Don't choose form (Kata) that were created by others, create that form (Kata) all by yourself. This way you will have all the freedom that you need.
The form (Kata) is like a book. No matter how many books that you have read through your life time, soon or later you will need to write your own book. Otherwise, you will be like just a copy machine, no more and no less. Even the best copy machine, the quality will get worse and worse.
Try to use your knowledge to create. Here is an example:
This guy used
- roundhouse kick,
- side kick,
- double under hooks,
- knee strike,
- outer hook,
and took his opponent down twice within 15 seconds. You can't find this combo in any Chinese form or Japanese Kata. It's 100% "self-created" sequence and it works.
Different MA systems have different principles.
- Taiji has 13 principles,
- praying mantis has 20 principles (8 hard 12 soft principles),
- Zimen has 18 principles,
- long fist has 8 principles,
- Shuai Chiao has 60 principles,
- ...
Also the striking art uses different set of principles that's used in the grappling art.
If you have cross trained, you will have mixed principles from different MA systems. When you use principles from any particular form/kata, you are limited by the principles used in that particular MA system. When you create your own form/Kata, you can add in principles from different MA systems.
For example, you can add
- Taiji Peng principle,
- prating mantis Diao principle,
- Zimen sticky principle,
- long fist dodging principle
- Shuai Chiao tearing principle
- ...
into the form that you have created. This way, you are free and you are not restricted by any MA system. You are the master. Your form/kata is only your slave.
Kungfu Wang thinks we should make our own forms by cross training in various arts and blending them together. He suggests doing this would be better than studying kata that already exist.
Is he right? What are the pro's and con's of this idea?