Don't Be So Sure!!

[sensei8]

[**I struggled to decide which forum this topic would best fit, but, I finally decided to post this topic inside this forum because this topic might translate into several different forums found here at KF, depending on the practitioner/reader.**]

Do you know which rank is the most difficult to spar with? No, it's not the black belt. Yes, it's the white belt. Why? Imho, because of their natural awkwardness; their two-left-footed approach to the martial arts can make them dangerous to the black belts. It's their [white belts] unawareness that they possess a type of broken rhythm. This is a good thing for the white belt and a bad thing for a black belt.

Sure, the coordination of a black belt versus a white belt is, for the most part, like the differences from night and day. Nonetheless, if a black belt treats the white belt as an easy prey, that's when the white belt slips in a technique or two before the black belt can defend against it. Oh yes, a white belt CAN defeat a black belt. A white belt shouldn't be able to beat a black belt, but it can happen and it does happen; stranger things in the martial arts have occured.

The black belt has a guarded impression of themselves, whereas the white belt doesn't have that guarded impression of themselves. They know their limits but the black belt FORGETS their limits in the presence of a white belt. Again, it's to their unplanned tpe of a broken rhythm that allows the white belt to momentarily confuse the black belt.

The black belt doesn't THINK that the white belt can score on them, and that's the full-of-themselves attitude that they have mistakenly assumed about the white belt. The white belt goes this way and that way, while the black belt THINKS that the white belt is going to go that way and then this way and then all of a sudden...WHAM! White belt--- 1 point….black belt--- 0 points.

Any type of a broken rhythm is a wonderful thing, and it's teachable to the student, the sooner the better for the student, The white belt student, by happenstance, possess a type of broken rhythm, not because of their experience, but because of their inexperience. You could call it beginners luck, but if its works, even if only for that one moment, it's an unplanned and unintentional hit of a target.

STUDY YOUR OPPONENT

STUDY YOURSELF

MAKE A PLAN

CARRY THE PLAN OUT

Study your opponent speaks to this first rule in that the practitioner must study their opponent for that crinkle in their armor. How is your opponents’ posture, stance, guard, and feet(s), knee(s), which weapon is where as to the lead/back, eyes, and the lack thereof? This study is quick and ever changing. The faster you can access and process, the better across the board.

Study yourself FOR THE SAME FLAWS as you would access and process about your opponent. You've got to ensure yourself that there are NO CRINKLES in your armor...none whatsoever. When you discover your flaws, eliminate them immediately before its way to late. In studying yourself, this must be done quickly and it too is also ever changing. Will you self-correct yourself before your opponent capitalizes in their favor, and not yours?

Making a plan that will decide victory over your opponent is just a matter of calculating everything that you've just accessed and processed in your opponent as well as in yourself. Imho, there are no small or foolish actions on your part if it assists in you reaching your absolute totality. If your plan is to kick at the lead hand, for example, and it sets up your next attack, then that action is warranted, and it's a needed must. MAKE A PLAN THAT WILL FLY TRUE!! Believe in yourself, yet at the same time, don't ever over estimate and/or take your opponent for granted.

Carrying out the plan isn't that easy. Fear is; future events appearing real. Doubt as well as second guessing oneself for one reason or another cab cause one to hesitate. That hesitation can and will kill you! If your plan is to kick the lead hand...then kick it without hesitation. If your plan is to control the lead hand....then control it without hesitation. Albeit, everything happens in a twinkle of an eye, and everything is constantly changing, therefore, nothing is guaranteed. Still, just because plan #1 didn't work this time, it doesn't mean that it won't work in plan #11. Nothing ventured, does mean for real...nothing gained!

Now, nothing will just come overnight, sometimes it takes time. Therefore, spar until the wheels fall off. Spar those in and out of your dojo and out of your style, whenever time and the like allows it to come to fruition. If situations only allow you to spar only your dojo mates, then spar them until cows can fly over the moon. Learn from your mistakes because your mistakes will never lie to you. Listen to those who have more experience than you, no matter what's wrapped around their waists.

And in time, your arsenal, both offense and defense will surface in such a way that not only will you see, but so will those who spar with you. Ones arsenal must always be fine tuned and changed because everyone takes mental notes about one thing or another concerning yourself. If you become stagnate in changing your arsenal for newer tools/methods, your opponent will have a field day with you. But, just as soon as you introduce something new in your arsenal that they've never seen from you before, then WHAM...1 for you and 0 for your opponent....or better yet...you win and they lose!

The world of sparring has no limits, only the practitioner has limits. Explore, try, discard, commit to muscle memory, evaluate, re-evaluate; this and more, but do it over and over. Never be satisfied with this and that because, again, things change, including your opponent, and hopefully you as well.

In closing, Mizu No Kokoro [Mind Like Water] AND Tsuki No Kokoro [Mind Like Moon]. Learn about them, study them, practice them, and don't ever discard them because, imho, without these two philosophies, you won't come alive, and in that, your techniques won't come alive; they'll be nothing more than like a dry desert; a void. In short, your opponent won’t have to defeat you because without these two philosophies, you’ll have defeated yourself.

Your thoughts/ideas?

[kamahlthedruid]

I used street fighting grappling tactics with some basic submission and choking skills as a white belt to defeat a purple belt. I even defended myself against his triangle choke. However, I had the advantage in size and strength.

[isshinryu5toforever]

What exactly are street fighting tactics and choking skills? And a purple belt in what? Not BJJ I'm guessing.

I think black belts tend to fight in the past and not in the moment. They drill and drill and drill, and they get very good at what they're doing. They then forget what it's like to be new. They get caught up in a certain rhythm that comes with training as a black belt for a long time. When presented with the broken rhythm that comes from a completely new white belt, they have trouble reacting.

Think of Napoleon's invasion of Prussia. The Prussian military had been highly successful under Frederick Wilhelm, because of their great discipline in the field. By the time Napoleon came around, Wilhelm had passed on, but his battlefield tactics had not. The Prussian army still looked impressive, because they were highly trained, drilled, and polished. When Napoleon finally took them on, the French soldiers fought in an entirely different way than tradition dictated. They took the town of Jena and then hid in the buildings and shot from cover. The Prussians marched on them in perfect formation. They failed to adapt to the situation at hand. In the end, the French won.

[shotokan-ste]

slightly odd topic but couple of weeks ago i entered a nationals tournament in the kumite granted i was in a category from 10th kyu to 4th kyu (in a 5th kyu)the guy i lost to in the finals was a 4th kyu and had been that rank for over a year,however the 2nd class gets much tougher 3rd kyu through to all dan grades one of our guys is a first kyu and his semi final match was against a black belt so u would think slightly better advantage to the black belt well our guy won but it was only after our sensei told our guy he was a 5th dan,now i can look at this in 2 ways

a,the 5th dan thought fighting a 1st kyu was an easy win(similar to the white belt Vs black belt)and underestimated his opponentand finally mentally our brown belt diddnt feel under pressure just because his opponent was on apperance 1 grade higher

[bushido_man96]

I agree, Bob, that white belts, and lower ranks in general, tend to have a more broken rhythm to the way they move and strike, and that is part of what I like about sparring with lower ranks. Everything tends to be fresh again.

I think black belts tend to fight in the past and not in the moment. They drill and drill and drill, and they get very good at what they're doing. They then forget what it's like to be new. They get caught up in a certain rhythm that comes with training as a black belt for a long time. When presented with the broken rhythm that comes from a completely new white belt, they have trouble reacting.

I agree with your comment on forgetting what its like to be "new." That was one thing I have enjoyed about doing Aikido. I have to start over, and learn a whole new set of movement principles. Its is very refreshing.

[rmurray]

White belts come in all shapes, sizes and ages. They have different talents and God given abilities. The only thing they all have in common is a lack of experience in an organized martial art. In my dojo it isn't unusual at all for a blackbelt to get caught by a white belt. Healthy, athletic young men come in as whitebelts all of the time and with some instruction in technique and practice, they can develop amazingly quick, accurate strikes after only a couple of months. Being a blackbelt does not certify that you will never be susceptible to a well placed lucky punch.

In Shorin-ryu many of the whitebelts have over a year of intense training and practice. The blackbelts get hit when they are so intently focused on teaching, their sparring is fostering a learning environment where the whitebelt can really be at their best. This pushes the whitebelt a little further and now and then a blackbelt might get a small souvineer because of their own good works.

[honoluludesktop]

No experienced karateka should have a problem with their junior, unless their ego prevents it. Even when your partner is huge, clumsy, and anxious, all one needs do is keep their cool, and take it easy. The worst thing do, is to scare him. Even when you are superior in all ways, the product of his fear is unpredictable.

[isshinryu5toforever]

No experienced karateka should have a problem with their junior, unless their ego prevents it. Even when your partner is huge, clumsy, and anxious, all one needs do is keep their cool, and take it easy. The worst thing do, is to scare him. Even when you are superior in all ways, the product of his fear is unpredictable.

I would say that depends on the training methods employed at said dojo.

[MasterPain]

No experienced karateka should have a problem with their junior, unless their ego prevents it. Even when your partner is huge, clumsy, and anxious, all one needs do is keep their cool, and take it easy. The worst thing do, is to scare him. Even when you are superior in all ways, the product of his fear is unpredictable.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on that one. Actually I think that idea is rather dangerous to believe. A 150 pound guy can train like crazy, learn all kinds of techniques and concepts for his lifetime. But he will have problems with a 250 pound natural athlete that comes at him with serious aggression, even if he's never been taught to throw a proper punch. The unpredictability is the problem you will deal with, fear or not. I think the most important lesson for a high level martial artist is that they are still human, with human weaknesses, and even a beginner can land a lucky shot. Remember "The Titanic is UNSINKABLE."

[honoluludesktop]

Are we discussing sparring, or competing and fighting? If its the latter two, then I agree, but when sparring, only a crazy, deceitful, or fearful man will try to "take you out". I have never met a beginner that didn't respect his sempai. A sempai that doesn't mentor his kohai, is not a sempai.

To apply what I have posted, don't try to win. Sempai always controls the match, especially when kohai wins. Took me a long time to learn, and apply this. Of course, I still sometimes forget:-)