large or small number of techniques?

[BLueDevil]

In our systems you of course learn your basics and then you learn how to counter them and then you learn how to extend them out to multiple striking and flowing movements together.

[elbows_and_knees]

NEVER LIMITATE YOURSELF JUST BECAUSE YOU DON`T WANT THE EVOLUTION EVOLUTIONS

It's not about limiting yourself - it's about specialization. When you specialize in something, you can truly master it. Of all the techniques I learned in karate in longfist, will I ever truly master most of them? No. Of the things I am learning now in judo, thai boxing and capoeira, will I ever master most of them? for thai boxing, yes. Why? because there is a smaller number of techniques to be concerned with. I may very well master the core techniques of capoeira someday, and perhaps 7 or 8 judo throws.

That is the nature of mastery - specialization. you can never master it all. Even when you look at current "masters", and those from the old days, they normally had something they reached mastery in - that thing is what they were known for. Some were known for lightning footwork, others for their iron palm. but notice you never heard about anything else concerning those guys. Why? because they specialized.

That said, there is nothing inherently wrong with learning a lot of techniques, just recognize that you will not master them all.

[White Warlock]

Dubbed - "Your kung fu is good, but not as good as mine."

Dubbed2 - "Which part?"

Dubbed - "Huh?"

[danieldc]

I see, e&knee, very powerfull point. And am agree whit it till certain point.

I mean, i don`t fell that a good doctor can be also a remarcable acounter.

If you are a doc, specialize using all your tools.

What woul you think if you go to your dentist and she (mine dentist is a girl, wth a pair of eyes that can make you fell great and think bad) and she tells you that she doesn`t know wto paste a molar becuz she is specialized in insisives.

Out from my methafor, read the one avobe, from WW

[elbows_and_knees]

I see, e&knee, very powerfull point. And am agree whit it till certain point.

I mean, i don`t fell that a good doctor can be also a remarcable acounter.

If you are a doc, specialize using all your tools.

What woul you think if you go to your dentist and she (mine dentist is a girl, wth a pair of eyes that can make you fell great and think bad) and she tells you that she doesn`t know wto paste a molar becuz she is specialized in insisives.

Out from my methafor, read the one avobe, from WW

And now you are talking about specialization. When your physician can't treat you, what does he do? He sends you to a SPECIALIST - be it a heart surgeon, ENT, ob gyn, podiatrist, etc.

[ovine king]

that, ladies and gentlemen, is an example of a straw man argument and not a very good one at that.

when you are in hospital with a head trauma, they're not going to call in a heart surgeon to check the injury, now are they?

[danieldc]

That is my point, he doen`t send you tou his accounter or his lawyer.

To be more acurate, what i mean is if you keep practicing only a few elements of your MA, you become an uncumplete artist.

[White Warlock]

Well, to be fair, not all medical studies are the same, nor are all martial arts the same. As well, even when a person studies medicine, more often than not they do specialize. I agree that it is not the best analogy, for the simple matter that the patient with a problem is not equal to the assailant with a problem. While a patient may have a particular issue that can only be managed by a specialist, the assailant has a particular issue that can be managed by most any competent ma practitioner. See, even if we generalize this point... it comes up blunt. (having fun with my metaphors)

In truth, i'm not quite sure what argument you are attempting to present here danieldc, so i don't know whether to agree or disagree.

[elbows_and_knees]

That is my point, he doen`t send you tou his accounter or his lawyer.

To be more acurate, what i mean is if you keep practicing only a few elements of your MA, you become an uncumplete artist.

when you look at it realistically, any style you study will be incomplete on some level. Your style may contain kicking, punching, graplling, throwing, etc. but if you are not training all of it on a regular basis, then you are incomplete.

As for the analogy, I was sticking with your example... you mentioned a doctor, so I used it.

[Shane]

I think taking a small number of techniques and training these techniques in several ways, and several situations is best. I would rather be an expert of 25 techniques that I could use in 500 different ways, than be just okay at 500 techniques that I prabobly could not even use that effective in 25 ways.