6 ms·

Ancient Eastern traditional martial arts disciplines can be really amazing. I used to take Merpati Putih, a form of Indonesian silat, from a couple of brothers

Ancient Eastern traditional martial arts disciplines can be really amazing. I used to take Merpati Putih, a form of Indonesian silat, from a couple of brothers in Ogden, Utah, like 13 years ago. Within six months I was breaking solid ceramic tiles and hard metal files with my bare hands. I gave up a really solid MMA gym to go train with these guys. The human body is capable of really amazing things, and schools like this have been honing their pedagogy for thousands of years. If only Westerners weren't so darn skeptical about everything, then we'd have way more of that sort of thing over here.

Balero 8y ago
Modern mma has a focus on fighting and not on displays. So it's really no surprise that you got good at a new discipline when you practiced it. It's really just a matter of what you are aiming for. I think the skepticism is pretty rational. There are plenty of people who talk about a bunch of rubbish that makes them invincible. Things have really got to be tried to be prove, you gotta walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Modern martial arts has a great history of taking things that weren't initially thought to work, such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo etc, very seriously when they are proven to work.
markdown 8y ago
> If only Westerners weren't so darn skeptical about everything. The Chinese have become skeptical as well . https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2119375/nobody-kung-fu-fighting-chinese-martial-artists-ordered-stop https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2119375/nobo...
- bllguo 8y ago
  yeah in terms of the merits in actual combat, MMA has been proven superior. I read OP to be referring more to the values, lifestyle, discipline, etc. espoused by those ancient traditions, though. Now I'm not sure if that was OP's intent, but I think that's a more interesting discussion than which martial art beats another.
  - vinceguidry 8y ago
    Absolutely. These things are worth a lot. A lot more than anyone gives them credit for.
mr_overalls 8y ago
> schools like this have been honing their pedagogy for thousands of years I think generally, evidence points to the contrary. It's amazing how quickly specific martial arts lose their fighting ability when realistic sparring/fighting is replaced with forms, meditation, light/no contact, etc. See: 1993-1995 UFC competitions where traditional schools were destroyed by wrestlers, judoka, and BJJ.
- gambler 8y ago
  >See: 1993-1995 UFC competitions In a surprising turn of events, a tournament organized in large part as self-promotion by Gracie family "proven" the effectiveness of their martial art.
  - mr_overalls 8y ago
    Please point me to any other relatively no-holds-barred type of contest that has "traditional" martial arts finishing strongly.
    - gambler 8y ago
      This isn't how it works. If you don't have good evidence to support your claims, the onus is on you to find better evidence, not on everyone else to provide evidence to the contrary.
      - CodeAndCuffs 8y ago
        He did. He pointed to the largest and most viewed no-holds-barred event in the world. The reply implied that the UFC was not impartial. He asked for an alternate example. He literally gave reasonable evidence to support his claim. The reply made a conflicting claim with no evidence, OP simply, respectfully, asked for evidence. Yeah, the early UFCs were a commercial for the Gracie's BJJ, but there is no sign or credible claim that it was rigged. Royce Gracie won UFC 1, 2, and 4 over the course of 13 months. After that it was mainly wrestlers. This isn't antagonistic, I would also like to see if there was a similar competition where 'traditional' martial arts fared better.

Balero 8y ago

Modern mma has a focus on fighting and not on displays. So it's really no surprise that you got good at a new discipline when you practiced it. It's really just a matter of what you are aiming for. I think the skepticism is pretty rational. There are plenty of people who talk about a bunch of rubbish that makes them invincible. Things have really got to be tried to be prove, you gotta walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Modern martial arts has a great history of taking things that weren't initially thought to work, such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo etc, very seriously when they are proven to work.

markdown 8y ago

> If only Westerners weren't so darn skeptical about everything. The Chinese have become skeptical as well . https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2119375/nobody-kung-fu-fighting-chinese-martial-artists-ordered-stop https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2119375/nobo...

bllguo 8y ago
yeah in terms of the merits in actual combat, MMA has been proven superior. I read OP to be referring more to the values, lifestyle, discipline, etc. espoused by those ancient traditions, though. Now I'm not sure if that was OP's intent, but I think that's a more interesting discussion than which martial art beats another.
- vinceguidry 8y ago
  Absolutely. These things are worth a lot. A lot more than anyone gives them credit for.

mr_overalls 8y ago

> schools like this have been honing their pedagogy for thousands of years I think generally, evidence points to the contrary. It's amazing how quickly specific martial arts lose their fighting ability when realistic sparring/fighting is replaced with forms, meditation, light/no contact, etc. See: 1993-1995 UFC competitions where traditional schools were destroyed by wrestlers, judoka, and BJJ.

gambler 8y ago
>See: 1993-1995 UFC competitions In a surprising turn of events, a tournament organized in large part as self-promotion by Gracie family "proven" the effectiveness of their martial art.
- mr_overalls 8y ago
  Please point me to any other relatively no-holds-barred type of contest that has "traditional" martial arts finishing strongly.
  - gambler 8y ago
    This isn't how it works. If you don't have good evidence to support your claims, the onus is on you to find better evidence, not on everyone else to provide evidence to the contrary.
    - CodeAndCuffs 8y ago
      He did. He pointed to the largest and most viewed no-holds-barred event in the world. The reply implied that the UFC was not impartial. He asked for an alternate example. He literally gave reasonable evidence to support his claim. The reply made a conflicting claim with no evidence, OP simply, respectfully, asked for evidence. Yeah, the early UFCs were a commercial for the Gracie's BJJ, but there is no sign or credible claim that it was rigged. Royce Gracie won UFC 1, 2, and 4 over the course of 13 months. After that it was mainly wrestlers. This isn't antagonistic, I would also like to see if there was a similar competition where 'traditional' martial arts fared better.