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The concepts of yang to yin, hard to soft, Shaolin to Wudan, striking to grappling have been with us a long time. Many people have compared the argument to the yin yang turning over and over. In the end, however, there is no contest between the two principles, merely a progression, an evolution if you will, of art within individual.
A child starts out with a hard art like karate. Heads out to the strip mall dojo and has fantastic contest with the other kids. Pecking orders are established, and the lad is set upon the martial path.
As the child grows older and more mature, he might come across a Wudan style art, like pa kua chang, or tai chi chuan. He begins to understand that there is more to art than beating people up, and that there might actually be something to learn here. He begins to look at concepts, principles, and understand them in relation to his life.
As the child reaches middle age, his youthful vigor wanes, and he begins looking for easier ways to do things. Maybe his body has been injured, maybe the muscles are just not working as well as they should, whatever, he starts relying on technique as opposed to brute force. And, he is now taking definitive steps into the True Art.
The True Art is based upon the use of intelligence, and intelligence is had by comparing and contrasting those things. A punch is more than just hitting, and can he look at guiding with flow, manipulating with intelligence? Or is he just going to be stuck where he is, a large child using only brute force?
Thus, he begins searching for a softer way to move, a way to move that won't tax the muscles, and rely upon the muscles, so much. He explores Wudan seriously now, searching for the key to effortless movement. And, the unfortunate result of age and injury, he finds those effortless methods.
Yet, wouldn't it be smarter for him to just search for the softer arts in the beginning? The answer, surprisingly, is no. For a man to truly learn the soft he must learn the hard, he must have something to gauge it against, to compare and contrast it against, so that he might truly think and learn.
Yet, how much hard must a man experience before he becomes intelligent? I would recommend three or four years of karate, or at least a year of matrix karate, or, if he doesn't like Karate, then a matrix influenced art like Shaolin Kung Fu, preferably the Shaolin Butterfly. To make the leap to Wudan, or soft, or flowing, or, at the very least, intelligent art, one must see both sides of the spectrum, this is the only way for the frog to hop across the pond.
A child starts out with a hard art like karate. Heads out to the strip mall dojo and has fantastic contest with the other kids. Pecking orders are established, and the lad is set upon the martial path.
As the child grows older and more mature, he might come across a Wudan style art, like pa kua chang, or tai chi chuan. He begins to understand that there is more to art than beating people up, and that there might actually be something to learn here. He begins to look at concepts, principles, and understand them in relation to his life.
As the child reaches middle age, his youthful vigor wanes, and he begins looking for easier ways to do things. Maybe his body has been injured, maybe the muscles are just not working as well as they should, whatever, he starts relying on technique as opposed to brute force. And, he is now taking definitive steps into the True Art.
The True Art is based upon the use of intelligence, and intelligence is had by comparing and contrasting those things. A punch is more than just hitting, and can he look at guiding with flow, manipulating with intelligence? Or is he just going to be stuck where he is, a large child using only brute force?
Thus, he begins searching for a softer way to move, a way to move that won't tax the muscles, and rely upon the muscles, so much. He explores Wudan seriously now, searching for the key to effortless movement. And, the unfortunate result of age and injury, he finds those effortless methods.
Yet, wouldn't it be smarter for him to just search for the softer arts in the beginning? The answer, surprisingly, is no. For a man to truly learn the soft he must learn the hard, he must have something to gauge it against, to compare and contrast it against, so that he might truly think and learn.
Yet, how much hard must a man experience before he becomes intelligent? I would recommend three or four years of karate, or at least a year of matrix karate, or, if he doesn't like Karate, then a matrix influenced art like Shaolin Kung Fu, preferably the Shaolin Butterfly. To make the leap to Wudan, or soft, or flowing, or, at the very least, intelligent art, one must see both sides of the spectrum, this is the only way for the frog to hop across the pond.
About the Author:
Al Case has analyzed martial arts for 4O plus plus years. A writer for the mags since 1981, he is the originator of Matrixing technology. You can pick up a free ebook which will explain matrixing at Monster Martial Arts.
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