Still Digging The Traditional?

When it comes to studying martial arts, many of the people who have become recent converts to mma, boxing and kickboxing pretty much verbally trash the study of traditional martial arts. (There are a number of good reasons, btw, to trash specific traditional arts and instructors, but that is another story for another time)Of course, there will be those who still enjoy training traditional jiu jitsu, karate and kung fu. The question remains is whether or not one can balance training traditional arts with modern athletic ones. The answer to this question lies in your own desires and reasons for training. If you are interested mainly in arts that deal specifically with fighting, you are going to want to stick with athletic arts that place a high emphasis on sparring and athletic conditioning. If you are interested in the history, culture and origins of classical fighting styles, then you will probably enjoy traditional arts. Again, you need to define what it is exactly you are looking for and try not to bog your mind down too much.