Opinions on different Japanese/Chinese styles?

[Gogita9x]

Could anyone tell me if you know which style of Japanese martial art was most directly influenced by shaolin white crane???

And also could someone tell me or direct me to information on the Japanese styles that were influenced by bagua/pakua and hsing-i/xingyi respectively?

Also would you know of or could you direct me to any place, person or something....who has knowledge on MA's.. .. that has a good mixture of Japanese martial arts(hybrid/combined) and a good mixture of Chinese Martial arts as well(hybrid combined) if possible.

I want to know if there are more combined arts out there, from Japan and China at least. To expand my knowledge of principles and applications. Or could you reference me to a site or book or person who would know??

Basically I strted in american karate and tkd years ago when I was younger .. and as I got older studied jkd jujutsu, and kajukenbo b/c they were hybrid arts with a little of everything... I do like hybrids b/c they are combinations of principles...

JKD is good, and I like kajukenbo pretty well , but I dont like my jujutsu class that much .. it seems like we are learning aikido under a different name ... I know they are similar.. but a friend who trains in aikido does the exact same stuff.

Anyone have any answers or leads for me??

Novice guy in TN.

[zach]

Are you searching for style to do on a semi-permament basis, or are you just looking for something to supplement what you do already? IMO theres probably no martial art around thats completely based on either japanese or chinese roots, but If I was gonna pick something with a nice integration of hard and soft I would probably go with Goju-ryu. But Okinawan styles (again in my opinion) are not really something you can study as a supplement to something else, I think you have to study the style fully to get what your'e supposed to out of it. Not to say there's nothing to be learned from karate by people in other styles(or vice versa), but I don't think the art is intended to let you in on it's "secrets" or whatever without spending some time in it. From what ive read almost any okinawan style is in some way influenced by hsing I, and as far as white crane, pretty much the same, but I would say if you look closely at the Tomari-te katas in particular you would see alot of influence from White Crane. Dont know which chinese styles Goju takes stuff from specifically, but we were always told that most froms of Shorin-Ryu have a good amount of White Crane influence.

[Doug Daulton]

Originally posted by Gogita9x
Could anyone tell me if you know which style of Japanese martial art was most directly influenced by shaolin white crane??? The quick answer would be Shorin-ryu Karate .. which is Okinawan, not Japanese, and of which there are many derivative schools.

As I understand it, Shorin is another reading of the Chinese characters for Shaolin. Much of the karate of Okinawa is heavily influenced by Chinese fighting traditions.

As for finding a teacher in your region, ask in the Member's lounge. Most everyone checks in there. The only thing I would advise is spending a significant amount of time (3+years minimum) focusing on one art first before you begin exploring other, supplemental arts. Without a foundation, it is easy to become confused in your body and mind.

The "foundation" art can be based on personal preference but make a commitment and stick to it for a while. Many folks who sell Bruce Lee's "Art of no art" philosophy forget that he had a very long, very solid foundation in Wushu before he started JKD. What's more, in my experience most (not all) are hucksters and charlatans who've never trained with a legitimate teacher of any kind, let alone JKD.

Good luck,

______________________
Doug Daulton

[Dale Knepp]

quote:
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Originally posted by Gogita9x

Could anyone tell me if you know which style of Japanese martial art was most directly influenced by shaolin white crane???
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Many claims have been made as to Chinese influences on Okinawan martial arts, but I don't believe anyone can truely know what influenced what in most cases. However, there has definitely been some influence from China and some of it is very obvious and well documented.

You shouldn't be as concerned as to whether or not an instructor may claim a particular lineage or not either. Many Americans have only trained to a short time with various Okinawan instructors and make claim to have been named a successsor to various martials arts or received high ranking and master teaching licenses. Doug Dalton gave you some very good advice and I commend him for it.

quote:
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Originally posted by Gogita9x

Also would you know of or could you direct me to any place, person or something....who has knowledge on MA's.. .. that has a good mixture of Japanese martial arts(hybrid/combined) and a good mixture of Chinese Martial arts as well(hybrid combined) if possible.
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You might take a look a the following schools in Tennesse:

http://www.kushu.com/tn.html

http://www.utmem.edu/campusrec/InstructionalPrograms.html#Karate

I know Mitch Watsky personnally and know that he is both knowledgeable and honest. He has trained in the same system as I have for many years. Our teacher combines what he learned from two teachers he met after WWII.

http://www.kushu.com/aboutto.htm

Although, I wouldn't categorize this system as a hybrid in the sense that you are using. I think that you might like to see and compare it with others then make a choice for yourself. Hope this is helpful.

Dale Knepp

[Sochin]

I agree with Mr. Dalton,

Shorin or Shorin-ji sound the closest to what you want. And I can even recommend a particular organization too.

<a href="http://www.busen.org/">Sensei Richard Kim</a> (past official of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai) and founder of the <a href="http://www.busen.org/">Zen Bei Butoku Kai</a>, was trained in Shorin (Okinawan) and pa kua and tai chi (Chinese) and the Shorin-ji he taught me contains the influence of both.

I have practiced Shotokan and I have taken separate Bagua training (two forms) and I find a strong internal style influence in the Shorin-ji I've practiced since 1986 in the Western Canada Butoku Kai.

Good luck in your search.