a person stand square to an opponent and deliver a reverse punch.

What I was wondering is how do others deal with learning different styles? Do you try to forget what you already know and learn a new system? I see lots of people who have several black belts in different styles, and would like to know how they dealt with the changes. I am now in JKD and love it. Some of the things I do are a little different than others and that is applauded. My instructors are always looking for ways to take what I already know and build around it. I felt like my Kempo instructors were only concerned with teaching me what they thought was the only "correct" way to do it.

 

[terryl965]

One of the main problems people have when starting another style is emptying there cup. It is hard enough to learn and twice as hard when you will or choose not to open your eye's to other methods of training. Over forty years I have never understood when people satrt a new journey in MA that they believe the first is the best, it could be but then again maybe the other style would have merit if people would just be open and learn everything and then make a judgement what is best fort hem.

The other thing is this street fighting for survival and training are two seperate things and most people would naver do 90% of what they learned in the training hall on the street, we as fighters adapt to every stituation that we encounter. Best of luck with your new journey.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

The training you learn through traditional kata can be very applicable when you learn it throughly and are able to adapt. Traditional methods tend to drill things over and over to make sure it becomes second nature though it can be boring and repetitive its very effective in the end if you have recieved good instruction to begin with.

 

[Bodhisattva]

I disagree. I think Kata is pretty much a waste of time. That's my opinion.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

I disagree. I think Kata is pretty much a waste of time. That's my opinion.

No offense intended but that is spoken like a true MMA person. I don't know if you have ever had the chance to train in a REALLY good traditional school or with a very good traditional okinawan master but let me tell you its an enlightening experience. There are not that many very thorough traditional schools around there are good practiioners from good schools but how thorough they are is a crap shoot in a way.

 

[Kacey]

I disagree. I think Kata is pretty much a waste of time. That's my opinion.

You are welcome to your opinion. My opinion is that those who discount kata don't really understand how to use them properly. There are quite a few threads on this particular topic that you might wish to investigate, to understand why so many people on this site disagree with your opinion - and to see the rationales of those who agree with you, as well.