Soft style or hard style...?

[Jiu-fu fighter]

I am very mixed up about the style of martial arts that I want to go with..

I have trained in both some hard and soft styles, and I can see the useful applications of both

A softer style would usually involve deflecting an opponents attack while a more harder style would involve going in with the power take outs

I really dig the blocks from kung fu and it is undoubtable that the really skilled practitioners can move faster than the eye and hit you with a variety of strikes before you even know that your time is up... however as you can see on UFC, these guys take a more muay thai or kickboxing style which is a harder style, are such fancy blocks from wing chun or kung fu useless and should I just go boxing all the way, I would swear that a kung fu master would get his ass kicked by some amateur ufc guy, is the answer just aggressivness, is the softer style really useless?

also if some guy just throws a punch at me, will my body be able to remember to use a butterfly block followed by a blow to the solar plexus...etc in the heat of the moment.

or is not just going at him like a boxer more practical and much more natural for the body's instincts.. etc. hands up to protect face, body lowers to ground..



sigh.... I am confused.. which is better soft or hard?

let the discussion begin

[Shard]

Real fighting is ugly. There leave leopard paws and monkey kung fu to the movies. I would recommend you take a Hard Style. The hard style doesn't have to be Muay Thai or Boxing. It can be Kung fu for all i care.

But whatever it is, make sure that the class you are in spars and trains realistically.
If you do drills, make sure there is a realistic level of resistance in the drills.
When you spar, there should be sufficient contact. It doesn't have to be 100% contact all the time. But it has to be hard and every once in a while you and your partner should go all out in sparring.

On top of all that, make sure you have at least a beginners knowledge of ground fighting. Because if you don't train to fight on the ground, it isn't going to be your choice if the fight stays on the ground or stands up. The better ground fighter will decide that.

[JustaFighter]

I agree with Shard.

I have yet to see a UFC fighter win a belt via soft style. And I have never heard that a soft style approach if jumped by thugs is what you need to win. I personaly beleive that if someone tells you otherwise they are more interested in your wallet than your personal safety.

[Jiu-fu fighter]

However if you watch such soft fighters like the ones who study in kung fu styles as wing chun, a guy will throw a punch , and with blinding speed they can block the punch and follow with dozens of hits that the guy is overwhelmed by, could not a good wing chung man win against a good boxer
, this is what I am torn by, I have seen both good hard and soft fighters.

and it seems there is much less skill to hard style fighters,

[JustaFighter]

However if you watch such soft fighters like the ones who study in kung fu styles as wing chun, a guy will throw a punch , and with blinding speed they can block the punch and follow with dozens of hits that the guy is overwhelmed by, could not a good wing chung man win against a good boxer
, this is what I am torn by, I have seen both good hard and soft fighters.

and it seems there is much less skill to hard style fighters,

Just because someone blocks your punch doesn't mean you've become paralyzed unable to counter and attack whatever they try to do to you.

And in my opinion, I would put my money down on an aggressive well trained boxer over a wing chun guy if you're talking about striking with your hands.

Do you see less skill with the hard style striking systems, or less techniques to learn if a strike is thrown your way?

How can you look at a Pride Fighter and say you do not see much skill? Is it because they have to break a sweat in order to win the bout? I know I'm being a bit antagonistic but (to me) you've come off alittle like what you see Jet Li do in a movie can work in real life.

[IPON]

Let's be clear

sigh.... I am confused.. which is better soft or hard?

let the discussion begin

I think there is confusion about what is being discussed hard/soft does not equal external/internal. Styles are generally of 2 types internal or external; within each of these styles you have hard and soft techniques.

I am confused after reading your bio, considering the styles you studied I do not understand why you are confused. People are constantly looking for the holy grail of fighting and in reality these are the people that don't fight (and there is nothing wrong with that). First what are you looking for as a primary fighting styles standup or grappling? People love the idea of Judo or BJJ until they practice and some people are just simply not good at it. Internal styles are much more difficult and take longer to learn than external styles which are one of the reasons external styles are so plentiful.

What are your goals? Are you learning SD or trying to be the next MMA superstar, these are two completely different objectives. MMA is a great sports format but people tend to assume that it is more than just the ultimate fighting sport, but that what it is. Many styles of kung fu work well in SD scenarios, but at the end of the day it is the dedication to the style(s) and yourself that make the difference. Practice (sweat, bleed hurt), practice more.

Hope this was helpful

[DickHardman]

learn the hard arts now that you are young and full of energy, learn the soft styles later in life when are older.

the thing about boxing and mt is that there is no bs involved in them. you train hard and spar hard. you put to use what you learn, and everything you learn is geared towards fighting. i personally would recommend muay thai as it will teach you boxing, plus giving you additional options and techniques.

[jubaji]

could not a good wing chung man win against a good boxer,

........................NO.

[BoarSpear]

, could not a good wing chung man win against a good boxer
,

The truth is men win fights not styles. Those who say one STYLE cant beat another STYLE have little concept of the martial arts.

[jubaji]

That's rich coming from boringspit!

[Uke]

Mike Brewer, why not explain the strengths and advantages of soft style?

[medic06]

However if you watch such soft fighters like the ones who study in kung fu styles as wing chun, a guy will throw a punch , and with blinding speed they can block the punch and follow with dozens of hits that the guy is overwhelmed by, could not a good wing chung man win against a good boxer
, this is what I am torn by, I have seen both good hard and soft fighters.

and it seems there is much less skill to hard style fighters,

Ummmm, Jujitsu is often classified as a soft syle.

[WildWest.]

Why not train a "soft" style hard???

[IPON]

I would point out that in the history of warfare on any large scale, strictly "soft" styles have never lasted. Literally all warfare, all conquest, and all lasting victory was achieved by some "hard" style of fighting, preparation, and training.

Can you (or anyone) explain what is meant by soft styles. Because it is very confusing. All Kung fu is not "soft" just because movements are fluid vs rigid. Again, styles are internal or external as a way of conditioning and training. Both styles utilize hard and soft techniques at varying degrees. By saying soft and hard to describe a style it is not correct.

When you speak of warfare you switch the topic from empty hand styles to weapons, which I think would be an interesting but different thread.

[Uke]

Hehe ... at least you started out admitting that you were working off you own ideas of what it meant. But as far as bullshitting jobs go, that was as articulate and eloquent as I ever seen. All the terms I expected were there though. Internal. Tai Chi. Qigong.

Gotta love ya, Mike