Sparring for newbies...
There's been lots of debate about the pros and cons of sparring in the martial arts, particularly at the earlier stages of martial arts development. It can be an inflammatory issue, so, this should be interesting.
Proponents of early sparring state that this is the best way to improve timing, improve a student's ability to judge distance, and reduce fear of being hit. Proponents will also say that early sparring leads to better fighting ability later on in life.
I say that early sparring makes one better at tapping an opponent.
I had an email correspondence with an individual who trains primarily to spar and fight in competitions. He was wondering if learning some of the traditional forms in China would make him a better fighter. Well, that was a good question, one which I had to think about quite a bit. No, traditional forms will not make you a better fighter in something like the UFC, something where one steroid crazed muscle bound monster pummels and grapples with another. No, traditional forms certainly won't help there. But, given a real situation, where a non-sport fight is going to occur, will knowledge of the combat applications of the traditional forms help?
I don't personally know. I don't fight. I've always been able to avoid the limited potential encounters I've been in, with my wits, and not my brawn.
But, from watching the monks demonstrate the combat applications of these maneuvers, yes, they are effective. And yes, they end a fight pretty quickly, if done successfully. And yes, someone does get hurt. That's the purpose of some of these combat techniques, they tear ligaments, and break bones. Not exactly things that you'd want to do in a sparring match.
There are many proponents of the "late sparring" concept, whereby students don't start sparring until they reach black belt or some other significant level, so that they are properly trained and accustomed to the actual techniques found within their system. I've seen too many sparring matches turn into technique limited "who can touch the other guy first" bouts. Great. That's gonna help you on the streets of New York.
I've had long discussions about this with my Seidokan master, Eddy Schumacher, who basically has similar feelings about this as I do. In fact, he's aware of an actual study, in which some karate master followed a group of his students for many years. But he did something interesting. He took one subgroup, and started them sparring at yellow belt. He took another subgroup, and prohibited them from any sort of sparring at all, during their training, until they reached the level of black belt. What he found when both groups attained black belt level was interesting.
The group that did not spar until they had really learned the techniques, ie, reached black belt level, did a far superior job of sparring, with far more perfect and effective technique, than the group of eventual black belts who had started sparring at a much earlier level. I'm not surprised.
What this demonstrates, is, well, a few things. For one, kata training is an effective method of not only teaching techniques, but also teaching distance, speed, and accuracy. Also, early sparring might actually be detrimental, in that, it enforces movements which have not yet been adequately learned yet, thus reinforcing the use of sloppy and ineffective techniques in the later years.
So, why do schools promote the use of sparring? Because students think it's neat and fun. And, because student's pay money, what student's want is generally good for a school's survival. Sad how sometimes, the worst schools make the most money, and the best masters seem to disappear into the wilderness.
Chinese martial arts training kind of broaches this subject in an interesting way, if you really think about it. Gong fu, and its forms, traditional or otherwise, is the main emphasis. Explanation of techniques and combat applications within just does not happen; I was actually shocked the other day, when I was working with the Shaolin Temple Wushu Guan performance team, that they knew little traditional forms, and, virtually no applications of the combat techniques within. Shi De Cheng explains this away however, by stating that once a practitioner has practiced his form ten thousand times, he'll eventually figure out the combat applications. Well, since I'm fairly far away from ten thousand times with any form, I can't personally attest to this claim; besides, I've learned the combat applications directly from Shi De Cheng, thus saving me one hell of a lot of time, lol. No, combat applications are not generally taught in today's modern wushu schools. But emphasis on speed, power, and accuracy is high on the list, when teaching these wushu students forms. And, to watch them use some maneuver from some form, is, just incredible. Once they figure out what the maneuver does, no doubt, they will be able to use it effectively.
But, the Chinese get around this sparring issue by also teaching Sanda, and teaching it separately from the gong fu forms. Sanda, basically boxing, is taught at an early age, as a separate skill. Yes, Sanda is derived from many of the traditional gong fu forms, but, that's not important. The strikes and kicks are taught as separate skills, then, they are practiced on bags and mats again and again and again, until their movements are perfected. Sparring does take place within the realm of sanda to teach spacing, resiliency, accuracy, and speed, but it does not seem to take place in the wushu forms part of the training. By keeping these as two separate skill areas, maybe they are doing something right.
No doubt this is going to precipitate a whirlwind of shit. Bring it on.
There's been lots of debate about the pros and cons of sparring in the martial arts, particularly at the earlier stages of martial arts development. It can be an inflammatory issue, so, this should be interesting.
Proponents of early sparring state that this is the best way to improve timing, improve a student's ability to judge distance, and reduce fear of being hit. Proponents will also say that early sparring leads to better fighting ability later on in life.
I say that early sparring makes one better at tapping an opponent.
I had an email correspondence with an individual who trains primarily to spar and fight in competitions. He was wondering if learning some of the traditional forms in China would make him a better fighter. Well, that was a good question, one which I had to think about quite a bit. No, traditional forms will not make you a better fighter in something like the UFC, something where one steroid crazed muscle bound monster pummels and grapples with another. No, traditional forms certainly won't help there. But, given a real situation, where a non-sport fight is going to occur, will knowledge of the combat applications of the traditional forms help?
I don't personally know. I don't fight. I've always been able to avoid the limited potential encounters I've been in, with my wits, and not my brawn.
But, from watching the monks demonstrate the combat applications of these maneuvers, yes, they are effective. And yes, they end a fight pretty quickly, if done successfully. And yes, someone does get hurt. That's the purpose of some of these combat techniques, they tear ligaments, and break bones. Not exactly things that you'd want to do in a sparring match.
There are many proponents of the "late sparring" concept, whereby students don't start sparring until they reach black belt or some other significant level, so that they are properly trained and accustomed to the actual techniques found within their system. I've seen too many sparring matches turn into technique limited "who can touch the other guy first" bouts. Great. That's gonna help you on the streets of New York.
I've had long discussions about this with my Seidokan master, Eddy Schumacher, who basically has similar feelings about this as I do. In fact, he's aware of an actual study, in which some karate master followed a group of his students for many years. But he did something interesting. He took one subgroup, and started them sparring at yellow belt. He took another subgroup, and prohibited them from any sort of sparring at all, during their training, until they reached the level of black belt. What he found when both groups attained black belt level was interesting.
The group that did not spar until they had really learned the techniques, ie, reached black belt level, did a far superior job of sparring, with far more perfect and effective technique, than the group of eventual black belts who had started sparring at a much earlier level. I'm not surprised.
What this demonstrates, is, well, a few things. For one, kata training is an effective method of not only teaching techniques, but also teaching distance, speed, and accuracy. Also, early sparring might actually be detrimental, in that, it enforces movements which have not yet been adequately learned yet, thus reinforcing the use of sloppy and ineffective techniques in the later years.
So, why do schools promote the use of sparring? Because students think it's neat and fun. And, because student's pay money, what student's want is generally good for a school's survival. Sad how sometimes, the worst schools make the most money, and the best masters seem to disappear into the wilderness.
Chinese martial arts training kind of broaches this subject in an interesting way, if you really think about it. Gong fu, and its forms, traditional or otherwise, is the main emphasis. Explanation of techniques and combat applications within just does not happen; I was actually shocked the other day, when I was working with the Shaolin Temple Wushu Guan performance team, that they knew little traditional forms, and, virtually no applications of the combat techniques within. Shi De Cheng explains this away however, by stating that once a practitioner has practiced his form ten thousand times, he'll eventually figure out the combat applications. Well, since I'm fairly far away from ten thousand times with any form, I can't personally attest to this claim; besides, I've learned the combat applications directly from Shi De Cheng, thus saving me one hell of a lot of time, lol. No, combat applications are not generally taught in today's modern wushu schools. But emphasis on speed, power, and accuracy is high on the list, when teaching these wushu students forms. And, to watch them use some maneuver from some form, is, just incredible. Once they figure out what the maneuver does, no doubt, they will be able to use it effectively.
But, the Chinese get around this sparring issue by also teaching Sanda, and teaching it separately from the gong fu forms. Sanda, basically boxing, is taught at an early age, as a separate skill. Yes, Sanda is derived from many of the traditional gong fu forms, but, that's not important. The strikes and kicks are taught as separate skills, then, they are practiced on bags and mats again and again and again, until their movements are perfected. Sparring does take place within the realm of sanda to teach spacing, resiliency, accuracy, and speed, but it does not seem to take place in the wushu forms part of the training. By keeping these as two separate skill areas, maybe they are doing something right.
No doubt this is going to precipitate a whirlwind of shit. Bring it on.
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