to touch or not to touch

[Big Don]

The way my instructor puts it is simple:
Anyone can punch or kick, this is about learning to TAKE a punch and a kick. We take care of each other, we aren't out to break anyone, but, contact is a vital part. It isn't enough to punch the air. A bad attacker in class won't help you learn. If the punch isn't going to hit you, you don't need to block it. A realistically thrown punch or kick makes it a hell of a lot easier to execute properly.

 

[Aikicomp]

Yes, contact is a must in training for all the reasons stated above.

Our style requires no contact (safety reasons) for white belt and white belt-blue tip students, we keep 4-6 inches away with the potential to hit the intended target with power and focus.
Once they make their Blue belt we have a control test called the ball test that everyone must pass for their next rank and I make that their first after getting blue belt.

After you pass that test you must make contact when doing self-defense.

Michael

 

[Bill Smith]

At lower ranks, light contact is necessary because of the techniques at hand. As they go up in rank and skills, so should the attacks and contact. Everyone as a student is different and the instructor should be in control as to when the students move in that direction. Kenpo is full of nasty strikes, so you want the student to move and gain control of his/her motions in the studio and the streets. There are different levels in Kenpo and you don't want them to know that it's full force every time your in a technique line with not knowing control.

 

[punisher73]

My biggest pet peeve when I tell someone to throw a punch to my head and even if I didn't move the punch wouldn't hit me. It is either off to the side or not even close.

I think some people are more concerned with helping their partner look good doing the technique than helping their partner learning the technique.

Advantage boxers and other contact sports have over most MA schools. The object is to actually hit the other person, and it is the other persons job to protect themselve and get out of the way.

 

[Hawke]

How much I touch depends on my partner. For those with little experience light contact so they understand which targets on them are getting hit. For those willing to go harder we go harder.

I also agree that getting hit helps with pain inoculation.

Getting hit with empty hands can sting.

Getting hit with rattan sticks (or any solid objects).....that hurts.

 

[DavidCC]

as the attacker, the attack should be on target, and for other-than-beginner students, should make controlled contact if not avoided/blocked/etc.

as the defender, you should not train to miss your target. However some targets (some techniques) the targets are too vulnerable especially given setups in the techs, so any contact would be too much. However it is still important not to train to miss. So if the strike(s) in your technique cannot be delivered at all without injury (palm heel to the face?), it should still be directed to the target, just pulled short of contact. If the target can be contacted without issue, then it should, at the level of intensity desired by both partners.

 

[Touch Of Death]

as the attacker, the attack should be on target, and for other-than-beginner students, should make controlled contact if not avoided/blocked/etc.

as the defender, you should not train to miss your target. However some targets (some techniques) the targets are too vulnerable especially given setups in the techs, so any contact would be too much. However it is still important not to train to miss. So if the strike(s) in your technique cannot be delivered at all without injury (palm heel to the face?), it should still be directed to the target, just pulled short of contact. If the target can be contacted without issue, then it should, at the level of intensity desired by both partners.

There is a rule where I train, and that rule is that I am not allowed to hurt anybody; so, as an attacker, I get to hit colored belts in the shoulder instead of the face when they attempt a technique. I see the logic.
Sean