Posted by: trevek
kung fu pick'n'mix - 04/01/10 04:21 AM
I had a little discussion with a friend yesterday who was horrified when I told her I was trying to start studying at a a Shaolin/Sanshou/Sanda Kung Fu class, when i already do Wing Chun and have been practising Chen tai Chi form for some years. I'm curious to know what others might think.
The background is a little complicated, so here goes.
I trained in Chang Hon TKD (ITF-style, but not ITF-affiliated) for over 10 years, during which time I also dabbled a little in Backhold Wrestling (2 years), JKD, Ju-Jitsu and Capoiera (only a few months at a time).
About 4-5 years ago I was advised by a back specialist not to continue with TKD because of the spinning putting pressure on my neck (I had a trapped nerve at the time). I hadn't been training regularly for a few years at that time, so it wasn't a hard thing to do. I started learning Chen Tai chi but I've only studied form and push-hands for about 4 years.
2 months ago I started Wing Chun, finding out one of my work colleagues is a WC sifu. We train once a week.
So, until last month, I was training once a week in TC form and once a week in WC. The times of TC classes changed to a day when I can't train. So, I popped into a local KF club which does Sanshou and is Shaolin-based (they also do straight Shaolin, but I'm really just looking at training applications at the moment).
My friend feels I'm doing a naughty thing, picking and mixing like this, but these days I'm never sure if I'm going to be able to continue in any one club for a long time due to changes in times and work etc. While I would like to train long-term and one art, I feel i'm just at a stage to kind of train in what and where i can.
Any thoughts?
The background is a little complicated, so here goes.
I trained in Chang Hon TKD (ITF-style, but not ITF-affiliated) for over 10 years, during which time I also dabbled a little in Backhold Wrestling (2 years), JKD, Ju-Jitsu and Capoiera (only a few months at a time).
About 4-5 years ago I was advised by a back specialist not to continue with TKD because of the spinning putting pressure on my neck (I had a trapped nerve at the time). I hadn't been training regularly for a few years at that time, so it wasn't a hard thing to do. I started learning Chen Tai chi but I've only studied form and push-hands for about 4 years.
2 months ago I started Wing Chun, finding out one of my work colleagues is a WC sifu. We train once a week.
So, until last month, I was training once a week in TC form and once a week in WC. The times of TC classes changed to a day when I can't train. So, I popped into a local KF club which does Sanshou and is Shaolin-based (they also do straight Shaolin, but I'm really just looking at training applications at the moment).
My friend feels I'm doing a naughty thing, picking and mixing like this, but these days I'm never sure if I'm going to be able to continue in any one club for a long time due to changes in times and work etc. While I would like to train long-term and one art, I feel i'm just at a stage to kind of train in what and where i can.
Any thoughts?