What doesn't work, attacking or hitting the nuts, eyes, ears or what ever? Don't lose yourself in thinking the aliveness is just beating the hell out of each other. Aliveness is training practical in motion. It applies to working on a heavy bag, focus mitts, light sparring, and full contact.
Well, I'm not going to be here arguing with folks on this forum. That approach got me nowhere really. My tactics now are just to ask questions in an effort to get people to think for themselves. As I think that the majority of us are really a lot closer in our opinions than we might at first believe, most folks with half a brain, can generally arrive at rational conclusions if guided to seek only the truth. Or something like that. -John
I like THIS one! Of course, using progressive resistance would be something I would add to this. I mean, you have to start out slowly and build up skill, otherwise no one will ever develop any confidence. But yeah, fast slashes and stabs in a frenetic, random pattern are needed. Well I agree with the sentiments, but if you take up the mats you do nothing but increase the chances of injury. Injuries always mean missed training time. Every ONE of us knows that if you can't train, you can't get better. Improvement is what we want, right? At some point you have to say, "ok, what is sensible training and what isn't?" I think it's ok to train in a gi, so long as you train outside of one regularly as well. Most of MY time is spent "no-gi" and I always wear shoes. I do this for the simple reason is that it makes footlocks a LOT easier to get, so I want to be as prepared as possible for them. I think that's fair enough, depending on the level of skill of the individuals in question. This wouldn't be appropriate for beginners from the standpoint of safety (missed training due to injury becoming a factor again). And, it's completely dependent on circumstances as well. -John
John, Welcome to MAP. I'm guessing from you're post that you're an Aliveness advocate. Any chance you can give us a quick background on yourself. So far I'm digging both the reaction to your arrival and the contents of your post! - Matt
Hi Matt! My background is a eclectic somewhat. I've trained (like most) traditional arts at an early age, before studying JKD with my brother-in-law who was a student of Larry Hartsell back in the day. I guess you could say that I'm a JKD man. I trained with a variety of people coming up and to make a long story shorter, I ended up with the Straight Blast Gym crew. I continue to work with them to this day and am preparing for a seminar with Matt Thornton at the end of July in Hurricane WV. (Oughtta be fun folks, you all should consider coming if possible). Yes, you could say that I am an aliveness guy, but that just (to me) means, FUN and FUNctionality. So many people have apparently gotten the idea (inaccurately) that aliveness just means sport training and sparring all the time. And it isn't. Aliveness is a quality that your training takes on. That's it really. It's nothing mystical or esoteric. It's really just common sense. Thanks Matt. I look forward to future correspondence. -John
Hey John, Thanks for the background. I had a feeling you might be a SBG associate/person/something. This fall I'm going to have the chance to spend some time at the Chicago/Illinois Gym run by Coach Sharp (sp?). I've been getting very interested in SBG and I'm look forward to the chance to learn more about it's training methodologies. - matt
Matt, Man, if you train with Sharp.........oh my GOD will you develop a good game! Your skills are going to skyrocket! What a lucky man you will be if you can train with him! Good luck with all of that. Let me know how that all goes if you do in fact go there. Yes.....the FUN is back in the FUNctionality FUNhouse! I'm going to write a little more about the SBG method later on after I return from the gym. What a truly awesome way of learning and training! -John
gidday John it is nice to see u here actually. Apart from the constant arguing on the other forum I always thought u had some good ideas....
Thanks man, I appreciate it. Just know that the arguing isn't really what I ever wanted. I just enjoy a good debate, know I can debate well, and never back down when I feel I'm right. One major problem about debating with people is, they don't realize that the objective is NOT to "win" the argument, so much as it is to uncover the truth within the given situation. Ah well, thanks again. -John
John, I'm going to Chicago to study (both academically and martially). How can I pass up on an opporunity like that. Especially as a pragmatic Martial Artist (my heart will always lie with the Chinese & Filipino Martial Arts, but I'm interested in learning first and foremost). Your positive words on Caoch Sharp only make me more excited about this! I will be sharing my experiences with the boards as things develop. My hope is to get out to Coach Sharp's gym once a week. IMA and SBG ... what a combination. - Matt
You'll have the time of your life. Sharp is the man, as all SBG head coaches are. He's a either a former or current police officer who's got some interesting stories to tell. You couldn't pick a better group. Of course, I AM a little biased.... Reiki: Yep, I knew that but either forgot or, was just a figure of speech. Thanks all. Let's keep this thread TTT -John
It is in Elgin. (http://www.straightblastgymillinois.com/) I'm just doing that "relational thing." Like I haven't spent much time in Illinois yet so everything is near Chicago. Same thing people do with New York State and NYC. I live in Rochester right now, which everyone assumes is a suburb of NYC (not seven hours away). Elgin's is about an hour away from Chicago right? Or am I way off? - Matt
Ah, the relational thing. The suburbs I can understand, but Elgin is a crusty old city in it's own right. Yeah, an hour sounds about right.
How do you keep defenses and applications real? Simple... "Hit me." I have to say that a lot to the guys I train with. For some reason, they're nervous about actually hitting someone. Thus, training with actual contact, however light, serves two purposes. A: The uke gets used to following through with his punches. B: If tori ever has to use the defense in real life, he won't get suprised by a punch thrown at real power and speed. And this applies to everything. If it's a grab, grab their arm and start yanking them somewhere! Grab around the waist and pick them up. If you actually do the technique that is supposed to be defended against, your partner stands a better chance of actually using this technique in a real situation.
