Some MA teachers only teach form without application?

[Kung Fu Wang]

Many CMA teachers only teach form but don't teach application. One of CMC's students told me that CMC charged $4,000 to learn his Taiji form (no application). CMC then charged $4,000 to fix/correct that Taiji form (still no application).

A: Why do you teach form without teaching application?
B: I don't want my student to learn how to fight.
A: If you don't want your student to learn how to fight, why do you even teach them?
B: MA is more than just for fighting. MA can be used for self-cultivation, inner peace, meditation, health, performance, culture study, be a better person, world peace, ...
A: ...

What are you going to do with those kind of MA teachers? Are those MA teachers trying to promote MA, or trying to destroy MA?

I'm reading a book about a CMA teacher (in US) who communicated with his CMA teacher in Taiwan in the past 15 years. His teacher had forbidden him to teach any application to his US students. His teacher gave him 3 requirements:

1. Only teach form. Don't teach application.
2. If a student makes mistake in that form, don't correct that student.
3. Modify the form to be easy of learning even if it may lose the original meaning.

No matter how much money you may pay to this kind of MA teachers, they just won't teach you the real thing. I just can't have any respect to this kind of MA teachers no matter how good their MA skill may be.

Here is a copy form that book (in Chinese) to prove that stupid thing like this do exist in our world. This may only happen in Chinese MA and doesn't happen in Karate.

What's your opinion on this?

 

[Holmejr]

Well if they advertise as a non violent non combative form of MA then it’s okay. But if they present the art as self defense then it’s rather misleading.

 

[drop bear]

Interesting take on self cultivation. By a guy who teaches combat sports to military vets for specifically that reason.

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[Kung Fu Wang]

Well if they advertise as a non violent non combative form of MA then it’s okay. But if they present the art as self defense then it’s rather misleading.

What will this "non violent non combative form of MA" turn into 100 years from today? Is this what we like to see as the MA future? Should we try to stop this from happening? How?

Today, MMA guys criticize that TMA guys can't fight. This kind of TMA teachers can only make this situation worse.

 

[drop bear]

What will this "non violent non combative form of MA" turn into 100 years from today? Is this what we like to see as the MA future? Should we try to stop this from happening? How?

Today, MMA guys criticize that TMA guys can't fight. This kind of TMA teachers can only make this situation worse.

Only worse if you need it to fight someone.

Let's use hobby horse jumping as an example.

If you needed to get better at horse riding it is functionality useless.

But if you do it for its own sake it is as valid.

 

[drop bear]

Interesting take on self cultivation. By a guy who teaches combat sports to military vets for specifically that reason.

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Can't edit.

Anyway my point is here that people seem to think personal development is somehow separate from functional martial arts. As if that is the reason you don't do it.

But functional martial arts demonstratively includes personal development. And there is no evidence that it doesn't do it every bit as well as any other method.