OP
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2015
- Messages
- 14,673
- Reaction score
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- Thread Starter
- #81
Rules of boxing has stripped more out of boxing than anything that would be classified as "doesn't work" Back fists used to be legal in boxing along with grappling. There's tons of stuff that is effective that isn't used in boxing.
I don't like the term pressure testing because it creates the assumption that a technique doesn't work because it hasn't been tested. If you don't know how to ride a bike, then you don't say, the bike doesn't work because it hasn't been pressure tested. The issue isn't that the bike doesn't work. The issue is that you don't know how to rid the bike.
So this is how I see TMA. The issue isn't that the technique hasn't been tested. It's been tested, which is why it's a technique in the system. The issue is that the student doesn't know how to use it. If you never use a technique in sparring then how are you going to use it in a real fight? TMA practitioners will often try to jump from drill to fighting, and that just isn't going work. Sparring is fighting practice. If I'm not using my techniques in sparring then I'm not practicing to use them in a fight.
The theories, concepts, movements, and mechanics don't fail. It's the fighter that fails. Perfect example, I can fight using the same techniques that people say don't work. Why can I use them but other people cannot? Is it because the technique, concepts, mechanics, and movement's fail? If that was the case then I should fail as well, but I don't. If I can use Jow Ga and someone else cannot, then it's the person that fails not the system.
I don't think I've modified any of my Jow Ga in order to get it to work. The stuff that works is stuff that I gained a better understanding of. The stuff that doesn't work is usually due to my physical limitations or lack of understanding. Then there's a very small percentage that I have no interest in trying to use.
If you watch my sparring videos a lot of what I nail people with are slow punches / kicks with me pulling power from, or redirecting. Even when I was training to be competitive, I wasn't trying to knock my opponent's head off. I was just happy I could relax for once without holding back the techniques. This is why I'm happy about the new gym that opened up. It has some heavy bags and I can start showing some of that power.
Fergusson is known for very bizzare training methods: 
