Why give up several arts & get good at one?

 

Why give up several arts & get good at one?

"Passing on the small circle art" I am with Tom Kostusiak at Buffalo State College. Tom recalls my teaching him large circle Wu's Style when I was a disciple of the Wu Family.  He also recalls my study of Bagua Zhang.  I studied Bagua Zhang with a disciple of Li Zi Ming and his name was Dewei Li.  He was also a child psychologist and very versed in several arts.  Most notably he was a sword champion on the Mainland.  I assisted him in getting residence in the U.S. at one point. When studying Wu's style Master Eddie Wu asked me to give up my Tae Kwon Do and I did just missing the test for Black Belt.  

 I include some information here on Grandmaster Young Wabu who gave up several martial arts to study with Wu Chien Chuan.  To top it off he was at the top of the lineage chart for Master status in Monkey Boxing when he did so.  

"When you have something that works well, why complicate it?"

The study of Kata cuts across all martial arts and Classical Tai Chi is no exception.  In Tai Chi of course, the term Form is most often used instead of Kata.  Prof. Geoff Lane of the Danzan Ryu  JuJitsu system has written an article entitled "Back to Basics" which can be found here: Back to Basics.

In the article Lane pays tribute to Grandmaster Young Wabu's devotion and adherence to fundamental principles.  I include the excerpt here:

"Another martial artist I was very fortunate to meet with a similar quality was Linyi Maslin's father: Master Wabu Young, a Tai Chi master.  He studied in Hong Kong under Master Wu Chien Chuan in the 30's after he came to Hong Kong from Shanghai to escape the Japanese.  He spent his whole life perfecting one kata.  Doing it square, round, regular and mirror image, fast and slow, large and small...the basics...doing the same Tai Chi form for 70 years.  He passed away in 2004 (correction: note that Grand Master Young Wabu passed away on April 18, 2005 at the age of 101 in Rochester, NY), dying a "typical Zen Master's death (but that's another story), exuding power and grace to the end.  The basics served him well.  When you have something that works well, why complicate it?"

 Professor Geoff Lane teaches jujitsu at the Nibukikan in Chico, California.  Grand Master Young Wabu's daughter Lin-Yi Maslin also teaches Wu Style Tai Chi at the Nibukikan