do you train your basics.

Joined
Nov 28, 1999
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most martial artists i met today do not train the basics that they have in their systems. usually the information he knows is just, there in his head. the practice he gets is when he demonstrate for a class or another martial artist. the ones who practice, only practice his disarmings and locks and takedowns, and drills.

when i say practice your basics, i mean your basics hit 1 through whatever. do you take, like, your number 7 and do this hit 100s of times, and then take your attack combinations (for you guys that have attack combinations) with the number 7 in it, and do that 100s of times.

i am willing to bet my left nut, that the answer is, no.

why? because of how the philippine martial arts gets taught today. they are not training you, they are teaching you how to do some moves, then he does a few demonstration of what else he knows, that you dont, he tells some jokes, and then you go home and try to remember what that neat move you saw.

the emphasis today is to learn how to do the moves, then the teachers trust you to practixe on your own. so what we have is people who know how to do the moves, but they have not done them enough to get really good at it and be an expert in it, but he is still called an expert. this is why there is so many average people in the philippine martial arts as teachers, and not enough people who are really good in the art.

your key to skill and effectiveness is practice of the basics. it doenst matter how many techniques you know, but how well you do them. your punch is not just a punch on the street. on the street it is who has the fastest and strongest punch, because everybody has one. i expect every so called martial arts student to be stronger and more durable then the average guy on the street because you are spending hours every week of your life doing these move. but instead the average student only knows many ways to do a technique, but he is no more powerful than the average guy who works out, if he is even that strong.

if you are an arnis student or especally a teacher, you should do your basic strikes at least 100 times a week, AT LEAST. this is how you improve yourself as you go along. i am stronger now at 33 than i was at 23, and this is because i train while i teach. when i am 53, i should be able to easily crush a guys windpipe because i plan to teach until i die.

you always hear of old manong who can fight like young man, even though he walkd with a cane, and he has gout or some other old man's disease. this is because he keeps himself together with his technique. they didnt have golds gym and tae bo when my grandpa was young. you preserve your skills, and you young people develop your skills by practicing the basics many, many times no matter how boring they are.

think of your basics as the walls of your house, and your drills and neat stuff like that is the nice furniture and decorations inside. when the storm comes (**** hit the fan), you will probably hope the walls are strong enough instead of worrying about your mama's picture.
 
Very well said, sir. Here in the Philippines we are still expected to do the same. I'm sure a lot of FMA'ers here on the board also do that, although sad to say, most people do not.
 
I have had the shear luck to start kali with a good group here in ft worth and although ive been away from classes for a while they emphasize the importance of the basics. I am just now starting to realize the lucky opportunity that i have here. The time to move on to more advanced tecniques is when you have learned to forget what you already know. Thinking takes too long and without the basics being a part of your instinct that one moment can become your last.
 
Kuntawman, brother, that is how I train. Please send your left nut to Oahu. Your life force will make a nice collection to my anting anting collection. ;) Actually, I don't want it, but technically, you said...

I agree with you on this point 100%. Not enough people "train", as much as they would rather attempt to "learn". I say attempt, because if you train hard, your body meca\hanics will teach yourself(for the most part).

Basics will save your ass. Imagine that you work against:

1) hand sparring only for a month
2) a horizontal or diaganol strike towards your head from the right side for a month, than
3) a horizontal or diaganol strike towards your head from the left side for a month, than
4) a horizontal or diaganol strike towards your leg from the right side for a month, than
5) a horizontal or diaganol strike towards your leg from the left side for a month, than

That is 5 months of training. Work these things AT LEAST twice a week with a partner, hard and with intent to hit. Once a week, AT LEAST, fight. Everynight, do MORE than 500 strikes. Rest on fight days. The only time that I don't get to keep this workout schedule is when
I fight 3 to 4 nights a week. Try at least 5 to 6 fights per meet.

That's my formula for building a hardcore stickfighter. This type of training in 5 months will make anyone a better fighter, over 500% better.

BTW, last night, I saw 5 guys mob and murder someone, I got there with my stick to late, but it only supported my thought process on why I train so hard. I never want to be that guy on the ground and I never want to see that happen again. 5 years ago, before I started fighting on a weekly basis, but I still trained daily and hourly, I know that I would have had alot of fear. After fighting some of the great guys that I have met in my journey, the fear was there last night, but it was more of a fear for the mans life and not so much a fear for my own, because I know that my present and current training HAS made a difference in what game I present.

Anyway, I hope this finds all in good health.

Oh yeah, so much of us wish that we had the old man to beat us up with the stick, but how many of us are willing to let the young man beat us up with the stick? If you think about it, you don't need a "master" to hit you hard, you just need somebody/anybody.

Later,

Chad
Stickfighting Hawaii
 
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