Looking Good

So i came across this post recently, by Street Fighting expert (I'm simply addressing him as such, but I don't really know him or can vouch for this..), Charles Prosper. In his post, he describes how fights don't have to be pretty or look good. 

I agree. But at the same time, we want to strive for as precise and accurate of attacks as possible, which would, as a side effect, may look clean. Of course, we don't strive for flashy - but, to me, the best punch is a clean shot to the nose, chin, neck, throat, etc. That, in itself, is pretty. And since we know that street fights aren't pretty, to execute such a clean shot isn't easy. 

In class we strive to keep weight on one leg, or to maintain a certain posture or stance, and with our punch, a certain form and angle, etc. But when sh*t hits the fan, no one is going to care about where your weight is or your elbow is at the time.  Why? because natural reaction kicks in. Which makes our training even more important - trying to make what we learn in class a natural reaction. This is incredibly difficult. 

But with Wing Tsun, it's sensitivity training and lat-sao, it gradually increases the number of variables into the drill and, so, the stress to mimic that of the real thing. Takes lots of training to even get here without getting TOO sloppy or, even worse, just "fighting" and missing the entire point of the training.

Until then.

Here's the post

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I remember when I learned my first kata or form. I was about 18 years old. I strove to have the best form of anyone in that dojo, and I did - until one night at a party, a jealous party-goer thought I was making a pass at his girl. He called me outside. We had a few words, and then he threw a hay-maker (a punch) at my face. I ducked my head to the side. He missed and I moved in to front kick him in the groin as he tried to grab me on my shoulders in an attempted scuffle to take me to the ground. 

After it was over, I noticed that my kick was sloppy and my moves were jerky. I didn't look pretty, but I got the job done. (The irony was that I felt bad that my execution was so messy. Years later, I realize that sloppy but effective will work every time.)

The 4 Reasons Why Your Techniques Need Never Look "Pretty" In A Real Street Fight:

Reason #1 - Street Fighting Is Chaotic And Arrhythmical - Every fight has its own rhythm and its own life cycle. If you were to only listen to the sounds of a real street fight, it would sound more like an earthquake than the metered beats of your practice steps in the dojo.

Reason #2 - In The Street, You Are Not Doing Katas - With kata or form practice, every move and beat is predictable, and predictability is the antithesis of what happens in street fighting.

Reason #3 - In Street Fighting, You Are Not Filming A Movie - Movie directors thrive on their martial arts actors doing the most impractical yet spectacular moves, such as high flying aerial spinning back kicks that always land on the bad guys face (in the movies that is). You are not Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. No one is paying you to get your ass kicked in the street by trying to look pretty and make a fool of yourself while getting yourself beat up in the process. 

Reason #4 - If Your Execution Looks Sloppy And Does The Job - Then You Did It Correctly - Even sloppy low line front kicks to the shin, though less spectacular, will get the job done.

So, if you are trying to look pretty when you fight, you are trying to impress your date, you are not focusing on your survival. Impress your date in the dojo, but fight like the tasmanian devil in the streets.

I welcome your comment and feedback.

Respectfully,

Charles Prosper