"90% of fights end up on the ground"?

[--]

All in good fun. We don't seriously hurt each other, just enough to...persuade....the other guy to back off. This way, we also get a feel of how much damage we're causing, so we can control how much damage we do in a real fight.

 

You seem to oppose this kind of training. I think anyone who's in a class like that should be subjected to it. That's the difference between war...and war games.

 

 

[ckdstudent]

Yes, and for training do the army take new recruits and chuck them into the battlefield, or do they start off with wargames?

 

For full power techniques we use shields, meaning you can hit as hard as you want and not actually injure anyone or be at risk of seriously hurting anyone, and yet you still get used to throwing full power techniques. There are people in the class, myself amoung them, who know that if someone attacks us it'll probably only take one blow to finish the fight because we've personally had to do this, but we never trained to hit each other, bare knuckle at near-full power simply so that we could get used to it.

 

Like I said, save the injuries for your attacker. The whole point of CKD is training people for self-defense without injuring them in class. Apparently your style thinks differently, that's fair enough. You take all of the hardcases who enjoy beating each other up in class and we'll take everyone else. I'm not trying to be impolite or disrespectful here, but that is essentially what both of our styles want. You want the people who enjoy the violence and the chance to wail on each other, we want the people who want to learn to defend themselves without getting hurt in the process. Different philosophies.

 

 

[--]

No, we just have the tough guys who can take more hits. I realize this style isn't for everyone, and personally, I also take Taijiquan, an art anyone can use. None of the guys here are violent or dense. We just take our training to a level most people don't go.

 

 

[Punchdrunk]

How often do you all spar?

 

Do you always strike first or go for a choke or joint lock earlier if it is the best opening?

 

No grappler gloves even? I would think that would be as rough on your hands as anything else?

 

It is interesting to read just how many and how divergent the feelings on "martial arts training" are.

 

 

[rabid hamster]

i wouldn't want to go to your class Smiley.. ouch.

 

and i think if people really wanted to be complete with self defense, they should know a little grappling... and people that only do grappling arts really should learn stand up fighting too.

 

 

[--]

We usually go straight in to the grapple, but there's a boxing gym next door (we practice at the local community center), and against them, it's always best to throw a few jabs to get them movin, then sweep them and come down on top. On the street, I'd probably get a good hard hit in first, then take them down and pin them while they're stunned.

 

I think I'm giving the wrong idea about our classes. This is not like the UFC, where they roll around and knock the living crap out of each other. Shuai Chiao is Fast Wrestling, as it is called in Chinese. A normal match goes like this.

 

Two guys square off.

 

One jabs to the head, stunning his opponent.

 

He kicks to the stomach and tackles.

 

Throwing an elbow to the head, he grabs the raised arm and pins.

 

Tapout.

 

No repeated blows to the head, no pounding and slamming, just quick, simple strike, tackle, grapple, tapout.

 

For people who can't take this kind of training, they also have Aikido, Judo, Jujutsu, and Cin Na classes. There's not really much distinction, other than what each has to offer to speific body frames and sizes.

 

Whenever a new student questions about th differences in styles offered, our sifu asks him, "if you were blindfolded and thrown by a Judo guy and a Shuai Chiao guy, would YOU be able to tell the difference?"

 

 

[ckdstudent]

Might be easier to say for those who don't like this type of training, rather than those who can't take it. I know I can take hits, I just don't see any need to when I'm training, if that makes me weak or a coward then so be it but I'll experience less pain overall.

 

 

[--]

Okay, I'll rephrase: Many people, even those who are capable, do not like this type of training. The human body can take an incredible amoutnt of punishment. A samurai by the name od Nitta Yoshida actually fought on for over a minute and killed his adversary, after his head had been sliced off. Pure willpower. I suppose what I mean to say is that, due to liestyle or physical condition, most people choose not to go through this kind of training. Me? I don't mind, because the people I train are people I can trust. In the kwoon (dojo), we are all good friends and know each other personally, something our sifu encourages. We are all capable of controlling ourselves, and know how much damae we do. If I was in a class with a bunch of UFC dropouts, I would be reluctant, to say the least, but these are all controlled, dignified people, not brutes.

 

 

[ckdstudent]

Now I agree with you completely. If I trained with people I trust with completely (my friends fall into this category, but instructors aren't allowed to train together in class) then I'd have no problems with the same type of training that you do, or even harder. Unfortunately I'm somewhat paranoid and with good reason. While I know that I can pull a punch to brush cloth rather than to break a rib I also know that most of the juniors in my club don't.

 

 

[--]

Ya...they say a newly promoted yellow belt (or whatever belt comes right after white in your art) is the most dangerous individual in the dojo. Not because he has skill, but because he knows enough to hurt someone, doesn't know enough to control himself, and thinks he knows enough to do so. I'd rather spar my sensei than a yellow belt...