mook jong man
Senior Master
One of my students is Chinese and he says that most of them would rather watch Kung Fu in movies than actually do it themselves because they don't want to get hurt.
Is Kung Fu "on the decline"?
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One of my students is Chinese and he says that most of them would rather watch Kung Fu in movies than actually do it themselves because they don't want to get hurt.
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
Traditional CMA is taking a major hit in China. Many want flash (Modern Wushu) or health (Beijing 24 form) or fighting (Sanshou). TCMA training is too hard and takes to long.
There are a lot of TCMA styles dying off because the guys that know it are getting old and dying and they cant find students that truly want to learn the style they know.
I believe the percentage based on the population (approximately 1,347,000,000 people) is rather small.
how many in USA?
i believe practitioners in MA is more and more nowaday, but most of them are training modern MA, Japanese MA or muay thai etc.
The problem is since the new movie is still called "The Karate Kid" it will tend to give a boost to any school with "karate" in their name, regardless of the style. I don't think it will give very many kung fu schools much of a bump.
Maybe it's gotten too expensive, or just never really worked, but 20-30 years ago I remember seeing commercials on TV for kung fu studios (usually during 'Black Belt Theater' when Shaw Brothers movies were run), today I never see them, even though the schools are still open.
I think that was the case with a good number of schools.
[yt]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n7PEMGuA6tw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n7PEMGuA6tw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/yt]
They are more expensive than a yellow pages add. Funny thing though...now that evvvvvveryone has cable, the local avails (ads played in just one town) have a lot of reach, and are quite affordable.
Is it on the decline? i dont know to be honest. But i wouldnt think so.
When i was younger (in my 20's lol) i trained wing chun during the day for a year and a half becouse i worked at night at the time, most of the people training in wing chun (i managed to catch the odd 6:30 pm class occasionaly aswell) were not going to join Karate or judo, they were suited to what they were doing.
I had already gained about two years of a freestyle karate previously (karate/judo blend) to my wing chun experience and they were generaly different kinds of people from different walks of life, generaly speaking ofcourse.
So i would imagine that certain peoples would always be drawn to different arts. Ofcourse im not saying one is better or worse than the other becouse there were strong practitioners in both my experiences at those venues. Maybe its more of a mindset thing, not everyone wants to bother with highkicks or showy sparring or even chainpunching, whatever their preference for self-defence training is, will define what they look for.
The young will always want something flashier and the older we get the more mature type arts we start to think about.. These days (although i practice shotokan) my interest is heavily in Bagua, i dont think i would have been so interested back in my early 20's in the Bagua.
So maybe its just the young we are talking about here, like new consumers to the latest product or something.
Meh, the Kung Fu's out there have lasted through all this before. When kickboxing was becoming known/popular it survived just fine etc. MMA is not the be all and end all. Even Krav or Systema, theres nothing new there, no new invented techniques lol.
How about gouging someones eye out, is that in MMA?
I can tell you that MuayThai and BJJ are not suited to my daughter for egsample, i hope she never does but if shes ever in some type of violent situation i dought its going to be an even weight and experience bout, we should train for worst case scenario so she will be outweighed and outstrengthed wont she, what do you suggest?
Striking/grappling just went out the window, shes gotta go for the eyes/throat/groin/knees etc all the nasty stuff right? I think Kung Fu's will survive just fine in my opinion.
my two cents
cheers
When i was younger (in my 20's lol) i trained wing chun during the day for a year and a half becouse i worked at night at the time, most of the people training in wing chun (i managed to catch the odd 6:30 pm class occasionaly aswell) were not going to join Karate or judo, they were suited to what they were doing.
I had already gained about two years of a freestyle karate previously (karate/judo blend) to my wing chun experience and they were generaly different kinds of people from different walks of life, generaly speaking ofcourse.
So i would imagine that certain peoples would always be drawn to different arts. Ofcourse im not saying one is better or worse than the other becouse there were strong practitioners in both my experiences at those venues. Maybe its more of a mindset thing, not everyone wants to bother with highkicks or showy sparring or even chainpunching, whatever their preference for self-defence training is, will define what they look for.
The young will always want something flashier and the older we get the more mature type arts we start to think about.. These days (although i practice shotokan) my interest is heavily in Bagua, i dont think i would have been so interested back in my early 20's in the Bagua.
So maybe its just the young we are talking about here, like new consumers to the latest product or something.
Meh, the Kung Fu's out there have lasted through all this before. When kickboxing was becoming known/popular it survived just fine etc. MMA is not the be all and end all. Even Krav or Systema, theres nothing new there, no new invented techniques lol.
How about gouging someones eye out, is that in MMA?
I can tell you that MuayThai and BJJ are not suited to my daughter for egsample, i hope she never does but if shes ever in some type of violent situation i dought its going to be an even weight and experience bout, we should train for worst case scenario so she will be outweighed and outstrengthed wont she, what do you suggest?
Striking/grappling just went out the window, shes gotta go for the eyes/throat/groin/knees etc all the nasty stuff right? I think Kung Fu's will survive just fine in my opinion.
my two cents
cheers
dancingalone
Grandmaster
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Thanks for posting that Jhoon Rhee commerical, Carol. What a hoot!
Phoenix44
Master of Arts
Yes, I do think MMA is hurting traditional kung fu. I joined a kung fu school about a year and a half ago because, after years of Japanese martial arts, I was looking for something different. As the months went by, the school began to change. The weapons classes disappeared, they introduced more MMA type sparring and less kung fu technique, and brought in a BJJ class.
I guess they're looking for broader appeal. I was just interested in CMA.
I guess they're looking for broader appeal. I was just interested in CMA.
Golden Harvest
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I have the same observation also. It's all about money that is why I would stay away from schools that offer everything under the sun or what is the popular martial art flavor of the month. Finding good instruction is not easy and having good students is also just as difficult. In the west, people look at martial arts as recreational or as a way to be fit. There is no culture attached to it. Whereas, in the east, martial arts is part of the cultural roots. People tend to be more serious and are more respectful. It's their heritage. In the west, there is no heritage. Without this connection, all you have is an exterior shell with little substance and appreciation. This will not last long. To study, for instance, Tai Chi is to study the Chinese culture. One can not separate the two to achieve any high level understanding of this art or other arts as well. Not many people would be so committed.
MMA it's just a wave like some others system in the past...just let the wave go and then you will see the real size of MMA....they never will be able to compete with kung fu
Pa Kua School UK - http://pakuauk.blogspot.com
Pa Kua School UK - http://pakuauk.blogspot.com
Golden Harvest
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I've checked out your website and watched the 10 minute video. I see nothing of Pa Kua. All I see is people in Karate uniforms practicing Japanese martial arts. Nothing Chinese about your Pa Kua except the name itself. What am I missing????
Our main website is: pakua.com
And for one side, yes is a name, from the other side we do Pakua as well....but you will not find that in the videos.
(pls. go to private messages if you want to continue with this topic, is nothing to do in this thread)
Pa Kua School UK - http://pakuauk.blogspot.com
And for one side, yes is a name, from the other side we do Pakua as well....but you will not find that in the videos.
(pls. go to private messages if you want to continue with this topic, is nothing to do in this thread)
Pa Kua School UK - http://pakuauk.blogspot.com
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
It appears to be based more on the bagua and not meaning Baguazhang.. or at least that is what I am getting from looking at and reading the webpage.
Bagua means PaKua....
Bagua it's a modern way to write Pa Kua...and yes, they have similarity with Pa Kua Chuan, but for us PK Chuan it's only a course.
Pa Kua School UK - http://pakuauk.blogspot.com
Bagua it's a modern way to write Pa Kua...and yes, they have similarity with Pa Kua Chuan, but for us PK Chuan it's only a course.
Pa Kua School UK - http://pakuauk.blogspot.com
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
Thank You
Actually both are modern ways to write 八卦. Bagua is Pinyin and Pakua is Wade-Giles and the both are modern representations of 八卦 for us westerners.
Same with Baguazhang and Pakuachang both are actaully 八卦掌
And I would like to hear more about your "course" in PK chuan. To me it is general style label with a lot of sub styles underneath it; Chang, Yin, Jiang, etc.
It's funny... I've seen Bagua Quan & Bagua Zhang both. Even played BGZ for a minute & neither resemble what the video shows.
Pa Kua Chang it's only a course, is not a part of our regular martial art classes. The students do this course when he wants...
The Pa Kua School it's a international institution teaching different classes but al based in the "Pa Kua Symbol". Our school/classes are the application of this Symbol to different activities.
Pa Kua School UK - http://pakuauk.blogspot.com
repz
Green Belt
Not in my area. These so called trendy folks who come to NYC flock to kung fu schools. Kung Fu is very overpriced when it comes to other martial arts. I assume its in high demand, and some schools I have checked out prove it to be so, usually with high attendance from trendy out-of-towners with money. I can understand MMA being over 130 bucks a month due to the media and hype from the business, but kung fu has prices just as up there.
I was part of Hung Ga, i noticed the kung fu class had a good size, but the san shou right afterwards would have less students. I think it attracts those kinds of people who want something to do, like yoga, or some other "thing" to occupy the time.
I been looking at a praying mantis school, the one run by tony chuy, but i suspect its groing to be around 200 a month.
I was part of Hung Ga, i noticed the kung fu class had a good size, but the san shou right afterwards would have less students. I think it attracts those kinds of people who want something to do, like yoga, or some other "thing" to occupy the time.
I been looking at a praying mantis school, the one run by tony chuy, but i suspect its groing to be around 200 a month.
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