Would Shaolin and Zen Do Kai be the ultimate in cross training?

They are good teachers

Would Shaolin and Zen Do Kai be the ultimate in cross training?
Shaolin will teach you alot of what you will need to know and how to perform. But I personaly would not go towards Zen Do Ki. If the style of Shaolin you are learning is a predomanantly stiking one then i would suggest Aikido or Judo. If it is a grappling style mostly, I would look for an Okinawate school.





that way you would be covering most ground and both are more traditional styles
Reply:If you are learning from a true Shaolin teacher you will learn all methods of striking, ie punches, chops, finger thrusts, kicks, knees, elbows, blade hands, hook thrusts, phoenix fist, mantis fist ect ect ect.





Along with this you will learn blocks and deflections, yes there is a difference, a big BIG difference (Karate will only teach you to block).





Shoalin will teach you weapons, which can be translated to any improvised enviromental tool such as a pool cue, kitchen knife, broom, rake, shovel, sledge hammer ect ect... Karate means empty hand so traditionally won't teach you weapons. Also shaolin will teach you how to defend against weapons both armed and unarmed.





Shaoling includes Chi Na which is grappling, and includes, ground fighting (like BJJ), throws (like Aikido), standing grappling (ie Wing Chun ect) it teaches joint locks, muscle seperation, pressure point strikes ect ect ect. Traditionally Karate does not have this.





The list goes on but I'm in a hurry today. The end of the story is that from most Chinese styles you will learn how to do everything if you have the dedication to learn how to do it, most Japanese styles are broken down into specialisations or combine things from other styles which may not necessarily effeciently flow from one style to the other.





So in short my advice is to give Karate the **** and go with something that is a little less sport based :-)
Reply:If you want to be the best dancer around, then absolutely.





Very little fighting involved though.