i refuse to ever tell ANY taiwanese person that i have studied martial arts. the reason being is, they will brand me a "typical foriegner/likes kung fu". so that makes taiwanese learns to play tennis what then? a freak?
then i get the statement, "you like kung fu", same as they say about my doing music "you like music".
actually if you only do something because you like it, you're on a very childish level of living. there comes a point where you do something long enough, and "like" is not part of the equation. love it or hate it you DO IT, because it has become a part of your life.
that's why i hate the wave of yip man/wing chun geeks. not to make myself mr. know it all, but i KNEW WHO YIP MAN WAS 30 YEARS AGO! wing chun wasn't the source of a blockbuster movie back then. i had to research Blackbelt Magazine to find out about it. then i sent off for a book. then i searched out people here and there to show me something of it. i waited this long before i found a good teacher.
now this fucking movie comes along and it's sequel,and wing chun is the thing to do. and people think i'm one of these geeks who saw Yip man( the movie) and got all hot and excited and wanted to learn.
taiwan is full of geeks. guitar geeks, who learn from TAB, can play "better" than somebody who went to music school. and nobody knows the difference.
lets all learn!! thereby making somethng that WAS a serious study become nothing- an activity for the masses.
i'm not saying only musicians should learn to play guitar. i think everybody should learn an instrument. but these TAB books are teachig PRO LEVEL playing without PRO LEVEL KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, OR REGARD FOR TALENT. professional skills SHOULD NOT be learned by everyone. but there are even magic schools teaching what should be a secret to ANYBODY! and who will want to watch tricks now that they already know the secret?
but back to kung fu. i was asked yesterday "you like kung fu, that's why you're doing it". i could see from his face that he felt i was a typical foriegner.
so i let loose with this one" unfortunately wing chun doesn't work that well in real combat. a lot of chinese kung fu is actually worthless in a real situation." i could see his face change. first he thinks i'm silly for wanting to learn kung fu, then he's angry because i diss kung fu. i went on, "look at K1, UFC, MMA, nobody who has ever tried chinese kung fu has lasted more than 10 seconds", to which someone piped up, "well kung fu is for health".i answered "but they say it's for fighting. then when they lose they say it's for health".
maybe i was being an asshole. but i wasn't going to let somebody belittle my years of investigation and serious study as a passing fancy,following the latest fad, or worse, as the interests of a "typical stupid foriegner".
i'd rather say FUCK KUNG FU than let anybody peg me into a convenient little hole.
can't win either way.
so when people ask me, i just tell them that kung fu sucks. it's inferior to western boxing and wrestling.
which isn't exactly true ,but this way, i keep the sincere love i have for chinese martial arts a secret, and nobody can belittle my love.
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PS: and the reality is i learned MA because i fucking HAD TO! no real choice in the matter. If you ever meet me you'll know why. i'm only 5'8" and have hands like a girl. and i look like Radar on the the TV show MASH.
ReplyDeleteneedless to say, i've been targeted by bullies my whole life. sometimes you CAN'T walk away or even run.
that said, i thin wing chun has some uselful stuff. but i put 10x more faith in western boxing, because it's PROVEN.
i think the big problem is, taiwanese can't imagine doing something oter than for MONEY OR FOR FUN. anything that's not for money MUST BE because it's really fun and you like it.again a very shallow mentality.
ReplyDeletei also refuse to tell people i've studied boxing, or they 'll say " oh rocky" and do some stupid rendention of Stallone.
ReplyDeletefor the record taiwan
I DON:T DO MUSIC AND MA BECAUSE I LIKE IT. it's just something i do. sometimes i fucking hate it.
thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeletesome taiwan people are "learn it alls". they want to learn everything,and unknowingly or uncaringly, make light of serious study and individuals who have made these studies their life work.
the thing is, education makes tons of money, so you get all kinds of schools teaching all kinds of "skills". i personally DO NOT want to live in a society where everybody knows pro level magic, music, etc. that's bullshit.
all these schools and their quickie learning methods have made a generation of taiwanese who think "well i can do that too? what's the big deal?"
the thing is they learned it as "paint by numbers".
learn kung fu san soo. It works. Enough said.
ReplyDeletethanks for coming by.
ReplyDeletei've heard good things about san soo, but i've never actually seen it as it is practiced.
i also have this thing about styles, mainly because i don't have the talent (or maybe patience) to learn one all the way.
as far as wing chun goes, i don't really believe in the whole system. i think some parts of it are excellent,but some are living some geek's dream about what combat is, not the REALITY of it!
wow, u sure r pissed off,y do you have to belittle what others opinions r u sound just like the 1's ur talking about. if ur a true martial artist then u would not b so pissy and sound like an ass. a true martial artist understands that nothing is perfect, that there r flaws in everything, 2 learn 2 adapt ones self 2 any given situation as best u can. even ali knew he wasn't truly the greatest but he made his opponents think it 2 physic them out thus giving him the first advantage and 1 of the most important.relax chum li don't get so excited!
ReplyDeleteno body beittled anybody. i just stated the facts as i see them. seem you're being pissy by getting so upset over my comments.
ReplyDeletethat sword runs both ways dude. use it with care.
Your comments are filled with the weakness of your own character. Relax, learn, enjoy life as much as possible. Don't worry so much what others think. Talent comes from personal development and constant practice - not any one style of Kung Fu. Be happy that others have begun to take interest in Wing Chun no matter there motivation. Your tone and language make me think you have missed the purpose of combat training... to build confidence. Try to be patient, and show respect to all people, you will earn their respect. cheers, B.
ReplyDeleteamen brother!
ReplyDeletewrong. any activity that becomes a mass thing degrades into just that: a mass activity.
ReplyDeleteseriously dude you need to grow up and stop complaining about what OTHER people do. its what you do that matters and it seems to me that making a blog demeaning the people of tiawan saying they are somehow less than you beause they are disovering a beautiful art form or a love for music even if its through some generic means is pretty ignorant and a waste of the precious little time we have on this earth. many people start out with those means and disover a passion that leads them to greater things. and by learning about many things a person can become wiser and gain a better understanding of this world. take your own advice and dont judge others maybe that guy had nothing against you and was delighted to learn you liked kung fu. that man could have been about to give you some piece of information that will take you years to discover. you will never know beause you shut him down before you found out. great things should be shared with people man the majority of them are lost and in need of something truly worth while in their lives. dont judge people for looking or for being inspired. you didnt listen to anyone else who didnt agree with you so i doubt youll listen to this but try to keep an open mind. peace and love brother.
ReplyDeletedude, they're not seeking. they're copying, following. they never get deep with something. the few that do, i commend them. the others should stop jamming the market.
ReplyDeletejust as i said: learn a few magic tricks, fine. but the masses DO NOT need professional knowledge. that is destroying it for REAL magicians. oh wait i'm sorry. everybody can be a "real" magician.
same with kung fu. i don;t think everybody should know it.
Martial arts, regardless of the discipline or origin has to do with controlling the fight. Fights aren't fought only physically, but mentally and spiritualy as well. Devoted students learn this from good teachers. If a person is too focused on the physical aspect and throw out the philisophical they've missed the most important part. Prejudice is abundant everywhere we go. Either you learn how to deflect that energy, side-step it, or redirect it just like you would if it were a physical attack. However, just like in a physical fight, when you absorb the attack head on you give up your balance, and once that goes that's it. So the next time someone calls you a stupid foreigner, prove them wrong, use your wits and what you've learned and don't let them control you with the threat of pigeon-holing you. There's always a choice, and we all make poor decisions daily, there's nothing wrong or shameful of that unless we refuse to learn from them.
ReplyDeletewell said.
ReplyDeleteVery well said. Fractal
ReplyDeleteyou are a bad example to martial arts, music or anything you decide to make apart of your life.
ReplyDeleteIf the film can excite just one person into training wing chun then great, it's irrelevant how someone finds the style or how hard they had to research to come across it. Who really cares?? Would you like a badge so people can see all the trouble you've gone through and that you knew about it before the film! Also would you say a musician who cant read music or someone who trained themselves by ear is any less talented than someone who's gone to study it at uni?? No not at all, some of the greatest musicians of all time cant read music or play unconventionally, talent and ability is what you achieve from within yourself, and to be the best you can be at whatever you do! who are you to say how someone should or shouldn't learn!
i'm not saying they shouldn't learn. i'm saying they shouldn't make a really great art into a geek fest, which is exactly what its become.
ReplyDeletei personally do NOT want to live in a world where everyone knows wing chun.
I find it hard to believe, after reading your post, that you live in your mother's basement writing brilliant music that only you understand, and fingerbanging your wing chun dummy.
ReplyDeleteok you asked for it, so here are the facts.
ReplyDeleteyip man's wing chun is DEAD. it died with the old man a long time ago. what you guys have is a shell. your sticky hands only work with other wing chun people. every one of you HAVE and WILL be beaten in the MMA/UFC.
there are SEVERAL other lineages of wing chun, unfortunately, i think they have lost most of what wing chun means too.
if you're smart, you'll take what's useful from wing chun and move on, instead of following this geek fad.
Man... who the fuk cares if u like or not if other people learns the same martial art u learned, its just their problem, if they watched the movie and now they want to learn kung fu its ok, ITS THEIR FUKIN PROBLEM, not yours. Oh, sry... you learned it before and u were the only one... who cares... and your better at it, or not... again WHO CARES. kung fu wasnt created for u exclusively, in fact it was created to be taught to ppl who wanted to learn it and follow its principles for self defense purposes, not for fighting in tournaments like MMA/UFC.
ReplyDeleteBy the way... despite if ppl who watched the movie and now want to learn Wing Chun succeed or not... i think all the Wing Chun teachers must be grateful about those movies, now they will have a lot of students they wouldnt have otherwise.
ReplyDeletedude,most anything, once it gets that popular starts to suck. the geeks drag down the quality
ReplyDeleteSo many bullshit above me ...
ReplyDeleteYip man was just a bad teacher thats it..
i don't think yip man wasa bad teacher,except for his opium habit and racism against westerners. other than that he was a high level wing chun guy buy the standards of people like yuan kay shan and others of his day.
ReplyDeletethe problem is no "system" can really make you a fighter. that has to come from inside. some people are just born tough.
thanks for coming by.