I'm thinking of getting back into TMA. I will most likely be doing kung fu for various reasons. What is your opinion of Yang Jwing Ming? From talking to students, they won't be the best fighters out there, but I'm not really caring about these days. Is he a legit teacher?
Is he "legit"? He does a real system (two actually) and seems to teach it unchanged for the most part He studied it long enough to know it well. He does teach some applications and some chin na. But it wouldn't be like a fight school. I've never seen students of his in the US spar...
Yeah. That's what I thought. As for sparring, they do a progressional thing:
Level 1 - Stand horse stance across from each other. One person punches, the other blocks.
Level 2 - Same as level 1 except both people can attack and defend.
Level 3 - Movement and kicking is allowed now, but they can only go straight back and forwards.
Level 4 - Lateral movement is allowed now
Level 5 - Wrestling and Joint locks are incorporated
Level 6-10 are light to darkness oriented.
Like I said, I'm not looking to train MMA again, but I'm hoping some people there would like to mix it up outside of all these restrictions. They say they do this, so you learn to fight using your style, but IMO you should start fighting immediately. You may not look trained at first but neither do rookie boxers or BJJ guys. You evolve into using more complicated techniques and strategies as you become more proficient in BOTH fighting and your chosen art.