Progression

Then things got blurry when I went from student levels 8-12. The concepts, chi-sao drills, etc weren’t as defined as the previous materials. I didn’t learn in a linear fashion anymore. Instead, things varied quite a bit. The different pak-da, tan-da, bong-da (as per student levels 7, 8, 9) were introduced but mixed in with other things like emphasized mobility (eg. cross-step, side stepping, etc) to adjust for the incoming force. Mobility was introduced here.

Levels 10-12 got even more blurry. But I noticed, as soon as I hit level 12, things turned up a notch. Hits felt harder and being the “dummy” end of Sifu’s explanation in class felt different – more intense. I thought it was just me, but then I noticed how those were recently promoted with me started to dwindle. It seemed like, to me, that student level 12 was a defining moment for many. It seemed that getting to level 12 is good enough - the equivalent of a “black belt”…more a high degree “brown belt”.

I remember, at level 9 or 10, I felt that I would be REALLY good by level 12 and that by the time I hit 1st technician grade, I would have all the tools I needed. WRONG. There’s so much more – and I’m not just saying that at a philosophical level. There really is so much more, technically, skillfully and physically.

Do you remember in grade school math, when the teacher said that you can’t subtract a big number from a smaller number (eg. 3-7 = ?) but could only go the other way (eg. 7-3 = 4). Do you remember the moment when the teachers told you that was not true and instead 3-7 = -4? How about in chemistry when a reaction 2H + O -> H2O. We were told that this reaction is one way for the longest time. Then the teacher says that it’s not true and in reality, all reactions go back and forth, but one reaction nets more product than the other. So really it looks like 2H + O <-> H2O.

Of course, teachers had to do this to properly educate us. To provide us information in stages in order to understand the concept, only to remove it so that you can use this foundation to understand the next one?

The same, I’ve realized, occurs with WT once you get into the technician grades. So ya, LOTS to do, lots to re-train and lots to incorporate into my arms and legs. Although there is structure to the curriculum, it was loosely applied in my case. (Most likely due to my fluctuating attendance throughout the years.) Do chi-sao sections here, do some forms training here, some partner training, concept A, punching B, etc.

THEN, to top it off. The concept of “boxing” has really hit me as of late – Chinese boxing. Wing Tsun is Chinese boxing, as my instructor says. And when he said that, I couldn’t agree more. To sum up as “Chinese boxing” conceptualized WT into something more than drills and chi-sao. So simple but hard to pull off. This concept frees one of the rigid boundaries set by all the previous years of training. Of course, the irony is that all those years of WT training is absolutely needed.

So this is my next step – to evolve my wing tsun into the expression of its true form: boxing. It sure feels awkward. I know my Wing tsun still has lots more room to progress. Once I get this whole boxing thing down, then somehow, I’ll have to transform it so that it reflects me – so that it becomes natural, automatic and full of Grasshopper 2.0 flavour.

One step at a time…

Until then.

Cons of Full Contact Fighting

In my last post, I discussed some of the benefits of full-contact sparring. My personal view is that, when it comes to the street environment, full-contact fighting is simply part of an arsenal to add to your training routine, but not the determining factor for realistic self-defense. I understand, and agree that with full-contact fighting, the adrenaline rush is something that might get you incredibly close to the “real thing”. It’s a great test to see how you’d react to the nature of that adrenaline rush, to the tensing of muscles and to the stress.

But there are some drawbacks.

1) Full-contact sparring creates habits – squaring the opponent up, for example, either with distance control or jabs may work strategically in the ring, but the street fight may not start off so fare and square, nor would there necessarily be much space to do so. Chances are someone has already been hit, or perhaps cornered into people or into a walls, tables, etc.

2) Squaring up takes away from that initial burst of energy and that opportunity to attack. Full-contact fighting in the ring is controlled and highly strategic. There is more time allowed for decision making and it is not too often where the person would throw a barrage of attacks at the start of the fight. However, in the street fight, chances are that punches are thrown before a fight even starts! There’s no time for strategy, only reaction.

3) Over time, as you get used to full contact fighting in the ring, the adrenaline dump wears off. Of course, there is still the rush, but the territory becomes familiar and your body becomes more efficient at handling that situation. The street fight presents a different environment and the different stimulus would provide an extra boost of stress that your body is not used to..or better said…that your mind knows it should be used to, but your body reacts otherwise.

4) Hits, as sloppy as they may be, are 100% committed. However, in the case of full-contact fighting, there is room to throw feint punches and kicks to measure distance, to force a reaction, etc. In the case of the street fight, the guy just wants to hit you and will do what it takes to do so.

5) The guy attacking you doesn’t know nor care about martial arts. Chances are you small you’re going to fight a skilled MMA guy or Thai boxer. Most of these guys are incredibly nice guys! It’s the jerks that cause the fights. It’s very rare that such “jerks” have the determination, drive, and discipline to learn such a complicated art like thai boxing or MMA.

Now of course, there are exceptions to every rule. You may end up fighting some MMA guy in a situation where you have lots of room to roam around and there’s a mutual start to the fight. Like I said above, full contact sparring definitely has a significant role in one’s training, but it’s not everything. Drills training, in my opinion, can be tweaked up a few notches to present quite an intense sense of street fight (think, 2-3 second fight). The hard part is finding the right people to train in such a way. And it’s not easy. It’s exhausting both physically AND mentally. It’s also hard to find a partner who’s willing to take hits, know how to throw a good un-wing chun punch, and let their ego’s go.

I have to give credit to the full-contact fighters. They are able to take hits and not give a damn. But us wing tsun/chun guys aren’t like that at all. It’s kind of annoying. Boxers don’t care if something doesn’t work, they just go back to the drawing board and train harder. I think we can learn something here.

Until then.