Anybody else do a style longterm before learning one of the internals?I have been learning hsing-I for over a year and before that I have almost a decade in taekwondo.Now I am not saying anything negative towards tkd but,I know the hsing-I is better for ME(I really,really dig hsing-I).The thing is,its hard to let go.I do still enjoy the excercise value I get from my tkd(its a fun style) but for me martial arts is all about health&effective fighting skills(I got morals/manners from my parents and I get spirituality/inner peace from my church/faith).for ME(not blasting tkd),I find hsing-I fits the bill much better. Anybody else have a bit of a problem letting go of a previous style?
I though shortly after starting hsing I that I might have to give up HKD, but a bit more training and now I'm finding that they mesh nicely. Fortunately, they deal with different aspects of fighting. I don't really know how you could reconclie xingyi body mechanics with something like Tae Kwon Do.
Trust me,I have been trying for a year now to fit a square peg in a round hole.They do not mesh well and they are just taking away from each other.I can not serve two,I know that now,but ten years is hard to just walk away from. I am starting to learn animals and I really need to put more into the hsing-I if I want to ever atleast become average at it.
Ten years can't be easy to walk away from, but if xingyi fits you better, well, you've got to do it then. I could see how one could make use of xingyi's hand methods to compliment their TKD, if TKD was their "base" art, but I don't see how it could work the other way around. I'm sure though that some people have done it. Better to walk away now and progress in the art you love than to not and not progress in either.
hey there franksv, i too had a bit (2nd black) of tkd experience when i learned my first ima. i loved tkd. it was my first ma. funny thing though, i found that after learning some ima, that i realized i was doing a good bit of my tkd in a more internal-type way. so for me, i found the imas very very appealing, as they felt like the way my body wanted to move naturally. tkd was a great ma foundation for me. it gave me my flexibility and leg strength which i have only added to with time. i currently study bagua zhang. and i find its stepping and walking practices satisfy my craving for footwork. i also enjoy xingyi. i'd imagine that you'd also find the linear footwork to be very familiar. i don't think tkd will ever leave you, but that it will serve you as a strong root of basic training upon which to build your ima education. most famous ima masters of old were known to have started their martial career in some external style....and known for having reached a respectably high ranking in that art before "starting all over again" to progress with an ima. my advice, continue your tkd stretches and flexibility/agility training, but fully embrace the internal dynamics of xingyi.
Averan Thanks for the words of wisdom/advice.Its nice to hear that I m not the only one who has gone through this.
Meh, I'm finding CLF and boxing hard enough to compliment, I'm starting to freak out about any IMA training LOL.
I do understand where your coming from, I did external martial arts for a few years and it was really hard to give up just becuase of a small operation lol. I really loved the extenal stuff and wish I could go back to it but the doc's won't give me the go ahead even though I keep asking lol. I don't even train now though some problems I don't want to enter in with anyone but I did find tai chi really hard to learn as I couldn't get my head around it being soft as I'm not the sort lol. I just couldn't handle letting go of everything which was internal as I was scared that I'd just break and wouldn't be able to cope if I just open up. I'm not known to open up with the emotional stuff as I'd try and run away from it and fight to keep control, even though I'd feel broken inside but it costs to be like that and it wasn't a price I wasn't prepared to pay even though it's cost more to give up. In another thread I'd mentioned that I had to no choice to give up Mauy thai and this really hurt me to the core as I couldn't cope with not training as I love martial arts more than anything and it was an injustice because of a small hick up with my health lol. I'm just a rebel at heart and I'll never give in this is why some peple can't handle it as I know what's right for me more than others but I haven't given up hope just yet lol lisa xx
Happy to say I am on the wagon.Its been a week now since I last touched external ma. Its been real nice to just focus on tc&xy.
There is no way you will get away from teh TKD you trained so hard to gain. Yes you may lose some of teh physical aspects, but TKD has internal aspects as well and you will be hard pressed to ever release those.
Man,thats like offering a guy a beer after he gets out of rehab. Yes I agree,I will never fully get away from tkd,but as a whole I do like the other styles better.Internal really has nothing to do with it for me,they just fit me better.
I don't think he'll find it hard as you think... the two are VERY different in may ways. As far as TKD's internal aspects? What?
Hi, Sometimes it is difficult enough to go from one style to another within the same martial art. I have moved from one teacher to another after 10 years and the way of teaching is entirely different to what i was used to previously yet it is the same art and style that i'm learning. What is even more of a learning curve is that i teach this art and have had to re evaluate some parts of the art that i teach. TKD is Korean,Karate is Japanese,Tai Chi Chuan is Chinese and although these arts are obviuosly not just practised by these denominations there are cultural differences in the way that the arts can be taught,some of the disciplines are more rigid than others. So i would guess after practising an external art for 10 years it would be difficult to move over to an internal art without some restructuring going on. It is not impossible though as i know people that have done it. In many cases it is a matter of getting yourself out of the way and not the previously learned art!. Regards, Mark.
I did tkd for 10 years before coming to the internal arts (mainly taiji) and i haven't found it hard to let go of tkd as far as actually DOING it, but my brain naturally THINKS about it all the time because it's so ingrained in my mind and muscle memory. However at my more mature age of 27 i don't feel any strong desire to do tkd kicks as i know they're impractical and rough on the body, for the most part, and so i'm gradually replacing those habits with taichi habits and i'm loving it Liking something more than tkd isn't knocking tkd though, tkd is great for some people. i had great fun with it throughout my teens and it was a heck of a lot better than just playing video games and smoking weed like most of my peers were doing :bang:
I didn't have any problems giving up karate. In fact, I have since taken up Judo and Ju Jitsu for a few reasons. To get fitter and lose some poundage. I was bored in the flat sitting on my hole for most evenings. Try my hand against these big roughtie toughties. My Tai Chi stands up quite well against these guys, and I am in no way great. It really helped my understanding. I would say you can still go to other classes, but walk in as a Taiji player.
Latly I have really been bit by the tai chi bug.I am really enjoying breaking my routine into half hsing-I and half tc,instead of half tkd.Its a transition I guess.
