Ever since we started the club we have spent a majority of our warm ups striking the tire. We have been training consistent power, form and movement and the progress has been very noticeable. It's been cool watching members come in with little to no MA experience leave a dull thump in the air when the strike then fast forward a couple weeks or a month and hear a nice echo or the occasional boom from the tire. We now have a tire swing which gives the club a new focus on movement while trying to maintain power in the strike. We have also added another heavy bag to work empty hand power and form.
August 2009 Archives
There is an old addage when it comes to fighting arts, that the fitter fighter wins. In other words, if you think of a fight like a race, the fighter with more gas in his tank (e.g. more endurance), will more likely go the distance than the guy with less gas in his tank.
Now does this mean you neglect your time in the gym working your art, to run? No, this means instead of curling up in front of the brainwasher (e.g. television), you take your tv time and hit the road. Your gym time gives you the skills, your road work ensures that you have the gas to use them, no matter what.
Now, some martial artists, particularly those rounder than they are tall, will make an excuse that because of their efficiency and skill in combat, they dont need to hone their attributes, and condition themselves. These are the guys who when they lose a fight, make an excuse that oh I ate too much for breakfast that day, my lumbago was acting up, the sun was in my eyes, etc... The only excuse for losin is lack of skill.
There is never an ideal situation, even if you are a sport fighter, and can know when the fight occurs, you never know, perhaps that day you catch a virus, the food dont sit right with you, etc...
If you have skill, and you prepare, none of these excuses matter. If you have gas in your tank, and made yourself tougher than the other guy, even on a bad day, you will still be 10 times stronger, faster, and have more gas than the other guy. Even in "street" altercations, the only excuse for not being prepared in your attributes and conditioning, is laziness.
We do not condition ourselves by doin road work, working on strength and flexibility, as a bonus. This work is essential to being a fighter. This is the work that guarantees that no matter what happens, be it a bad day or a good day, we can execute the skills we worked so hard in the gym to develop. Anything less, is the excuse of someone who is lazy, and who will always be cannon fodder to the serious fighter.
If you are serious about being a fighter, a true mandirigma (warrior), you leave nothing to chance. You make sure that if the other guy can do 10 hits in a minute, you can do 100. You make sure if the other guy can last 12 rounds, you can last 24. You take all his advantages away, and leave the outcome of the fight inevitable.
Why settle for anything less? If you went to the Doctor, would you settle for someone who only occaisionally works on keeping his skill? Who will use equipment that is not the best, but passable?
When your life or the lives of your loved onesis on the line, do you want to settle for maybe? A flip of the coin whether you live or die? Or do you want to guarantee, that no matter what, you will be victorious.
I've often heard the 1,000 repition addage spoken about in martial arts as the amount of times needed to build muscle memory to learn a technique. Some have even gone as far as to say 10,000 reps.
Well lets do a little math. One round in boxing is 3 minutes, or 180 seconds. In pro fights a good fighter dominating the round can throw around 100 or more punches per round, but since we talking about learnin, lets say a novice, hitting a bag, without the worry of someone else hittin them, stays lazy and throws letsay one punch every 2 seconds, or 90 punches a ronud. So just workin a jab cross, it would only take less than 24 ronds to "learn" those two techniques, if we go by the 1,000 rep addage, or 240 rounds if we go by the higher 10,000 rep addage.
Now this might sound high, but a lazier workout, following a traditional boxin scheme is 12 rounds, or 42 mins. So essentially, we are sayin at a lazy work out, it will only take two days to learn these two punches. Or 20 days by the higher standard (e.g. 10,000 reps).
Now people who want to box for real, will not stay on the lazier end. They will do far more than a lazy round, and far more than just 12 rounds per work out. And even then,even after 3 mos of 5 days a week, how well they really know these two punches is still questionable. And in this time, they have probably done closer to 100,000 reps of these two techniques, compared to the lazy 10,000 or laughable 1,000 reps.
So where does this leave us? Well, just remember, just because you did something 10 times, or even 1,000. What you see in a bad amateur boxing ring, is someone who has practiced 100 times more than you. What you see in a pro boxing ring, is someone who has practiced even more. So bare this in mind, with that kind of repition that they have dedicated to only 4 punches, can you claim the same for your own art? Do expect similar results with less? Bare in mind, if you want to be a real fighter, and not someone who just hopes one day they can do a thing or two, the kind of single mindedness to do 1,000 reps as just a single workout, is what you need.
Sometimes, when a practioner of the art gets frustrated, and has difficulty performing the physical aspect of the art, they ask, what's the secret? How do I do this better? Is there something that I'm not getting, why is doing this so difficult? Is there some magic concept I can learn, to get the physical technique faster?
In short, the simple answer is no, there is no secret technique. To do the basic physical technique, it is all simply a matter of practice, practice, practice. And even on the day you magically move like you may know a thing or two, its even more practice, so as not to backslide.
Just like any sport, or any other activity in life, you do not get better in martial arts or the combat arts, without practice. A skillful practioner isnt skillful just because he magically came up with a better way to skin the cat, but probably because, while some were busy eating donuts, thinking about what fancy costume they wanna wear, how many grands can they put before master, and still fit their title on a business card, he was in the gym, doing his striking work, doing his road work, sparring, rinse wash repeat.
Beware the art that does not ask you to work. Yes there is a thinking side of things, and a good instructor will get your mind right. However, a good instructor will also tell you, speed, power, accuracy, the very bread and butter that makes you a skillful warrior, that's your problem. If you are lazy, dont be surprised that no matter how good the art is, only your belly grows, and not your skill.
What makes an art a Philippine Combat art? Is it the techniques we do? Is it the weapons we use? Is it the terminology or ritual?
At its heart, what makes a Philippine Combat Art is the culture of the Philippines. It is Filipino culture that courses through the Philippine Combat Arts, informing the strategies we take, our mindset in training, our relationship to the world.
The physical side of things is secondary. There are only so many ways the human body can move. Without the context of culture, there is no art, instead only a random collection of physical techniques.
