Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Do You Want to Learn Quality or Do You Want to Learn Quickly?

martial arts forms May 28, 2008

I'm reading a great book -- American Shaolin by Matthew Polly. He went to China to study kung-fu at the Shaolin Temple. The book is a very interesting account of his adventure.

The Shaolin monk who "drew the short straw" and had to teach Matthew his first form didn't act as if teaching the American was a chore. It's funny to read about the monk going through ten moves of the form then stopping, trying to remember the next move. He sheepishly told Matthew that he hadn't taught the form in a while.

The monks at the Shaolin Temple don't think a lot of Americans. The monks spend 6 months to a year practicing basic moves over and over before they learn their first form. Americans, they believe, don't have the patience to become really good at a technique or a form before moving on.

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar. Anyone? Bueller?

There is a quote attributed to a Taijiquan master, who used to ask his students, "Do you want to learn quality or do you want to learn quickly?"

You ...

Looking Deeper into Martial Arts Forms and Katas

martial arts forms tournament competition Jan 26, 2008

I was at a tournament a few years ago and some karate black belts were competing in my empty-hand forms division. I'm always interested in forms from other styles so I watch them carefully. Three black belts from one karate school did the same form and it ended when them bringing their right foot to their left and sort of stomping it two or three times as it pulled in.

After the judging, I went up to the three, who were standing together, and told them I liked their form but wondered what the fighting application was of the little foot taps at the end.

They looked at each other, then at me, shrugged their shoulders and said they didn't know.

I know a high-level black belt in another karate style who does a powerful staff form. He wins first place in a lot of tournaments. I asked him one day if he ever practiced the fighting applications and he said he had never actually done that with the staff -- he only knew the form.

I was judging at a tournament and a young guy with an Asian ba...

Finding the Pace and the Heart of a Form

forms martial arts forms tournament competition Dec 23, 2007

Many years ago, I received some excellent advice from a female karate black belt judge who consistently scored me very low in tournament competition, even when other judges scored me high. I usually performed Hsing-I forms in tournaments back then.

This went on for a couple of years. So I approached her after one competition and said, "Critique my form."

She told me that I blew through it like a house on fire. There was no pacing, she said. I thanked her for the advice.

Naturally, at first I thought, "Oh, what does she know," and then as I thought about it for the next few minutes, I realized she was right on the money. When I watched the video of the performance, I knew exactly what she was saying.

I was performing the movements and trying to get through the form without giving the movements the full life that they deserved. I compared it to the advice I used to give young TV news anchors that I hired, when they read each story, whether it was a murder or a story abo...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Do You Want to Learn Quality or Do You Want to Learn Quickly?

Looking Deeper into Martial Arts Forms and Katas

Finding the Pace and the Heart of a Form

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