Mixing techniques?

[unknownstyle]

i believe mixing is the only way to go. sure you can get along way using one style, but by doing more than one you make your fighting more complete and well rounded

[TAZ]

Well put, unknownstyle!

[White Warlock]

It would be great to believe that one system covers all eventualities, or even that a thousand systems would cover all eventualities, but such is simply not the case.

The ultimate goals we should all be striving for is a concrete understanding of what we know, along with a firm confidence. It's the best we can do, for when an incident happens, where we will need our skills the most, it very likely will fall at the very worst moment and while our guard is down. That is because a criminal will wait for you to present that window of opportunity, and not just walk up to you for a challenge match.

So, if you spread yourself out too thin and fail to embed the training you've undergone, all the thousands of techniques you've learned will amount to absolutely nothing. This, in and of itself, is the greatest argument for maintaining a vigilant study in one particular art. A base, a foundation, your lifeline.

[Anbu Alex]

Mixing tech is good cause the ultimate goal in Martial arts is to develop your own style or basically what works for you i personally encourage it cause youll have more knowlage and be able to defend from a multitude of things (it help me when a bjj grappler came into our dojo and i was able to stop him)

[shogeri]

Why just use salt and or pepper, when a touch of garlic can bring things to life! Let alone imagine, chili pepper, paprika, oregano, onion poweder, and so on.

Variety is the spice of life.

Vary your techniques, but keep the number low.

You can do the same with combat principles as well.

Good luck!

[NinTai]

Its not about technique(s)...

There is a very good reason to stick with one art that is

to learn the underlying concepts of that art.

A punch, kick and kata are vehicles to teach you the base

concepts of the art, they are not the art.

What really separates one art fom the other are the concepts and

principles that you are learning.

The concepts are the art.

Lets look at shooting.

You don't need to shoot a variety of pistols to become good.

All you have to do is pick one (lets say a .38 ), then work on the

principles like:

breathing, trigger control, sight alignment and recoil control.

Once you have that it dosen't matter what type of pistol you pick up, or

situation that you are in, yes little things will chage like recoil and trigger pull, but that stuff is of little conciquence if you haveall of your basics down.

By understanding the concepts of the art you will know when you see a

new technique if it fits into youre style of fighting or if it will just get in the way.

And youre "discard what is useless, keep what is usefull" will have direction and meaning.

[bokendowanderer]

I would be willing to bet that if we take a good look into the history of "our" styles we would find very few if any that are pure and never changing. One student learns from an instructor like a child from a parent. Take what you learn and make it better. Styles of martial arts evolve from input and likes or dislikes of those who practice them. All the styles that I have experience in evolved from more than one style and input from generations of martial artist.

I agree, you need a strong foundation to build a strong house. But once the house is built, you can always add rooms to it.

A martial artist who is not teachable will become stagnant and will stop learning. Stay hungry and you will continue to be saticfied. When you get bored with the food on your table find another cook.

Do a little research on your style and see where it comes from.

[NinTai]

Double Post

Edited January 22, 2006 by NinTai

[NinTai]

When you get bored with the food on your table find another cook.

I don't believe that that is the best way to look at it.

If you get bored with the "food on your table" then maybe you should

question your reasons for being there.

If you go to seek instruction too add to your "house" you should go with a

plan and a strong understanding of your base.

I never objected to adding to your art or that it should never change.

I only take issue with those who "collect" techniques because they lack

a deep enough understanding their base art. They cannot see beyond

the physical techniques to the more inportant underlying concepts.

As with my shooting analogy you don't "NEED" to shoot different types of

pistols, but once you have the principles then you can "experiment"

other techniques and weapons and your decisions have direction.

[bokendowanderer]

OK! Nin Tai, good point on the food stuff. And I think we agree you need a good foundation (base) to build on.

Like what you had to say about principals. Technique is important to get that foundation. Once the foundation is there, you need something that allows your thinking to build and help you be creative. Build individuality. If all you are taught is technique after technique the evolution of the arts stops. A strong base founded on concepts helps us to be creative in our own style and in mixing techniques and other styles without disturbing that base.

The shooting analogy was right on the money.