Mysticism in the Martial Arts

The Revolutionist gets it right in THIS POST about mysticism in the martial arts. The 'five point palm exploding heart technique' portrayed in Kill Bill 2 and all that flying crap in Crouching Tiger do more to discredit the martial arts than to promote them.

The Revolutionist says, "if achieving the right Tao gives you the ability to move and concentrate in such a way as to achieve the right physics of movement, then more power punches to you!" Right on. If any of the soft styles interest you, by all means, train in them- it can't hurt. It is my belief that training in the traditional styles, hard or soft, will indeed benefit you, if nothing more than improving focus, coordination, and training both sides of your body... If you're a mixed martial artist, spend some time in the traditional styles. If you're a traditional martial artist, and are concerned about real-world self defense, you had better train in the mixed styles...