Balancing two styles
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maxwell ainley
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Vicki , In my own experience on input into a martial art ,and I have said this before two nights 1 -2 hrs input per week is a good start ,but it would inibit progress in one style never mind two ,but that being said you could find a balance in your mind and endevor ,hope it all goes well for you .
max ainley
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jorvik
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"I am not sure, Jorvik, if your question was for me. If so, I am actually studying with three different teachers:"
I didn't realise that you were already doing two styles......I have noticed that there is a lot of cross training in certain styles. In my area two of the best teachers in Goju and Shotokan were friends so their students used to train at both clubs. I've also noticed that in some of the styles that I do there is active encouragement to train in other styles.
In my area Wing chun seems to be combined a lot with Chi-Kung of various flavours , and I know that some chunners do escrima or Chen style Tai-Chi as well............In the club that I'm in now there are many cross training. Two guys do Hung Gar ( in different clubs) one guy does shotokan............the Shotokan guy isn't very good at picking up the Wing Chun though, he's still too stiff and inflexible.....I think that is more his problem than the cross training though.
One of the problems with "Style".is that when you do a "Style" you have really decided to fight in a certain way.in say Taekwon do you have decided to kick.......when you do Tai-Chi or even Wing-Chun you have decided to stick to your opponent...some of these various skills don't cross over too well. You could do high kicks in Wing-Chun but you wouldn't really be using the skill sets that the system was designed for. I always used to think of Uechi as being close in.........but so much of the sparring has turned into long range stuff that Uechi and Shotokan will probably work very well together
"I am not sure, Jorvik, if your question was for me. If so, I am actually studying with three different teachers:"
I didn't realise that you were already doing two styles......I have noticed that there is a lot of cross training in certain styles. In my area two of the best teachers in Goju and Shotokan were friends so their students used to train at both clubs. I've also noticed that in some of the styles that I do there is active encouragement to train in other styles.
In my area Wing chun seems to be combined a lot with Chi-Kung of various flavours , and I know that some chunners do escrima or Chen style Tai-Chi as well............In the club that I'm in now there are many cross training. Two guys do Hung Gar ( in different clubs) one guy does shotokan............the Shotokan guy isn't very good at picking up the Wing Chun though, he's still too stiff and inflexible.....I think that is more his problem than the cross training though.
One of the problems with "Style".is that when you do a "Style" you have really decided to fight in a certain way.in say Taekwon do you have decided to kick.......when you do Tai-Chi or even Wing-Chun you have decided to stick to your opponent...some of these various skills don't cross over too well. You could do high kicks in Wing-Chun but you wouldn't really be using the skill sets that the system was designed for. I always used to think of Uechi as being close in.........but so much of the sparring has turned into long range stuff that Uechi and Shotokan will probably work very well together
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jorvik
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"I 've had my understanding improved - the differences between Shotokan and Uechi not differences in fundamental principles but in tactics, strategy, mechanics. Do you try to keep them separate or do you blend?"
I know this question is for Vicki......but
Not all martial arts are about "tactics, strategy, mechanics"........some styles have no strategy or tactics...they just have weapons..............they are just a general style for dealing with the bad stuff that happens ( no Diss intended)..........look at Hung gar or Choy lay Fut....they are just an amalgum of different stuff that their founders found useful. Same with Ninjutsu ( forget all the b*llscheitt...this is a good style which is a mix of old jiu jitsu styles IMHO)....................specific styles like Wing Chun, Tai chi, some silat , BJJA , have decided that to win a fight they will go to a range or system of movements not widely known and specialise............and to them " Principles", which are hard to find and learn are cherished and promoted..but not everyone thinks like this............BUUUUUUUT there are a lot of folks who would like to
...........don't ever give them your time unless they can prove it to you completly......I know Aikido guys who can put on a tremendous demonstration if you do stuff that they want 
.........but same goes for Uechi....a lot of your "Conditioners " don't like folks hitting them hard in places that they don't want you to 
.at the end of the day it is caveat emptor " buyer beware"
"I 've had my understanding improved - the differences between Shotokan and Uechi not differences in fundamental principles but in tactics, strategy, mechanics. Do you try to keep them separate or do you blend?"
I know this question is for Vicki......but
Not all martial arts are about "tactics, strategy, mechanics"........some styles have no strategy or tactics...they just have weapons..............they are just a general style for dealing with the bad stuff that happens ( no Diss intended)..........look at Hung gar or Choy lay Fut....they are just an amalgum of different stuff that their founders found useful. Same with Ninjutsu ( forget all the b*llscheitt...this is a good style which is a mix of old jiu jitsu styles IMHO)....................specific styles like Wing Chun, Tai chi, some silat , BJJA , have decided that to win a fight they will go to a range or system of movements not widely known and specialise............and to them " Principles", which are hard to find and learn are cherished and promoted..but not everyone thinks like this............BUUUUUUUT there are a lot of folks who would like to
...........don't ever give them your time unless they can prove it to you completly......I know Aikido guys who can put on a tremendous demonstration if you do stuff that they want .........but same goes for Uechi....a lot of your "Conditioners " don't like folks hitting them hard in places that they don't want you to .at the end of the day it is caveat emptor " buyer beware"
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Jason Rees
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My understanding is that Shotokan and Uechi forms are completely different, and I don't even know if Shotokan uses Bunkai and the like. So most likely you won't be able to blend everything, because you'd have to learn the different kata and keep it all seperate.Sue G wrote: Do you try to keep them separate or do you blend?
While learning a little of different forms of karate is probably a good thing, It would probably be better to branch out to an entirely different art. While I was studying Uechi, I was also doing Aikido. I've had to stop doing Judo (injuries were really piling up, almost interfering with deployments; Class structure and instructors probably had alot to do with that), but between Krav Maga and a Ninjutsu class I'm checking out, I'd like to think I'm getting pretty well-rounded.
Life begins & ends cold, naked & covered in crap.
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Bill Glasheen
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- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Having started with a Japanese style similar to Shotokan (and having spent time with the instructor Vicki is training with), I can say that mixing Uechi and Shotokan is not a worry. They really feel very different - until you get into the advanced stages of both.Sue G wrote:
I 've had my understanding improved - the differences between Shotokan and Uechi not differences in fundamental principles but in tactics, strategy, mechanics. Do you try to keep them separate or do you blend?
Shotokan starts with deeper, longer stances, and doesn't dictate specifics about core posture and pelvic tilt. Uechi starts with smaller, shallow stances, and is all about what you're doing with a static pelvis and lumbar region. Shotokan starts with the seiken fist, and Uechi starts with Sanchin nukites, boshikens, and grabbing tiger hands. Shotokan ukes are more linear, and Uechi's more circular. At this stage, it feels a lot like taking a class in math and in comparative literature.
If you are a beginner and doing both, it might get confusing. For example beginners in each style learn two distinctly different ways to do a basic front kick. Uechi kicks in a whipping fashion, and with the toe. Shotokan employs time on target, and contacts with ball of foot. With time you can mix and match the elements that drive this basic technique, and learn how to take this simple motion in myriad directions. But in the beginning it's easier for most to choose a simple way and stick with it until you can use it.
I find the greatest cross-over potential later in both styles. Shotokan evolves to using Uechi shallow stances. Uechi evolves to charging in deep stances, and advanced practitioners may learn to employ hip movement. One of the more fun exercises I ever did was teaching Hamahiga no tonfa to a Uechi student who had started with Shotokan. We each saw elements of our styles in the tonfa form. However I saw Seisan and he saw Bassai. When we mixed and matched what we brought to the weapon kata, we created something that neither of us could have done by reaching into the fundamentals of a single empty hand style.
And then... you start to learn to infuse nuances of "that other style" into what you do. And then... the karate becomes your own - something that an "inbred" instructor can never quite impart to you.
- Bill
