I suppose that might be true if the person in question only trained contact in class very rarely.
I would point you to Xue Sheng's post above. I don't care how much controlled contact someone has, when it's for real it's often different and unpredictable ime.
That is completely backwards. The idea is to take someone with little experience with contact and give it to them through progressive deisensitization. This allows them to get used to it over time.
Which part is backwards? The portion I quoted--and therefore my response to it--includes two groups: those with much experience and those with little or none. Your response seems to include the latter only.
It is not a circular argument. Your POV only makes sense if class contact is practiced once. Progressive desensitization is a well known phenomenon, applicable to this scenario. It reduces the likeliehood of the "shock" response to the unfamiliar contact experience.
Maybe, maybe not. But I'd ask you to take another look as
X S's example. Many of us have had similar experiences, and it's nothing like two martial artists squaring off on a level surface, which you know will give traction, with rules of engagement. And I'm not saying this type of contact is wrong, I'm saying it's not necessarily the only way to train.
I disagree. The mechanics involved in contact striking or grappling are totally different from non-contact versions. Timing and distancing are simply non-existant in no-contact practice.
Again, you missed my statement that I don't really believe this is an either/or, all/nothing choice between contact and no contact. That's why I gave the example of my sifu using a block as a knockdown. He doesn't spar, never has in 45 years, but he certainly uses and teaches contact, and very hard contact the higher one goes.
- and that is not an opinion.
Of course it is. Both of us have only our opinions to offer.
But it ignores the point I tried to re-emphisize above: It's not just a choice between no contact or sparring. I'ts a big world out there, and many people have learned, taught, and practiced in many different ways.
