Mixing and Matching

[Hawke]

Greetings All,

I just read about a Kenpo forum member studying FMA for the first time. This got me thinking about other MAs.

Are there any MAs that does not blend well together?

Mixing hard/soft styles, circular/linear movements, or stand up/ground games appear to blend well. The learning curve may be steeper but the rewards appear to be worth the training.

Inosanto Academy
http://inosanto.com/

I also noticed a trend for other studios to mix and match their curriculum before the MMAs became popular and this trend is still growing.

Can you imagine two different arts blending?

Tai Chi/Krav Maga

Aikido/Silat

Bagua/Kenpo

Hsing I/BJJ

FMA/Hapkido

I currently can't think of a bad mix.

Some of the common mix I have seen in Los Angeles are:

FMA/Silat
Kali/Kenpo
Aikido/Karate
FMA/JKD

Does a bad mix exist?

I had an instructor that did not like the idea of mixing until you got a strong foundation in at least one martial art.

I also had another instructor that would not rank you past 4th Dan until you achieved a black belt in another recognized art.

What do you guys think? The philosophies of the arts may differ but they seem to blend well together.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I always thought Bagua and Drunken style would be a cool mix.
I only recall some guy in a cage match (forgot the name) who used some combo of Kungfu and some other mixture he lost pretty bad.
I think if you know the arts you study you can see where and how an application from an other art may be used. A common example would be Kickboxing and Wrestling as seen in most U.F.C. type matches.
Looking at your art and exploring weakness that you have in it not only can help you in mixing your art but also provide a better grounding in the first one.

 

[still learning]

Hello, Bruce Lee was "right"....take what works for you...from all fighting styles...to limit one self is to stop learning the endless void of martial art training or protecting oneself.

Like mixing juices..some combintions may NOT taste as good....or it may taste good of one person...and not for someone else...

So mixing and matching can be an individual choice of what works for you...no two people will agree 100%? well most anyway...

Mix marriages work...mix races..work...mix cement works too!

When we fish for "Uluas in Hawaii...sometimes we use MIX BAITS or combintions of baits on one hook...like TAKO legs and Puhi strips
TAkO -Japenese name for Octopus...Puhi- is Hawaiian name for EEL.

Just about every martial arts has thru the years...mix and match many things......together.

In Hawaii...mix plates are very popular...(combintions of different main entries) ....teriyaki meat with fried chicken...rice and salad.

Mix running with karate? ...you get "runnatae"...mix golf with kali? ...you get a bigger stick with balls....

Aloha, my mind is all mix up? for sure!

 

[Nolerama]

Hello, Bruce Lee was "right"....take what works for you...from all fighting styles...to limit one self is to stop learning the endless void of martial art training or protecting oneself.

Like mixing juices..some combintions may NOT taste as good....or it may taste good of one person...and not for someone else...

So mixing and matching can be an individual choice of what works for you...no two people will agree 100%? well most anyway...

Mix marriages work...mix races..work...mix cement works too!

When we fish for "Uluas in Hawaii...sometimes we use MIX BAITS or combintions of baits on one hook...like TAKO legs and Puhi strips
TAkO -Japenese name for Octopus...Puhi- is Hawaiian name for EEL.

Just about every martial arts has thru the years...mix and match many things......together.

In Hawaii...mix plates are very popular...(combintions of different main entries) ....teriyaki meat with fried chicken...rice and salad.

Mix running with karate? ...you get "runnatae"...mix golf with kali? ...you get a bigger stick with balls....

Aloha, my mind is all mix up? for sure!

LOL! My thoughts exactly.

 

[theletch1]

I definetly have to agree with your instructors insistance that you have a firm base in your primary style before you begin to cross train. NO art is complete so it is always a great idea to figure out what the weaknesses are of your art and find other arts that will fill in those gaps. For instance, aikido is lacking in ground fighting. Once you have a good base in your aikido it wouldn't be a problem at all to train BJJ to add to your aikido. As long as training in one art doesn't confuse your abilities in another and they will mesh well for YOU then go for it.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Greetings All,

I just read about a Kenpo forum member studying FMA for the first time. This got me thinking about other MAs.

Are there any MAs that does not blend well together?

Mixing hard/soft styles, circular/linear movements, or stand up/ground games appear to blend well. The learning curve may be steeper but the rewards appear to be worth the training.

Inosanto Academy
http://inosanto.com/

I also noticed a trend for other studios to mix and match their curriculum before the MMAs became popular and this trend is still growing.

Can you imagine two different arts blending?

Tai Chi/Krav Maga

Aikido/Silat

Bagua/Kenpo

Hsing I/BJJ

FMA/Hapkido

I currently can't think of a bad mix.

Some of the common mix I have seen in Los Angeles are:

FMA/Silat
Kali/Kenpo
Aikido/Karate
FMA/JKD

Does a bad mix exist?

I had an instructor that did not like the idea of mixing until you got a strong foundation in at least one martial art.

I also had another instructor that would not rank you past 4th Dan until you achieved a black belt in another recognized art.

What do you guys think? The philosophies of the arts may differ but they seem to blend well together.

I think there are DEFINITELY bad mixes.

I think "Your way is good, and my way is also good" ceases to be truth when applied to fighting.

 

[vankuen]

Pressure test whatever it is you're looking to practice. See if it works for you. If it doesn't (after gaining an thorough understanding of it and it's application) than toss it.

That was the main thing about what Bruce Lee said. It wasn't only him that thought this way either...he was just the most popular in the last half century.

I would say that your melting pot should have a variety of distinctly "complimenting" styles--meaning that each style fills the gap of another, before you mix two styles that work in the same area of expertise. That way you round yourself out and you don't get confused as to what to use when.

 

[searcher]

I think there are DEFINITELY bad mixes.

I think "Your way is good, and my way is also good" ceases to be truth when applied to fighting.

This is the exact reason the original UFC got started, to decide what is gonna work and what will not.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Greetings All,

I just read about a Kenpo forum member studying FMA for the first time. This got me thinking about other MAs.

Are there any MAs that does not blend well together?

Mixing hard/soft styles, circular/linear movements, or stand up/ground games appear to blend well. The learning curve may be steeper but the rewards appear to be worth the training.

Inosanto Academy
http://inosanto.com/

I also noticed a trend for other studios to mix and match their curriculum before the MMAs became popular and this trend is still growing.

Can you imagine two different arts blending?

Tai Chi/Krav Maga

Aikido/Silat

Bagua/Kenpo

Hsing I/BJJ

FMA/Hapkido

I currently can't think of a bad mix.

Some of the common mix I have seen in Los Angeles are:

FMA/Silat
Kali/Kenpo
Aikido/Karate
FMA/JKD

Does a bad mix exist?

I had an instructor that did not like the idea of mixing until you got a strong foundation in at least one martial art.

I also had another instructor that would not rank you past 4th Dan until you achieved a black belt in another recognized art.

What do you guys think? The philosophies of the arts may differ but they seem to blend well together.

I think bad mixes exist. For instance a TKD/kenpo mix is either going to have a TKD idea of kicking or a Kenpo idea of kicking. There will be no blend, just one or the other.
Sean