David
29-Sep-2003, 01:29 PM
Wong Kiew Kit
Generally, skills are more important than techniques -- a fact most martial art students today are ignorant of. Another important fact they are ignorant of is that skills, as well as techniques, need to be systematically acquired -- not just read from a book or a webpage. Hence, traditional kungfu masters did not allow their students to engage in free sparing unless they were ready. But due to their ignorance, present-day students rush into free sparring. Not only they do not acquire skills and techiques, they hurt themselves unnecessarily.
Briefly, the skills we have learnt include right timing, right spacing, right judgement, quick decision, instantaneous change, fluid miovement, footwork adjustment and safe coverage. If you are not sufficiently proficient in any of these skills, or worse if you do not even know what these skills mean, it is better to go back to the previous combat sequences for more training.
Until I read this in the Dragonslist newsletter today, I thought it was just the place I train at that thinks like this.
We start training with rigid rules in place so that 'fights' are preset sequences. As skill increases so the rules decrease. The preset routines become more complex and less predictable because they have only a few anchor points leaving much space for free expression in between. This can be likened to scaffolding around the student which is gradually removed to reveal the fighter. Also consider the stabiliser wheels added to a child's first bicycle. Eventually those wheels are removed and the child quickly masters the dynamic known as cycling.
Discuss! :)
Rgds,
David
Generally, skills are more important than techniques -- a fact most martial art students today are ignorant of. Another important fact they are ignorant of is that skills, as well as techniques, need to be systematically acquired -- not just read from a book or a webpage. Hence, traditional kungfu masters did not allow their students to engage in free sparing unless they were ready. But due to their ignorance, present-day students rush into free sparring. Not only they do not acquire skills and techiques, they hurt themselves unnecessarily.
Briefly, the skills we have learnt include right timing, right spacing, right judgement, quick decision, instantaneous change, fluid miovement, footwork adjustment and safe coverage. If you are not sufficiently proficient in any of these skills, or worse if you do not even know what these skills mean, it is better to go back to the previous combat sequences for more training.
Until I read this in the Dragonslist newsletter today, I thought it was just the place I train at that thinks like this.
We start training with rigid rules in place so that 'fights' are preset sequences. As skill increases so the rules decrease. The preset routines become more complex and less predictable because they have only a few anchor points leaving much space for free expression in between. This can be likened to scaffolding around the student which is gradually removed to reveal the fighter. Also consider the stabiliser wheels added to a child's first bicycle. Eventually those wheels are removed and the child quickly masters the dynamic known as cycling.
Discuss! :)
Rgds,
David