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Throughout martial arts circles, you’ll often see and hear debates about grappling and ground fighting. In one recent example, a Wing Chun proponent talked about some grappling moves in Wing Chun (WC).

A Brazilian Ju Jitsu (BJJ) person immediately went on and said that’s not grappling. Grappling has sweeps and counters and holds, etc. that clearly were not part of what was what the WC person was talking about. He went on and on about how there is no grappling in WC.

In my opinion, it’s all in the definition or semantics. To me, the BJJ person’s definition sounded more like “ground fighting” than “grappling”. It sounded like he was describing BJJ. It sounded like the BJJ person was saying, if it’s not BJJ, it’s not grappling.

Perhaps one needs to look at the word grapple, and it’s definition (from Dictionary.com): to seize another, or each other, in a firm grip, as in wrestling; clinch.

By this definition, grapple, or grappling, stands aside a bit from ground fighting. Does Wing Chun have movements where one “seizes another in a firm grip”? Sure. Is Wing Chun ground fighting? Heck no. Are there throws and grappling in Ba Gua, Tai Chi and most Chinese martial arts? Absolutely.

However, if one wanted to focus on grappling and ground fighting in Chinese martial arts, I think someone would need to study Chin Na (locks) and Shuai Chaio (wrestling) to get close to Judo, JJ or BJJ. Interestingly, Robert Smith in his book “Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods” wasn’t very impressed with how Shuai Chaio people on Taiwan stood up against his Judo. He said the art had stopped evolving where Judo hadn’t.

I found an interesting post in a forum by a guy who has studied both of the Chinese arts above and has tried them against some BJJ guys with only limited success. Again, we have no way of knowing if this guy is any good or if the BJJ guys he’s going against are any good, but it’s an interesting perspective on the topic and he sounds like he knows what he’s talking about:

Yeah, I do shuai chiao. Its basically wrestling. I also do chin na, which is pretty much kung fu submissions…leg locks, wrist locks, kneebars, armbars, chokes, etc. Sorta like judo or sambo but without the wrestling (which is why you need the shuai chiao background as a supplement!). Most kung fu schools only do standing wrist locks for chin na, though.

I can usually beat bjj blue belts about 50% of the time on a good day, but I have a lot of trouble with bjj purple belts. Been grappling in kung fu for about a year, but have been doing chin na and kung fu without the shuai chiao wrestling for about 7 years.

The chin na and chinese wrestling combination works well in the street. Probably not more effective than judo or bjj or whatever in mma competition, but it does work in the street. Comparitively, its pretty unorthodox, almost Sakuraba-esque, so it is possible to catch intermediate level grapplers with some subs, but I definately get my ass handed to me almost every time I roll with bjj brown belts.

Also, not all kung fu schools grapple. In fact, most don’t. Kung fu grapplers are at a disadvantage right off the bat. A lot of schools already teach a metric ****ton of material anyway. Add on weapons, all the damn chinese names and translations and different pronunciations and spellings, internal sytems, chi gong, etc. to the classic stand up kung fu in addition to TWO styles to learn to grapple effectively, it can get a little hectic to keep up with, especially when you’re trying to concentrate on your san da/san shou skills too.

You gotta understand that the shaolin temples weren’t teaching just thier own stuff. In fact, a great deal of the material taught there was from elsewhere. Thier whole philosophy was if it works, we’ll use it. So you wind up with hundreds of styles being practiced there and picked apart and analyzed and refined, some kinda suck, others kick a lot of ass.
But yeah, there’s grappling in kung fu.

The thread goes on a bit if your interested in reading it: http://www.subfighter.com/forum/viewtopic.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=19326

There you have my two cents on the difference between grappling, ground fighting and the Chinese martial arts that focus on these elements.

Ciao amici,

David

September 30, 2007 by David | 6 comments

I have a nice commute each morning. I walk down a short hill, hop on a bus for 8 minutes, and then walk through town for 10-15 minutes to my office. Along the way I practice Tai Chi. I relax my hips, straighten my spine, pay attention to my posture, keep my balance slightly forward, distribute my weight evenly across my feet, turn my shoulders to let others pass, and in general practice Tai Chi concepts as I walk.

Often, in the morning, I make coffee. I practice Tai Chi when I make coffee. I keep my breathing in my dan tien. I relax my hips and straighten my spine. I pay attention to my posture and keep my balance slightly forward.

Sometimes some people want to argue with me. I let their words go past without giving them purchase. I do not respond and give them something to push against. In this way, I practice push hands when people want to argue with me.

You get the idea. Tai Chi isn’t just for class or for practice. I encourage you to bring your Tai Chi into the rest of your day. Tai Chi’s about being relaxed and natural. Be relaxed and natural.

I once wrote a letter to a Wing Chun master, former student of Yip Man, Lo Man Kam, who lives in Taipei: Lo Man Kam Article and Contact Info He was very polite in his response. He said, in part, ‘I am very happy you have Wing Chun’.

Have Wing Chun. Have Tai Chi. These gifts (martial arts) you’ve been given by your teachers are life enhancers. I can’t imagine what my body and life would be like had I never met my martial arts teachers. Your martial arts are your martial arts. Cherish them. Invest in them. Own them. Find ways to incorporate them into your day to day life.

August 1, 2007 by David | No comments

DZCK I DVD

Hey folks,

Danny and his family are winging their way back home to Calgary. We had a wonderful time with him while he was here. He visited family, friends and former teachers in Taiwan for several weeks before coming down to Sydney for 9 days to catch up, teach me the new Dharma-Zen 24 Movements Tai Chi Form, see a bit of Australia and bring me some copies of the new Dharma-Zen Chi Kung I DVD. You can see a video clip and buy the DVD via the Chi Kung page.

We also recorded his Dharma-Zen 24 Movements Tai Chi form and you can download the video from the Tai Chi page.

I’ve added pictures of Danny’s teachers to the web site. Danny’s Tai Chi, Ba Gua and Hsing-Yi teacher, Master Chang is on the Tai Chi page. Master Chang’s teacher, Master Wang Shu Jin, now has a picture on the Tai Chi page. And Danny’s Chi Kung teacher, Master Tsai, is on the Chi Kung page.

Practice Hard,

David

March 17, 2007 by David | No comments

Moving Beyond Negative States of Mind

February 12, 2007 in Meditation, Philosophy by David | No comments

In Buddhist thought, there are three main premises to moving beyond negative states of mind.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama discusses these in ‘The Art of Happiness’:

The first premise is that all ‘deluded’ states of mind, all afflictive emotions and thoughts, are essentially distorted, and that they are rooted in misperceiving the actual reality of the situation.

Perception is key. How we perceive reality is our reality. We throw subjective judgements around like rain. How could that person do that? I would never wear that. I don’t like that color. What an idiot! But, are we right? No, we are ignorant and assume we’re right because we don’t want to face our ignorance. Turn on the TV and shove another piece of pizza in the microwave.

HH:

No matter how powerful, deep down these negative emotions have no valid foundation. They are based on ignorance. On the other hand, all the positive emotions or states of mind, such as love, compassion, insight, and so on have a solid basis…all these positive states of mind have the quality that you can enhance their capacity and increase their potential to a limitless degree, if you regularly practice them through training and constant familiarity….

Dalai Lama speaks to reporters.

The second premise:

Now this brings us to the second premise on which we base the claim that our negative emotions can be rooted out and eliminated. This premise is based on the fact that our positive states of mind can act as antidotes to our negative tendencies and delusory states of mind. So, the second premise is that as you enhance the capacity of these antidotal factors, the greater their force, the more you will be able to reduce the force of the mental and emotional afflictions….

And the third:

The third premise is that the essential nature of mind is pure. It is based on the belief that the underlying basic subtle consciousness is untainted by the negative emotions. Its nature is pure, a state which is referred to as the ‘mind of Clear Light’. That basic nature of the mind is also called Buddha Nature. So, since the negative emotions are not an intrinsic part of this Buddha Nature, there is a possibility to eliminate them and purify the mind.

And in conclusion:

So it is on these three premises that Buddhism accepts that the mental and emotional afflictions ultimately can be eliminated through deliberately cultivating antidotal forces like love, compassion, tolerance and forgiveness, and through various practices such as meditation.

Fascinating stuff. Go get this book. It’s a great read. Right after you work out, of course! ;-)

Ciao amici,

David

Honesty, Self-Confidence, Guilt and Miracles

February 11, 2007 in Philosophy by David | No comments

According to the Dalai Lama, honesty and self-confidence are closely linked. Think about that for a moment.

He says in his book ‘The Art of Happiness’:

The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there’s no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others. So, I think that the more honest you are, the more self-confident you will be…

He goes on to discuss being honest about one’s limitations. He touches on the topic of miracles as he discusses confidence:

However, for me to realize that I cannot perform miracles–that does not lead to loss of confidence, because I never believed myself to have that capacity in the first place. I don’t expect myself to be able to perform functions like the fully enlightened Buddhas–to be able to know everything, perceive everything, or do the right thing at any and all times. So when people come to me and ask me to heal them or perform a miracle or something like that, instead of making me feel a lack of confidence, it just makes me feel quite awkward.

Think about how nervous and agitated people are when they’re hiding something. Think about the things you hide from others and possible even yourself. Now, think about letting go of them, one by one. Vices, addictions, skeletons in the closet, perhaps. Think of the confidence boost you’d receive if you could conquer one of those.

First, take it easy on yourself. Don’t judge yourself. Don’t beat yourself up over your mistakes. That just compounds the problem. Don’t worry.

The Dalai Lama on worry:

If the situation or problem is such that it can be remedied, then there is no need to worry about it. In other words, if there is a solution or a way out of the difficulty, then one needn’t be overwhelmed by it. The appropriate action is to seek its solution. It is more sensible to spend the energy focusing on the solution rather than worrying about the problem. Alternatively, if there is no way out, no solution, no possibility of resolution, then there is also no point in being worried about it, because you can’t do anything about it anyway. In that case, the sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be on you. This formula, of course, implies directly confronting the problem. Otherwise you won’t be able to find out whether or not there is a resolution to the problem.

Perspective often helps. Think about all of those suffering in the world. Think of the suffering children, AIDS orphans, for example. Most of our troubles pale beside theirs. We all have troubles and we all have things in our lives we regret. Including the Dalai Lama:

…there was one older monk who lived as a hermit. He used to come to see me to receive teachings, although I think he was actually more accomplished than I and came to me as a sort of formality. Anyway, he came to me one day and asked me about doing a certain high-level esoteric practice. I remarked in a casual way that this would be a difficult practice and perhaps would be better undertaken by someone who was younger, that traditionally it was a practice that should be started in one’s midteens. I later found out that the monk had killed himself in order to be reborn in a younger body to more effectively undertake the practice….

The Dalai Lama still lives with that regret:

But even thought that feeling of regret is still there, it isn’t associated with a feeling of heaviness or a quality of pulling me back. It would not be helpful to anyone if I let that feeling of regret weigh me down, be simply a source of discouragement and depression with no purpose, or interfere with going on with my life to the best of my ability.

And finally, build daily practice into your life. As you can gain confidence from honesty, so can you from setting goals and acheiving them. Set a small goal, say of ten minutes a day. Schedule it into your daily routine. This will also begin to provide a calming foundation for the rest of your life.

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