Great podcast interview! I appreciate him being honest and transparent about his skill and background, particularly the history of Wudang Taijiquan; like Shaolin Wushu, a lot of what modern Wudang practices is an import from other styles then rebranded with revisionist history of how it was "always" practiced at the monastery, including modern Wushu as part of a movement to restore the Shaolin Temple which involved Wushu professors, coaches and university degree candidates traveling to and teaching modern Wushu at Shaolin, after Jet Li's debut film The Shaolin Temple essentially reinvigorated the fame and hype of the real Shaolin. Today, many Shaolin Wushu schools have adopted both. But I digress. Adding him to my list of Taijiquan fighters! 🙂 1:01:33 In quick summary, kung fu (including traditional Taijiquan) has multiple problems, from gatekeeping, secrecy, lack of quality control, and full-contact sparring. The bad reputation of kung fu speaks to a complacency of the kung fu community, with no accountability/ownership and no proactive steps towards actual solutions. Taekwondo and Karate were at least able to achieve an identifiable place in the modern martial arts community; whether or not they are respected is debatable, but they have a seat at the table. Kung fu has not achieved this, and probably never will at this rate. "Kung fu" has become such a loaded term dominated by purist gatekeepers and elitist traditionalists, who talk down on other styles, make excuses as to why they “can’t fight” or when a traditionalist loses in a fight, while at the same time claiming they do the “real kung fu”, but don’t have any physical proof in fighting or sparring to back up their empty words, and are ultimately unproductive. Bruce Lee called it and had the right idea. If kung fu people don't want to get their shit together, that is their prerogative. Real fighters just keep it pushing and train.
Great convo! I appreciate your time and the insights you provided on your path. It's a joy to converse with & hear your perspective on the state & nature of the arts! Great vibe 🙏💪🏾💯!
![[Podcast Interview] T'ai Chi Chuan Journey: David Nicholson - Part 1 Segment I](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WzIQuAQZQZQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![[Podcast Interview] T'ai Chi Chuan Journey: David Nicholson - Part 1 Segment I](/img/tr.png)
![[Podcast Interview] T'ai Chi Chuan Journey: David Nicholson - Part 1 Segment II](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cYmXAJw9tuM/mqdefault.jpg)
Great podcast interview! I appreciate him being honest and transparent about his skill and background, particularly the history of Wudang Taijiquan; like Shaolin Wushu, a lot of what modern Wudang practices is an import from other styles then rebranded with revisionist history of how it was "always" practiced at the monastery, including modern Wushu as part of a movement to restore the Shaolin Temple which involved Wushu professors, coaches and university degree candidates traveling to and teaching modern Wushu at Shaolin, after Jet Li's debut film The Shaolin Temple essentially reinvigorated the fame and hype of the real Shaolin. Today, many Shaolin Wushu schools have adopted both. But I digress. Adding him to my list of Taijiquan fighters! 🙂
1:01:33 In quick summary, kung fu (including traditional Taijiquan) has multiple problems, from gatekeeping, secrecy, lack of quality control, and full-contact sparring. The bad reputation of kung fu speaks to a complacency of the kung fu community, with no accountability/ownership and no proactive steps towards actual solutions. Taekwondo and Karate were at least able to achieve an identifiable place in the modern martial arts community; whether or not they are respected is debatable, but they have a seat at the table. Kung fu has not achieved this, and probably never will at this rate. "Kung fu" has become such a loaded term dominated by purist gatekeepers and elitist traditionalists, who talk down on other styles, make excuses as to why they “can’t fight” or when a traditionalist loses in a fight, while at the same time claiming they do the “real kung fu”, but don’t have any physical proof in fighting or sparring to back up their empty words, and are ultimately unproductive. Bruce Lee called it and had the right idea. If kung fu people don't want to get their shit together, that is their prerogative. Real fighters just keep it pushing and train.
Thank you so much. Had an absolute blast
Great convo! I appreciate your time and the insights you provided on your path. It's a joy to converse with & hear your perspective on the state & nature of the arts! Great vibe 🙏💪🏾💯!