[quote]Spartiates wrote:
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
[quote]Cockney Blue wrote:
I would have to say Shalin Kung Fu and Aikido. Though you might risk getting DQed in your MMA fights for accidentally killing people.[/quote]
I don’t think shaolin kung fu in itself is very impressive.
It’s the people who practice it since the age of five and train 8 hours a day, every day that are impressive.
[/quote]
I think your sarcasm detector is broken. ;)[/quote]
Kung Fu is totally under-rated these days, especially in the US, probably because of the combination the Mc Dojo, and it not being a favorite of the MMA crowd for a variety of reasons (the gloves interfere with a lot of the moves, and it is designed to kill, not earn points being two of them). I know a couple of real tough-shit Kung Fu guys who do very old-school, full contact training, and the speed and power they generate in amazing. And they really learn how to take a punch.
[/quote]
Hey, don’t get me wrong, a good Kung Fu teacher can definitely teach you something about power generation, balance, and body conditioning. And there are styles of kung fu which tend to focus more on real world effectiveness (like Wing Chun). But many Kung Fu systems were designed specifically to deal with other Kung Fu systems, and many also never cross train (so only ever train against their same style). So, when faced with someone who does not do that particular system of Kung Fu, a lot of the stuff they practice isn’t going to work.
From everything I’ve ever seen, Shaolin Kung Fu is more about acrobatics and iron body stunts than it is about actual combat effectiveness. And, while Aikido does have some useful joint locks, is great at teaching someone how to fall safely, and is good at teaching someone how to use the opponent’s force against them, most Aikido isn’t really all that realistic in it’s training and would take a very, very long time to get good enough to be able to use effectively in a real situation/MMA fight.
Also, no system teaches you how to take a punch better than western boxing, because that’s all they do, give and take punches.
[quote]
That said, stand-up fighting in the real world is about generating a ton of power, and making contract without getting hit, and most old-school styles, taught seriously, teach it well. My vote would be either a traditional kick-your-ass Shotokan, or Mui Thai for stand up, and Judo or Jujitsu on the ground.
The biggest problem with boxing, as I see it, isn’t that you can’t generate the power to knock someone out with just boxing technique, but that people tend to be able to better predict what they know, and if what you know is hands/leg movement (not kicks/knees), you’re less likely to get that auto-reaction going to deal with it. Just like the best way to kick-ass in a low-level Tae Kwon Doe tournament (hell, probably most Tae Kwon Doe) is to get in close and hammer away with boxing, because 99% of Tae Kwon Doers will be way outside their comfort zone when they can’t throw high/long kicks.[/quote]
Firstly, if you know what you are doing it shouldn’t matter whether they are familiar with boxing techniques or not. I can tell most people where I am going to hit them, with what technique and they still can’t stop me from landing the punch. Of course, there are those who I can’t do this to, so I also know how to get around that problem if it should arise. Good boxing training isn’t just about how to throw punches, but also how to apply those techniques against a fully resisting opponent.
Secondly, even if the average person is familiar what boxing punches look like on television, that doesn’t mean that they’ve hardwired the appropriate defensive responses to be able to defend against them actually being thrown at them.
The average person is probably familiar with a double leg takedown, but most would not be able to stop a skilled wrestler from taking them down with one.