Confidence in your art

[Tzu-Logic]

Hello fellow seekers,

I am going to be advancing to green belt very soon...

When I was a white-belt I tried to imagine what I would feel like when i reached the level of green belt.

(FYI: At my school green belt is an advanced students belt)

I go to a very strongly self defense oriented school. I have not been in a fight since i started training (actually I have never really been in a fight)

How do I know if I could protect myself in a real life situation? Do I ask my teacher to push me harder? Do i ask black belts to hit me hard when they practice with me?

I need to develop more confidence in myself and the combat art I am learning.

any suggestions my friends?

[Kuma]

Friendly sparring.

[ShoriKid]

If a green belt is an "advanced student's" belt, you should be able to feel a difference in your training from here on out. I assuming that as a self defense focused school you do a lot of partner work? If so, it should show up soon.

I'll second Kuma's post with this, not just friendly, but honest sparring. Which, I would hope, is always friendly.

[wolverine uskf]

I agree, you should feel different about your abilities soon. If not try doing some reallistic sparring, from striking to the ground.

[sensei8]

You say that green belt, in your style, is an advanced level. Your confidence should be fine. Will it get shook from time to time? Sure, especially when you're learning new things about your art as well as yourself and those around you. It's a good thing to have your confidence challenged from time to time; it's no big deal unless you make it a big deal.

You should notice a quite significant improvement in you kihon, kata, and kumite; the 3 K's. You shouldn't have any difficulties with those practitioners below your current rank, no matter the situation or drills or etc. As a matter of fact, your Shodan ranked students shouldn't be able to have their way with you each and everytime. No, you should start to gain their attention, and in that, they shouldn't try to just run you over at will. In hind sight, they should still have a level of surprise availible to show/give you. After all, they're Shodan and your a green belt in the same style.

In most styles, asking a black belt to spar with you is a sign of disrespect; a sign of a challenge to them. It's ok for a black belt to ask you because they're black belts. In that, you can't ask for tit for tat, but the black belt can. Befriend a black belt to help you guage your sparring improvements as well as your unimprovements. You could always ask you sensei, but, you might or might not get the answer your seeking. Your sensei, if he/she is worth their salt, already knows of your abilities as well as your inabilities.

SPAR until the wheels fall off and then some. As Kuma said...spar friendly, but, not just within your style. Seek out those on the outside of your style, but, keep the sparring friendly, not threatening.

"Does the river dwell on how long it will take to become the ocean..." - Sensei Bruce Payne

[Tzu-Logic]

Wow, thank you all for your wisdom.

I truly appreciate you taking time to respond.

I was really good friends with one of the black-belts, but he had to quit training for a while. He basically became my personal fighting coach...

So without him there to test myself against its hard to tell if I am improving.

I have notcied my teacher has been testing a lot more lately... He will ask me to show him a drill, and then he will start speeding up the drill and see how fast I can go before I start getting hit.

our second degree blackbelt made a comment about my katas starting to flow together nicely...

I know I am much faster and stronger than when I started. I think you guys are right and I need lots of friendly sparring to answer my questions.

so anyone up for a round ??

[ps1]

I'm not sure about you, but I know the stuff I do works because I have to use it every day in class against people who are actually trying to stop me. I feel this is the best way to know for sure if what you're doing works. The problem you have is that with striking, this is hard to do in a safe manner.

[bushido_man96]

I think all the points that have been made are good ones. The sparring ideas are right on. Those should help you in figuring out where you are.

[tonydee]

Yes, lots of sounds advice already. Another thing that I think is essential... hitting targets. Knowing you can knock a heavy bag flying gives you a lot of confidence that your techniques will work as expected on demand.

As a colour belt, don't try to break bricks at home, but do find a heavy punching bag somewhere and gently explore how to safely hit it with your various techniques, increasing power until you're getting useful insight into the techniques. Take it easy - many not-so-obvious things can result in injury, if you punch with your wrist bent (or not yet strong enough to stay straight), or in such a way that your thumb's being pushed or twisted as the punch penetrates, or with the palm heel in a way that pushes the wrist backwards excessively, or all sorts of other things. Torn skin just frustrates future practice, so don't punch until your knuckles are bleeding. Poor alignment can give you aching joints or torn ligaments/tendons/muscles, so concentrate on good form.

Think more about moving your bodyweight and shifting that power and shock efficiently across into the bag, rather than just the hand or foot that strikes and the surface of the bag.

A great technique to start with, in that it kind of forces you to think in closer to your core rotation and is less injury prone than most, is an elbow. If you already know exactly how your style practices an elbow, then follow that; if in doubt - bring the elbow up to shoulder height and roughly inline with the shoulder at the side of the body, then driving it forwards to be perpendicular to the line of the shoulders at the completion of the strike, at which time the fist should have twisted to face downwards. Punching and inward knife hands draw much of their power from the same leg/hip/torso/shoulder movement you'll strengthen through this practice.

Cheers,

Tony

[bushido_man96]

Tony: one way that I have taught and practiced the elbow strike, especially when teaching it for breaking, is to start in a back stance, and shift into a front stance as the elbow strikes the bag/board. This is great for teaching the hip rotation and getting that power.