| The United States has a great wealth of martial art | | | | expand my martial arts training with styles that were |
| talent. There are many schools, both traditional and | | | | not available to me in my native country. |
| modern, that offer excellent instruction in arts that we | | | | I decided to balance my training by learning Wing Chun |
| couldn't have even imagined 30 years ago. If you have | | | | Kung Fu. I took the train into New York City to train |
| mastered the basics of one style, you may want to | | | | with Moyat, who was a student of Grandmaster, Yip |
| "round out" your martial arts training by learning a | | | | Man, who taught the late Bruce Lee. I was intrigued |
| martial art that is totally different from your original | | | | with Wing Chun because of its interesting history and |
| style. This keeps your martial arts training fresh and | | | | it's close combat philosophy. |
| introduces you to new skills and philosophies. | | | | Wing Chun equalizes the height and weight advantage |
| Notice that I said mastered. The worst you can do is | | | | that men have over women because it brings combat |
| hop from style to style and never master any single | | | | in closer to the opponent's body, where the length of |
| one. You may want to try out some classes in | | | | arms and legs no longer determine advantage. It is also |
| different styles until you find the right one for you, but | | | | a martial art that can be learned within a fairly shorter |
| once you do, give it a chance. It is only when you have | | | | length of time than more traditional forms of Kung Fu. |
| gotten a good grasp of the basics that I recommend | | | | What would you like to do to bring balance to your |
| looking into other styles. Mastery in the basics of one | | | | martial arts training? If you've trained in a hard style |
| style will ensure that you'll be able to integrate your | | | | karate like Shotokan, why not try a soft style like Tai |
| new knowledge and avoid confusion. | | | | Chi. If you've done many years of Tae Kwon Do, |
| My martial arts training began with the Okinawan style | | | | where the emphasis is on a lot of kicking, why not |
| of Goju Ryu in the Dominican Republic . The beauty of | | | | take up boxing so you can get really good at using |
| Goju Ryu was that it combined both hard and soft | | | | your hands? If your current style lacks a lot of |
| techniques and it was a wonderful way to be | | | | self-defense training, why not take up something like |
| introduced to the martial arts. One of my reasons for | | | | Krav Maga to create some new skills? Whatever it is, |
| coming to the United States was to become a | | | | don't be afraid to expand your knowledge and bring |
| well-rounded martial artist. I was excited to be in this | | | | yourself into balance. There's much to learn! |
| country because it provided me with the opportunity to | | | | |