upnorthkyosa said:
I've been contemplating a radical idea...at least for TSD. I wonder if my students actual ability to strike and evade will improve if I ditch line drills and some of the classical blocks in favor of the "eight parries" and more functional strikes? Everytime my students would practice basics, we would do them against pads in order to provide resistence and gauge power.
It's not that I don't find anything useful in the classical movements...its just that I feel that they lose their meaning once one takes them out of the forms. We all know that a low block really isn't a low block, but for some reason, we keep practicing it like that. I'm not sure how practical that is...
John, here's my take on "classical movements" and their application. We all know that you would never execute a low block or an inside-middle block in the street in the same classic manner that you might drill on, or replicate in poomse. Most of the classical movements have exagerrated motions that are highly impractical in application. I look at these classical movements as an excellent way to learn gross motor skills and proper body mechanics when you are first learning a block. Our new students are shown the "classic way" and that's the only way they are allowed to perform the block, initially. As I said, this teaches the gross motor skills, and done properly it forces them to use their hips as a source of power. After proficiency is shown in the classic blocks, we let them participate in line drills defending against an actual strike, so that they can learn to "adapt" the classic motion to a practical, quick, defensive block with power. Typically, that means shortening the motion substantially, but keeping the hips involved so as to not sacrifice power.
My teacher has the best analogy of this process that I've heard:
He compared it to a beginning pilot learning to land on a long runway, way longer than was necessary, just to learn the basics. As the pilot gains experience, he is able to land the plane in a shorter and shorter space.
A senior MA-ist would be equivalent to a "carrier pilot" able to land in a short space, at night, on a moving surface.
Something else that I have found success with is to incorporate a series of techniques from a given form into a 2-3 step sparring routine. It's kind of a mini-bunkai lesson, and lets the students see an actual application from a form and practice it. I do not require "classic form" during this. This is about application, not form. There is a time and a place for both. Obviously, poomse is for form, and sparring is application, but I think they can co-exist without a contradiction in training principles.
