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In my last post I went over some stuff about the benefits of cross training(studying multiple martial arts), like more mastery of the zones, more options when in random positions(break free from a hold),etc. However, there are way more benefits to learning more than one style along with things to be cautious of. This post will cover more of those things.
In my posts so far I've been speaking about traditional martial arts. Wing chun is the traditional kung fu style I practice in. However I also mention I do muay thai. There is a reason for that.
Traditional arts focus on spirituality, personal growth, etc. It's not all about combat even if they are indeed effective. Muay thai is not a traditional art and is labelled as a combat sport. Combat sports are martial arts you'd see in ufc or other fighting promotions. They were designed to follow the rules of the promotions. Muay thai actually is a modern version of a style called Muay boran. Muay boran itself is split into multiple parts like one called Muay chaiya. For me, traditional arts resonated with my personality. I'm naturally more passive, avoid conflict, and the soft style of kung fu felt like it was perfect for me. The thing about traditional arts is you cannot learn everything at once. That means out the get go you don't know much to defend yourself. The first form is the foundation, but the other forms are more complex and show how to utilize everything more. In this day in age, I personally believe it's good to learn some form of defense. Especially when we have things like ufc and wwe. Just a bunch of kikes getting shredded and learning our fighting styles. In order to gain that quick defensive skill, and obtain abilities to rival my passive nature, I discovered muay thai.
In wing chun we do something called connecting attacks. We don't have "combos" as that created repetition and muscle memory. You cannot rely on that in a real situation. If you practice doing 2 punches for over a year, you can master the punches. BUT if someone steps to the side Or crouched down what happens? You haven't practiced pivoting, evading, kicking, distance control, etc. There's a lot to take into consideration. In wing chun, the attacks are independent in the sense you do whatever is more effective and convenient at the moment. You can chain punch for 2 minutes straight but even the slightest movement can mean the punch has to turn into a paak Sao, darting finger, etc.
In muay thai, at least the way I learned it, things are different. We do indeed have combos, the art is more aggressive, and you use more energy. That means training will include cardio and other exercises aside from sparring or drills. That's why traditional martial artists tend to seem more slim than boxers if you stick to each respected training program.
The combos in muay thai aren't like traditional boxing. We have many that end with a kick or knee. A few create distance as well. The punches are also wide. That's because we use our feet to attack. A wider punch covers more space and that means moving up the zones sooner. There are situational moves and deceptive moves as well. It's great to train in something you wouldn't normally be good at as that means you have one less weakness and learn a lot. Muay thai definitely allowed me to think in a different perspective when it comes to martial arts.
Muay thai tends to stay in the kicking zone and punching zone. We only go in the grappling zone for the clinch and other holds aside from knees and elbows. Knees also usually rely on the clinch unless you throw one out as a surprise. But to keep striking you would need some control over your opponent. Elbows aren't very good with repetition. That's just do to the angle. They surely are effective but that's why we have a jab cross, not elbow elbow. It's good as a situational attack since it's more stiff than a punch.
Wing chun is meant for the grappling zone. That's why all the attacks are close and we connect with attacks. Chi sao(sticking hands) is meant for sensitivity training that further aids the ability to connect. It can only be performed in the grappling zone. On YouTube if you look up wing chun vs any other style you'll see the wing chun people 95% of the time lose. Take training methods aside, all these fights start in the kicking zone or farther. Unless the WC person trained in multiple zones, it's safe to assume they only know the grappling zone unlike muay thai that has a bit for every zone. Start a fight up close and it will be hard for the non WC people to do anything. Especially boxers cuz we are trained to throw out a jab first.
I Use Muay thai for long range and WC for close range. Other than covering more zones, there are other benefits as well. I made up this term a while back. I call it "Closing the system". That's when I take my Wing chun or my muay thai and think of different ways to block attacks of the other style, and how to defeat the other one. It's handy to learn how to defend if you can attack. This lead me to discovering Wing chun can actually be performed in the clinch. I can use chops to block knees, elbow the liver, paak Sao the sides or near the solar plexus, etc. As for muay thai, if dealing with the pressure of Wing chun, I can rely on my brute force like the wide uppercut to clear the centerline or if being attacked at different angles, a jab, or a flying knee to clear distance. Getting hit will obviously happen in a fight, but closing the system teaches you more about the styles you know and further aids survival in a emergency situation.
It's always good to be creative when practicing styles. You can even take the principles of one and impliments them in another. In Wing chun we are taught to be calm. In muay thai we aren't taught to be relaxed to save energy.
In muay thai we use aggression and leverage which is powerful. If i need more power in Wing chun I can always pivot to give more leverage and power.
Same goes for if you learn a move from one style but not the actual style. Northern mantis kung fu and wing chun share a similar tactic where we use the opponents force as leverage like with the rolling back fist. Block, attach, and connect. It's good to learn new skills and have surprises to confuse an opponent or partner. It further helps with the random factor of a fight.
One last thing is in muay thai, we respect the origins of our art and we try to keep some traditions like the ranking system. I was taught to always be kind to my peers and to accept others for skill level. Even if there isn't any spiritual aspects like traditional arts it still teaches some of the principles. We use aggression in attacking not interacting with others. True martial artists are humble no matter what style. The gods also helped me with with my muay thai once. In Wing chun the first form is something we can do to pass time, meditate, review skills, etc. Muay thai doesn't have that. However, muay thai comes from other styles that do. The gods led me to the muay chaiya first form. The skills can indeed be applied if adapted a little. I will let you all know if I discover how to adapt it completely, any difficulties I have, etc. That just goes to show different things can make you a better martial artist. Keep an open mind and be creative.
In my posts so far I've been speaking about traditional martial arts. Wing chun is the traditional kung fu style I practice in. However I also mention I do muay thai. There is a reason for that.
Traditional arts focus on spirituality, personal growth, etc. It's not all about combat even if they are indeed effective. Muay thai is not a traditional art and is labelled as a combat sport. Combat sports are martial arts you'd see in ufc or other fighting promotions. They were designed to follow the rules of the promotions. Muay thai actually is a modern version of a style called Muay boran. Muay boran itself is split into multiple parts like one called Muay chaiya. For me, traditional arts resonated with my personality. I'm naturally more passive, avoid conflict, and the soft style of kung fu felt like it was perfect for me. The thing about traditional arts is you cannot learn everything at once. That means out the get go you don't know much to defend yourself. The first form is the foundation, but the other forms are more complex and show how to utilize everything more. In this day in age, I personally believe it's good to learn some form of defense. Especially when we have things like ufc and wwe. Just a bunch of kikes getting shredded and learning our fighting styles. In order to gain that quick defensive skill, and obtain abilities to rival my passive nature, I discovered muay thai.
In wing chun we do something called connecting attacks. We don't have "combos" as that created repetition and muscle memory. You cannot rely on that in a real situation. If you practice doing 2 punches for over a year, you can master the punches. BUT if someone steps to the side Or crouched down what happens? You haven't practiced pivoting, evading, kicking, distance control, etc. There's a lot to take into consideration. In wing chun, the attacks are independent in the sense you do whatever is more effective and convenient at the moment. You can chain punch for 2 minutes straight but even the slightest movement can mean the punch has to turn into a paak Sao, darting finger, etc.
In muay thai, at least the way I learned it, things are different. We do indeed have combos, the art is more aggressive, and you use more energy. That means training will include cardio and other exercises aside from sparring or drills. That's why traditional martial artists tend to seem more slim than boxers if you stick to each respected training program.
The combos in muay thai aren't like traditional boxing. We have many that end with a kick or knee. A few create distance as well. The punches are also wide. That's because we use our feet to attack. A wider punch covers more space and that means moving up the zones sooner. There are situational moves and deceptive moves as well. It's great to train in something you wouldn't normally be good at as that means you have one less weakness and learn a lot. Muay thai definitely allowed me to think in a different perspective when it comes to martial arts.
Muay thai tends to stay in the kicking zone and punching zone. We only go in the grappling zone for the clinch and other holds aside from knees and elbows. Knees also usually rely on the clinch unless you throw one out as a surprise. But to keep striking you would need some control over your opponent. Elbows aren't very good with repetition. That's just do to the angle. They surely are effective but that's why we have a jab cross, not elbow elbow. It's good as a situational attack since it's more stiff than a punch.
Wing chun is meant for the grappling zone. That's why all the attacks are close and we connect with attacks. Chi sao(sticking hands) is meant for sensitivity training that further aids the ability to connect. It can only be performed in the grappling zone. On YouTube if you look up wing chun vs any other style you'll see the wing chun people 95% of the time lose. Take training methods aside, all these fights start in the kicking zone or farther. Unless the WC person trained in multiple zones, it's safe to assume they only know the grappling zone unlike muay thai that has a bit for every zone. Start a fight up close and it will be hard for the non WC people to do anything. Especially boxers cuz we are trained to throw out a jab first.
I Use Muay thai for long range and WC for close range. Other than covering more zones, there are other benefits as well. I made up this term a while back. I call it "Closing the system". That's when I take my Wing chun or my muay thai and think of different ways to block attacks of the other style, and how to defeat the other one. It's handy to learn how to defend if you can attack. This lead me to discovering Wing chun can actually be performed in the clinch. I can use chops to block knees, elbow the liver, paak Sao the sides or near the solar plexus, etc. As for muay thai, if dealing with the pressure of Wing chun, I can rely on my brute force like the wide uppercut to clear the centerline or if being attacked at different angles, a jab, or a flying knee to clear distance. Getting hit will obviously happen in a fight, but closing the system teaches you more about the styles you know and further aids survival in a emergency situation.
It's always good to be creative when practicing styles. You can even take the principles of one and impliments them in another. In Wing chun we are taught to be calm. In muay thai we aren't taught to be relaxed to save energy.
In muay thai we use aggression and leverage which is powerful. If i need more power in Wing chun I can always pivot to give more leverage and power.
Same goes for if you learn a move from one style but not the actual style. Northern mantis kung fu and wing chun share a similar tactic where we use the opponents force as leverage like with the rolling back fist. Block, attach, and connect. It's good to learn new skills and have surprises to confuse an opponent or partner. It further helps with the random factor of a fight.
One last thing is in muay thai, we respect the origins of our art and we try to keep some traditions like the ranking system. I was taught to always be kind to my peers and to accept others for skill level. Even if there isn't any spiritual aspects like traditional arts it still teaches some of the principles. We use aggression in attacking not interacting with others. True martial artists are humble no matter what style. The gods also helped me with with my muay thai once. In Wing chun the first form is something we can do to pass time, meditate, review skills, etc. Muay thai doesn't have that. However, muay thai comes from other styles that do. The gods led me to the muay chaiya first form. The skills can indeed be applied if adapted a little. I will let you all know if I discover how to adapt it completely, any difficulties I have, etc. That just goes to show different things can make you a better martial artist. Keep an open mind and be creative.
