We can insert any number. As I said, for the sake of the art, yeah, you're probably going to have alot to teach, and I do teach it. However, as an example: Flying Crane can vouch for this...in the Tracy system of Kenpo, there're upwards of 600 techs, Parker has 154. IMHO, for someone to be able to sort thru that huge list, and honestly be able to pull off a defense, is going to be hard. Instead of 24 techs/belt like we see in Parker Kenpo, trim that down to 8 or 10. From those 8 or 10, once the student really really gets good at them, they should start breaking them down further. Ex: Lets say you have 1 tech for a step thru right punch. Ok, fine, drill the **** out of that. Now, work that same tech off a cross. Work it off a jab/cross. In essence, the student is using the basics, the principles and concepts of the art, to 'think on the fly' without having to have yet another preset tech. to address those issues. In the end, the student could realistically have 3 or more ways to do 1 tech. The basics aren't changing, just the nature of the attack.
I've gone thru techs with students. I've intentionally had someone attack them in a way in which they don't have a preset tech that they learned. 9 times out of 10, they have that deer in the headlights look, because they dont know what to do, because they didn't 'learn a preset tech yet.' I'd ask them if they knew how to block, punch and kick, to which they'd say yes. I'd say good, then do it.
My point of this, was to show them that they ddin't need to rely on something they knew. In the real world, how're you going to know what attack they're going to throw, until they throw it? You dont, so therefore, you'll have to act accordinly.
IMHO, time would be better spent working a spontaneous drill for unknown attacks, rather than being robotic, and going thru a list of techs. I want my students to think outside of the box, not be trapped inside it.
