And now a break from carts for a bit with a classic youtube vid.
Drunken boxing is probably one of Shaolin Kungfu’s most contraversial styles. If you look through the comments you’ll see some claim it’s not even worth being called a ‘style’ as it’s value is primarily in the aesthetic. But you’ll also see defenders, saying the guy in the video isn’t a ‘real’ drunken master. Closer to the truth, I think, are the claims that this vid is just ‘propaganda’ by a Japanese TV show.
However, it’s fascinating to see someone actually sparring in the ‘drunken style’ boxing, with nice quality footage to boot. The problem might not be the style of boxing so much, but perhaps he hasn’t practised sparring as much. Perhaps he’s spent too much time just doing forms, so when confronted in a sparring situation he’s not experienced with timing, angles and feints etc… It also seems that he doesn’t have the same reach as the karate guy as his strikes are just not getting close enough. Perhaps the Shaolin monestary should invite a karate guy to go over and spar on TV…
Munhwa Experience 