Chi sau, BJJ, and White Belts

[wayfaring]

So yesterday we were talking a bit about chi sau skills and the ground. One member was kind enough to post up video of a roll at Gracie Barra, which is both kind and brave on a wing chun forum LOL.

I made a statement that a white belt with chi sau skills wouldn't give me trouble on the ground in BJJ.

After reflection, this is probably an overstatement. After all, there are over 6 billion people on the planet, the vast majority of which could be classified as BJJ white belts. There are undoubtedly a whole lot of them that can give me trouble on the ground.

In fact, I thought I would highlight one particular white belt to single out in the category of giving me trouble.

This particular white belt gave me all sorts of trouble when he walked in the door for the first time.

After about a week, our instructor gave him a blue belt kind of more of a hazardous material sign. He gave me trouble then.

Over his 4 year prodigious journey in BJJ from white to black belt he has given me trouble every step of the way, including his preparation to winning the 2014 ibjjf no-gi adult world black belt title.

He gave me trouble last week.

In addition to being a beast, he is a great community support as a fireman, a good man, and a good friend. He has taught me much over the years.

If I am a lucky man, he will continue to give me trouble all the way until I kick off this planet.

So yeah. White belts. BJJ. Mixing it up.

If there's any learning in all of this it is don't avoid the white belts that give you trouble. They may change your life.

And yes it is possible to do the pajama wrestling and the wing chun both. Just don't let it mess with your head LOL.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

What, you couldn't handle an Olympic Greco-Roman bronze medalist in a grappling context? Wuss. Next you'll tell me that you aren't confident of beating Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a punching match.

(For those who don't recognize the picture, that's Adam Wheeler.)

It's pretty cool that you got to train with a grappler on that level. Did he ever teach takedowns at your school? That would be a worthwhile class.

 

[wayfaring]

Yes I'm very privileged. He teaches weekly and has taught me his sequences and setups. Does this mean I could "hang" with Jordon Burroughs? No.

One of the things I wanted to introduce in discussing in this thread is people who in modern times are trying to mix up these particular two arts - grappling/wrestling/BJJ/ and for that matter MMA into wing chun. What are the problems with this? What approach do you take? How to you build identity? What do you train?

One of the personal problems I have faced training both of these arts and concepts is the problem of mixing strategies with different goals and aims. For example, wing chun has sticking hands, wants to stick to a bridge, but not be attached to a bridge. Wrestling wants to attach to a bridge.

So how do you do it?

From my background and opinion, early on I experienced what many call the American obesity problem. What that means is Americans many times eat by stuffing various meals into their face on the run. Burger in the drive thru, apple while running to catch a subway, energy drink slammed down on the way to somewhere. In a lot of ways my martial arts training was similar. Cram everything in and try and fit it together. I think my brain looked like a lot of American stomachs. Some huge mass of material trying to be digested just turning into the huge putrid mass right in the middle.

If you would look at my forum posts at the time I was always talking about blended ideas between grappling and wing chun. I actually see this a lot, including many very questionable videos put out by more than one wing chun master. You know, kicking around concepts like - "how does centerline apply to the guard?" and so forth.

This actually went on for longer than I'd like to admit - like probably at least 3 or 4 years. Then a funny thing happened. I actually stopped thinking about it. I stopped caring how they mixed, whether they mixed, how the concepts combined. I started to just relax and enjoy the training, not work over the concepts too hard, but just let my mind absorb.

And over time things started to change and emerge. What I started to see was the nature of the arts emerging in my opinion. So ju is a yielding art. When it comes out is in defense, at the end, at recovery. The wing chun bridge is the primary engagement. It is that which is alive, activated. With ground, like a sprawl for example, to me has emerged as the simple concept in wing chun of dai gerk yi sau - your two feet follow your hands. Or the contact on the bridge determines where to set your feet. My brothers mess with me all the time going for single legs. It just so happens that bridge contact that low naturally leads to the hips back.

So here is my guidance for this type of thing, based on pain, confusion, and learning.

Relax your mind. Absorb with your subconscious the essence of the art you are studying and training. Do not dwell on contradictions. Just flow with the information. The subconscious mind is a powerful thing. It will handle that.

Any other experiences?

Oh and lastly in the spirit of blended arts, I'd like to invite all of you on the forum to do the Conor MacGregor challenge. LOL.