Ippon and Sanbon Kumite: What are they trying to teach us?
One of the first things I recommend to people asking about martial arts instruction is to consider everything a learning experience, and not take it at face value.
People often ask me about one and three step sparring; what are they for? they're so unrealistic! that is NOT how you fight!
How many people have asked why you do so many defenses against a lunging straight punch? (a lot I'll wager)
I too have often wondered what they were for, it wasn't until I asked myself the very question I tell others to ask that I began to gain some insight. That question is of course; What are these exercises trying to teach me?
Standard answers to this question include, rhythm, timing, distancing, angling etc, and these are great answers, and are indeed part of these exercises, yet I always thought they had to have more to them.
Another great answer would be available target areas, not only on the opponent, but on us as well. How many people neglect to see the "other side" of these drills? Do you ask yourself where and how YOU are vulnerable to attack while executing your techniques? A wise question to be sure.
To me it's important to understand "how" they teach, and not just know "what" they teach. One of the main ways I like to interpret them is that they each give you a set of circumstances. What do I mean?
Let's look at a typical Ippon Kumite technique. The attacker drops into a low front stance, gives a loud shout and procedes to "attack" you with a lunging right straight punch. You simply step to the outside of the attack, perhaps checking the arm with your right hand, and counter with a right roundhouse kick to the opponents midsection, very simple.
What does this drill teach us? And how does it do so?
As long as certain circumstances are met, this is a valid technique to attempt. Those circumstances are that your attacker has his right foot forward, his right arm extended toward you, and has yet to touch you; that's it. That's all that matters. That "punch" is simply a representation of those circumstances...how you get there is up to you to discover in your live drills and sparring.
That lunging punch could just as easily be a shove, an attempted grab, an attempted choke, a weapon attack, or it could actually be a punch. As long as those circumstances are met however, it (almost) doesn't matter! I know that if he ends up with his right foot forward and his right arm extended toward me in a thrusting manner, I can simply side step and (potentially) land a right roundhouse kick to his midsection. It can be as simple as that, or you can go much deeper.
They also allow us to "pause" the action and analyze the details of balance, posture, more specific target areas on both parties etc. and they are a great teaching tool that can be used to demonstrate concepts such as evasion, and deflection, as well as testing your root, and explaining why you use stances to shift your weight for increased power.
They also allow me to understand that if I do step to the outside (straight to the left) that I am too far away to use an elbow strike, or a knee strike therefore I will have to step somewhere else to use those techniques.
A concept I encourage people to use is what a Sensei I know calls "follow the path to the target" or; if you follow the opponents extended arm, you'll find a target to exploit such as the armpit, or neck/jaw. If it's a kick, the leg is a "path" that leads you straight to the groin, or the 'support' leg.
They also allow nervous or timid students to get used to a live person coming at them in such a way as to inspire confidence, which leads them to the next level of intensity and depth of study.
On a more strategic or philosophical note and perhaps most importantly: they teach you the concept of using the same or a similar technique to defend against a variety of attacks, thus insuring a minimum of confusion when the proverbial crap hits the fan. As well as paying attention to the angle of the attack, rather than focusing on whether it's a punch, shove, or grab.
If you wish to go deeper, you can also use each Ippon as a sort of miniature kata. To me the word kata simply means the "proper way of doing something"..regardless of what it is. Most people put on their pants the same way every morning, or tie their shoes the same way each time...this is kata. So rather than take the kata itself, or the applications at face value..simply acknowledge that they are trying to teach you the proper mechanics of the technique itself, not how to use it in a real fight, because that only comes through live training. A simpler definition would be that kata is the 'formal' version.
The Sensei I mentioned above also teaches a concept he calls "dependent and independent movement" where each "piece" of the Ippon (or kata, or self defense technique) can be a technique, or entry...a starting point if you will.
As an example let's take a look at an American Kenpo technique called "lone kimono" which is so named because it refers to a one armed lapel grab. There are multiple version of it, this is the one I learned.
Your opponent grabs your right lapel with his left arm, usually with his left foot forward. You trap the opponents arm to your chest with your left hand, take a step backward with your left foot and slam your right forearm/bicep into the opponents elbow joint, hyperextending it. You then circle your right hand over top the opponents arm, which is still trapped to your chest, and effectively 'bash' it off with your right forearm in an angular downward fashion toward your left hip, your right arm doesn't stop moving but circles up for a 'sandwich elbow' strike to the opponents jaw, smashing his head between your right elbow and left hand (similar to the opening movement of Naihanchi Shodan). Your right hand then arcs down for a hammerfist strike to the opponents groin as you twist your stance, all the while your left hand remaining up to protect your face. After the hammerfist, you take a small adjustment step forward with your left foot, and slam your right heel up into your opponents groin or solar plexus, and from there you step away and cover.
The technique (or Ippon) taken as a whole is "dependent movement" meaning each move leads to the next, or if you prefer, the last move is dependent on the previous move, which is dependent on the previous move etc.
But you can also practice a theory called "independent movement" and I'll explain. After the opponent grabs your lapel, you trap the hand, step back and hyperextend the elbow joint, now from here, you can play with it, you realize you don't have to do the technique as a whole, they are not, and never were carved in stone as the only thing you can do. For example rather than doing the follow up clearing motion with your right arm, you might instead turn the arm over and apply pressure to the elbow joint with your armpit and take the opponent down. So that one 'piece' of the technique/kata/ippon gave you a technique. Starting over from the beginning, your opponent grabs, you trap, step, and hyperextend, but this time you include the clearing motion and stop: from here what do you have available to you? A front kick to the groin? Other strikes? ..what about after the following elbow strike? Can you turn it into a throw? etc etc.
The technique I described has 5 basic movements, which means using 'independent movement' you now have 5 techniques, if you study each of those you'll have 25.
Of course you're thinking, why do we need all these techniques? We don't. You aren't trying to memorize them. Just create them spur of the moment, which even in slow motion can ultimately lead you to the ability to improvise, which is of course what we all want to be able to do.
Let's recap: these drills teach you, among other things:
*what weapons are available to you in any given position relative to your opponent, and what targets can be exploited with those weapons.
*how to adjust the position to allow the use of other weapons, and targets.
*where you yourself are open to attack, and which of the opponents weapons are most likely to be used to attack those targets.
*to get used to the idea of a live person coming at you, but in such a way as to allow you to build confidence slowly
*examples of how to defend against specific attacks.
*how to stop the action and pay attention to the basics of posture, root, stance, accuracy and balance as well as other attributes.
*how to 'follow the path to the target'
*the theory of using similar defenses to deal with a variety of attacks
*how to turn techniques, or ippons into miniature kata, thus ridding yourself of unrealistic expectations and understanding that the purpose of 'set techniques' is to teach proper mechanics, and combat principles.
*dependent and independent movement as concepts, and how to use them both to your advantage.
*how to look at the circumstances and positioning of the opponent as opposed to trying to predict which specific attack they will use..ie..how to improvise!
*a strategy for studying many other aspects of your art!
*hopefully a new found respect for the traditional side of the martial arts.
