Before I begin a dissection of
Martial Arts, perhaps some commentary upon the Euthanasia bill currently
discussed in the Quebec National Assembly.
Sooooo,.. I guess that the whole ‘Charter of Values’ in
Quebec was a smokescreen? Duh! So.. Within a few years, Grandma and the
family dog, might both have the same rights…. Heaven help us and may God have
mercy on our souls.
Stepping away from Theological
issues and weighing in on a fun subject.
One that is dear to my heart, the Martial Arts and fighting. Yup, I wasn’t always a passive seminarian who
enjoys feeding the birds while writing poetry and sipping tea. :D (Actually, I still don’t write poetry, and
even as a seminarian still avidly train!)
A post reflecting a post that I
wrote years ago with regards to the now old argument of ‘Traditional’ vs
‘MMA.’ Which is more effective? First off, who will win? As I mentioned, the better fighter
period! A person training traditional
means that through his kata (Karate) or forms (Wushu), he will advance in belt
rank or still sharpen his skills. This
does not mean that he will be the ‘lethal weapon’ he was promised to be in the
local newspaper ad.
We have all seen the Youtube
video of the ‘Kiai Master’ getting brutalized by the MMA fighter. This sad reality is all too common place as
guys training primarily in the traditional styles, (Taekwondo, Karate and Kung
Fu) all seem to be manhandled by anyone with an elementary knowledge of
groundfighting. What isn’t being said,
is the cultural development of why these ‘traditional’ guys are getting
destroyed. In the case of WUSHU, the
empty handed fighting forms commonly known as ‘Kung Fu,’ you are learning a
demonstration style which primarily finds its applicability inside a pure
fighting style known as ‘Sanshou’ or ‘Sanda.’
This combat is comprised of stricking and throws(takedowns). A ‘famous’ Kung Fu fighter who has done quite
well for himself would be Cung Le. There
is also a grabbing perspective, in Chin-Na, you have seizing and grabbing, a
pure form of grappling and control, which can immobilize through joint locks
and with a simple ‘jerk’ seriously inflict damage.
Now onto the forms. The forms were practiced by the monks
mimicking the movements of the animals. They
comprise usually a predetermined set of movements, punching and kicking the
air. Forms are fun, they are vigorously
exhausting, require memory and make use of the basic skills. The problem is that most of these schools that
are strictly form based, do not sparr or fight in a competition. This clearly can give someone a false sense
of security. Great workout, but no fight
experience= bad training!
Clearly, I will always defend
Kung Fu. Although as of the last three
years and right now, my style is primarily Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Jiu Jitsu allows for full sparring at
100percent!! I also have some experience in Judo and wrestling, so clearly I’m
more of a grappler. Although I will
always practise and consider myself a Kung Fu guy. The reason that I stepped away from it was
from a theological perspective as there were some philosophies that were
incompatible with my Catholic Faith. In
recent times, I have returned to training from a pure kickboxing perspective
and rehabilited the Kung Fu without the ‘buddha.’ Cross training has made me a more complete
Martial artist.
Jesus calls all types of men to priesthood and again, our formation according to Pastores Dabo Vobis will always incorporate the human dimension. I say this because often people will ask how a seminarian is allowed to train and play sports,.. They are usually shocked when I give them a little Quebec history lesson showing how most boxing and wrestling promotions started in Church basements. ;)
Obviously, this post was more in
tune with a sports/leisure/lifestyle dimension.
I will be returning with more theological reflections in the future.
Blessed Pier Giorgio
Frassati,……………………………………ora pro nobis.
