Keith Phillips3
Member
21 messages
joined Aug 2003
wanderingridge be 😎
Don't go judging skill based solely on individuals, because every single style has its share of frauds.
Furthermore, pointing to evidence that someone once lost (or won) a fight tells you absolutely nothing about their actual level of proficiency.
At the end of the day, anyone who frequently finds themselves in physical altercations is bound to run into someone tougher, regardless of their training, preparation, or technical ability.
Take, for example, Bruce Lee, who ran Ip Man’s school and is legendary as one of the greatest fighters out there. Back in the day, he actually challenged a Mantis school, seeking a match against a grandmaster (IP Sui), but ended up losing to one of the students (Master Choy Su Wing) and took a beating so bad the master had to step in to prevent serious injury.
That doesn't mean Southern Mantis is a superior style, nor does it have anything to do with the effectiveness of the system itself. 😉