Beaten by a white belt.

[TenHands]

There is some truth to this. I am always surprised to see how easy it is for even someone with experience to fall into predictable patterns. One of the things I have long taught were ways to encourage your opponent to become predictable, and then take advantage of it.
One easy example... Throw 2-3 belt-high front kicks in rapid succession. Teach your opponent that when your knee comes up, they should bring their hands down a bit to cover their belly. Then switch mid-strike to a high roundhouse. You've taught them to very kindly expose their head. This works better if your chamber for the front kick and the roundhouse are the same.

(sorry to double post)
I guess what I mean is that if a new guy comes into the dojo, you have no idea his physical conditioning, previous martial arts history, or personality type, all of which influence how he will fight. I remember sparring with a fresh white belt and found out the hard way that he had years of boxing experience.

 

[caped crusader]

I guess that kinda brings light to the "size matters" argument of fighting. There's this 6ft2 guy at my dojo and I'm a manlet, but even though he's relatively new and sparring-shy, he's like a Dark Souls boss to me.

Bigger they are the harder they fall us scots are(mainly small or average height) small but nasty

 

[Dirty Dog]

I guess that kinda brings light to the "size matters" argument of fighting. There's this 6ft2 guy at my dojo and I'm a manlet, but even though he's relatively new and sparring-shy, he's like a Dark Souls boss to me.

Is it one of these?

 

[drop bear]

What's with MMA gyms?

It is part of the process of getting rid of ego.

You get tapped by white belts. People mock yo for it and you feel bad.

Eventually you learn that it doesn't matter and sometimes people say silly things.

Loosing is supposed to suck. That is part of the process.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Loosing is supposed to suck. That is part of the process.

Is it? I will freely admit that when I was young, winning or loosing in a competition mattered. But now? Meh. I would honestly rather lose to a well-matched opponent than win vs someone who isn't very good.

 

[drop bear]

Is it? I will freely admit that when I was young, winning or loosing in a competition mattered. But now? Meh. I would honestly rather lose to a well-matched opponent than win vs someone who isn't very good.

MMA you are essentially training to loose in front of a thousand people. Including your friends and relatives.

It isn't wrong to be invested in that. Or upset by it.

 

[drop bear]

You should see some of our shark tanks. Some of the guys loose their minds. And it is set up so they don't do well.

Martial arts is where you see people at their best and their worst. That is how character is built. It helped me stop making excuses for bring human. For having bad days or being upset over getting tapped by white belts.

I mean it isn't an excuse to run around being some sort of screaming duche. But you can absolutely have feelings and care. It isn't wrong or immature. It is just a part of the suck that creates a more resilient person.

Writing this just after consoling one of our girls who was crying because she got out boxed by a guy who had 40kg on her.

 

[Dirty Dog]

MMA you are essentially training to loose in front of a thousand people. Including your friends and relatives.

It isn't wrong to be invested in that. Or upset by it.

I don't recall saying it's wrong. I said I am not.

 

[_Simon_]

I don't know if this applies to non-striking arts but there is a common school of thought that beginners are harder to fight than experienced people. Why? Because they're untrained and unpredictable.

Yeah I think it's just the lack of technique, lack of control, wild swings... I always hated watching Kyokushin tournaments with white belts competing, they really shouldn't be allowed to compete to be honest haha. It was horrible, swinging wildly hurting themselves and illegal techniques for the tournament.

 

[dvcochran]

Yeah I think it's just the lack of technique, lack of control, wild swings... I always hated watching Kyokushin tournaments with white belts competing, they really shouldn't be allowed to compete to be honest haha. It was horrible, swinging wildly hurting themselves and illegal techniques for the tournament.

Haha! That is true not just of Kyokushin. It is true of every style or sport in regards to beginners. There are always prodigies but most of use look like 2-toed sloth’s in the beginning.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I don't know if this applies to non-striking arts but there is a common school of thought that beginners are harder to fight than experienced people. Why? Because they're untrained and unpredictable.

This does not apply to the wrestling art. In wrestling art, if you pull a beginner, 99.9% of the time he will resist (because in his mind, there exist no such thing as "yield"). You can then borrow his resistance force and .... In wrestling, the beginner is predictable.

 

[Phoenix44]

Never underestimate the last place team.