Over the holidays, I have digitized some videos from back 20-30 years ago. Some of those were from the 8mm days, was encoded into VHS and then digitized just recently.
http://www.youtube.com/user/lhbfmartialarts
You have to watch the videos with the right frame of mind or you end up just being an arrogant critic and you would have wasted a learning opportunity.
- The 1954 fight was ground breaking in a few ways. 1) Bare knuckles against other styles without any protection. 2)Even though it is suppose to be a charitable event, everything about it was real. The fighters have to sign waivers for death. 3)The Hong Kong government did not allow for the public display of ‘real’ fights and therefore the event had to be conducted at Macao. 4) At that time, there are still lots of myths surrounding kung fu – there aren’t any videos of your opponent’s fighting ability except for public demonstrations and hearsay. Looking back, it is easy for us to say what can be done better but I am sure that each of them had some take home that influenced the way they teach and train.
To notice opportunities for improvements is not disrespect, it is just part of the learning process. If you don’t see any opportunities for improvements looking back something that was done over 60 years ago, you have issues. - Fast forwarding to the late 70s, light gloves are used for protection, there are more open public tournaments and a lot of myths got squashed. Realism and practicality within the competition rules evolve.
- Fast forwarding to a video from 2012 – bare knuckles sparring between practitioners from two different styles.
Exercise:
– Using the videos to trigger questions and learning. What did you pick up from some of the videos? What should you be looking for?
– Here is another playlist of fights under different competition rules. Notice any style/approach changes?
Old martial art videos