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Post by alan on Jun 18, 2014 7:22:38 GMT -5
I agree with Ros about that with tournament fighting people stick with what they are comfortable with, i watched Bart sparring last night and he favoured his right foot for jodan kicks to the extent that he hardly threw a left foot until the instructor made him, he just kept within his comfort zone.
One thing i still cannot get my head around is why people train knockdown, achieve shodan or higher but never test themselves in any way, shape or form and get to thirty plus never having given it a try, i can understand late starters not wanting to but a kid that gets his shodan and chooses just to plod through and attains gold stripes etc when there are people like Lia Howlett who have got the t shirt across the board wearing one stripe, why grab the bars when you have never tested....What summed it up for me was a 4th dan a couple of years ago winning a novice regional knockdown...If i had my way if people didn`t compete in one form of kumite or another or even kata i wouldn`t upgrade them. Again this does not apply to "older people"
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GJEC
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LOUGHBOROUGH ENSHIN
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Post by GJEC on Jun 18, 2014 8:32:23 GMT -5
For many of us the fear of being publically tested and found lacking is considerably more than the fear of harm.
Ranulph Fiennes wrote that the thing that most inspired courage in officers was the fear of appearing cowardly to their men. Same in the Fire Brigade, you'd do things that normal people wouldn't rather than face ridicule at the de-brief.
So if people aren't physically scared and are fit enough to have a go, it's up to their coach to focus on the benefits and put it over as a challenge, not a life or character defining moment. I remind people not to feel judged by a crowd that has - in the main - not had the drive to train hard and have a go themselves.
It's a sport, sport has rules. It should be enjoyed, afterwards if not on the mat.
Gary
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curlbroscience
Member
Testing the waters. Thanks for the forum MMX!
Posts: 1,517
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Post by curlbroscience on Jun 18, 2014 11:29:47 GMT -5
False. Competition training in part is analyzing and stripping away what is not effective. Min/Max. Like previous posts mention the word 'mystery' is a fire alarm button that sends people flailing about.
Ros is correct in that Karate is many things to different people. So this is to piggyback on the previous discussion on 'Do what is fun!' whereas now we are talking about effective. Fun can be competition, but it can also be practicing bunkai and exploring other martial arts to give insight in to our own. Effective is training particularly hard in what you want to do, eating a well balanced meal, and some time under weights.
The great part is where the two meet. For me it does not equal Kata practice, focused breathing in the tanden, hours long of meditation, and the other mysteries to be achieved through a lifelong pursuit in Karate. Fun and effective is strength training, pounding the heavy bag, and being a good role model in health and responsibility for my boys. Sounds like my kind of Karate.
As a tangent to depth vs. breadth of technique (traditional vs. sports training): To refrain from quoting, in my own practice I found that in the beginning it was important for me to train a variety of techniques. How else am I to know what works and does not? I have never competed in KD Karate (although I would still love to), but have in other styles and sports. The last thing I would want to do is to totally change the mechanic of the way I do something at the last minute. There is a bit of on the fly improv, but even then it's close to the original tech and just a slight manipulation in timing and weight distribution/balance with a dash of luck. Stick to the basics and focus what on what I am good at. Mediocre backhand? Lean toward the left side a little more, watch for the down the line shots and hit that inside-out forehand. While I think it would be interesting to learn new techniques or new ways of using old techniques, the amount of time invested to get better at them would be better spent getting stronger and more capable with what I already know. Maybe in the next life.
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Post by Ros on Jun 19, 2014 1:53:16 GMT -5
One thing i still cannot get my head around is why people train knockdown, achieve shodan or higher but never test themselves in any way, shape or form... When you say test, I guess you mean competing? I can see why competing isn't on everybody's radar, not everyone has that mindset, do they? I suppose it depends why people are training in the first place, not everyone feels the need to publicly demonstrate their abilities and I imagine many people just don't have the confidence. But I think people can test themselves in more ways than just competition: the obvious example being the gradings themselves. For some people, just turning up to training regularly is a test!
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Post by alan on Jun 20, 2014 1:58:33 GMT -5
That`s a fair point Ros.
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GJEC
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Post by GJEC on Jun 20, 2014 4:51:41 GMT -5
I posted this on FB some time ago. Relevant here I think:
"There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to failure. Every great success has always been achieved by fight. Every winner has scars. The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves"
Herbert N. Casson
Gary
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Post by Ros on Jun 20, 2014 7:35:31 GMT -5
Ambition and will power. Two very difficult things to gain which can lead to both terrible and wonderful things.
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GJEC
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LOUGHBOROUGH ENSHIN
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Post by GJEC on Jun 20, 2014 8:14:15 GMT -5
Ambition and will power. Two very difficult things to gain which can lead to both terrible and wonderful things. Hence the need to build and channel them. Seriously though I can understand some not feeling the need. I was always competitive from an early age so it all felt quite natural to me. To see how far I could get. Gary
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tmd
Member
Think Fast Hit hard
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Post by tmd on Jul 29, 2014 4:21:55 GMT -5
Lets face it, unless you work a door or act like an idiot most of us will rarely encounter life and death situations. Even if we do the traditional (complex) might evaporate faster than algebra in a maths exam. So simplicity, reliability, controlled aggression, impact all come to the fore. How do we improve those? Constant repetition and seeking an advantage. Few things drive progress as much as the will to win, except maybe the desire to not get a good thrashing in front of a crowd. Gary Agreed mate. I like to cover all aspects of Kyokushin but just as it would be stupid to only drill Toby Ushuro Mawashi Geri's in preparation for a knockdown tournament the same is true of SP. Drill the essentials and then work on the sophisticated to make training fun and interesting... No Mystery at all.
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