@Guy B: Why Yiquan? ...or anything else in addition to your V.T.

[wckf92]

I am just closing in on being a middle-aged "warhorse" and after 25 years in either BDUs or Blue

Thank you for your service Juany

 

[Juany118]

Thank you for your service Juany

Nah, thank you, but I need to thank society. I originally studied to be a History Teacher. I still love history but student teaching 25 years ago made me say... nope, not for me! However, while I wish we lived in a world that didn't need the career path I finally chose, I have been lucky enough to have found not just a career but a Calling that even today I love in a complicated way. Complicated because I do love it but, when I retire, I will enjoy the rest lol. Not everyone I know can say the same thing.

 

[Juany118]

Also the PMAS Escrima I first learned favored a "power-side forward" stance (right lead for a right-handed person), apparently opposite from what your kali favors? Anyway, the DTE Eskrima I work with now is more ambidextrous, and more obviously bladed. So there are contradictions with WC. There is also considerable overlap too.

Oh I forgot on this one point. If you meant by contradiction no bladed stance we may have another difference that likely has to do with the styles of WC we each study. My Sifu/Guro teaches using the GM William Cheung "Traditional Wing Chun" (gah love the art, hate the name, it causes so many freaking arguments).

We have a number of stances, 2 of them bladed, a left and a right front stance. You still have you structure based in the forward tilted pelvis of the "Ma" and it's not a "traditional" bladed stance, in that your lead foot isn't pointed at the opponent but otherwise you are bladed to your opponent.

 

[WTchap]

By the same token, I invite anyone else who studies a second or third art in addition to their VT/WC/WT to share in this discussion

For me, studying other systems (or simply getting some hands-on exposure) opens things up, giving you a different perspective about how things can work.

When I first met a good Xingyi teacher, I was overwhelmed by the power he could generate, and when I first met a good Tai Chi teacher, I was pretty much humbled by how he could take my balance (and do so when talking, laughing and seemingly doing very little - even though I was trying hard to control him).

I had an interest in BJJ, but didn't have time for regular lessons - so started to learn privately in one-to-one sessions, when I have the time. That was eye-opening, too. Being choked-out is a horrible feeling

 

[mograph]

In my opinion, Yiquan is (at least) good conditioning for other martial arts.
But it's different from something like pushups, for example.