VashHash wrote: ↑Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:37 pmJames, you've lived quite the martial arts life and life in general getting to train abroad. I would totally credit Gene for mma in America though.
Also speaking of Mixed Martial Arts. I know it's just a movie but Ip Man would often fight without an audience. I think it was more than to be respectful of the other master's pride but also I would think a lot of styles wanted to keep their techniques. Once you see something someone can figure out how you did it. The more they see a move done the easier it will be to discern how. Of course we have a huge advantage being able to record everything now.
Thank you, VashHash. Though life has been very quiet for the past several years.
As for keeping techniques hidden; yes, that was indeed a thing. Especially in Chinese systems, but probably other categories of martial arts as well. Even when only demonstrating forms, either in public, or in private gatherings, such as at birthday celebrations for certain respected masters held in large, rented-out Chinese restaurants, where many different masters and their students gather to pay their respects, and often give demonstrations after the dinner. My Choy Lee Fut sifu always altered or omitted certain details in forms, and usually had us do the same. I know other teachers who follow this practice as well, including my friend who is a LEO and was a former bodyguard that I mentioned a few posts back. This practice was known as “marking” the form. Because often, people would film (or later, videotape) Kung Fu demonstrations, then try to “steal” the form by learning it from the film. Then some would claim they learned the same system, or even taught that form to the teacher or practitioner whose demo they filmed(!!). But if the form has been “marked,” that person can be identified as a fraud, and depending on how it was marked, where and when they “stole” it can also be identified. But this practice was more to identify “forms thieves” by giving them a purposely-altered (and incorrect) form, than to avoid being figured out (in terms of fighting skills).
That said, many high-level practitioners’ favorite fighting techniques and strategies were, in reality, quite simple. And they were often so good at them (the setup and the execution) that even if you knew what they were going to do, they could still get you with it (if they were practitioners who had actual fighting experience).
For one example, my second northern-style Mantis teacher in Taiwan also trained a southern style called Hung Gar (as well as other systems). His Hung Gar sifu, surnamed Zhang, was, at the time, in his mid-to-late 40s, and still sparred all comers. His hand skills were powerful, but he was especially known for his “Wu Ying Jiao” (In Cantonese, “Mo Ying Geuk,” or “No-Shadow Kick”). It’s a colorful expression, meaning "a kick so fast that it leaves no shadow.” Nothing fancy; just simple, basic kicks, but machined to perfection. He could control his right leg like a third arm. Everyone knew what was coming, but Zhang was so fast and sudden with his kick that you still couldn’t avoid it. I sparred Zhang several times (the matches never lasted very long), and he nailed me in the abdomen or my leg at will, with zero telegraphing. And his kicks hurt, too; they weren’t just weak little leg flicks. His raw speed and explosiveness were reminiscent of Bruce Lee at his fastest, but I couldn’t imagine being kicked by him in his prime. I once saw old videotaped footage of him from the late 1970s, taken just several years earlier, when he had been even faster. And he moved so fast it looked like under-cranking (fast-motion photography). Many, many martial artists over the years had fallen victim to Zhang’s “No-Shadow Kick,” in regular sparring, in challenge matches, and in real fights, including ‘70s-era martial arts film star John Liu (who was also famous for his kicks), who starred in many films in Taiwan, including as the lead protagonist in The Invincible Armour, which I posted on page 30 of the “Favorite Movie Fight Scenes” thread.
Jim
