I know what you mean. During the fights I've been in (not many) the physical pain wasn't felt until after the situation had 'resolved' - i.e. I was away from danger. At the time, adrenaline kicked in and my body took over - I didn't even think. As far as training to take a punch - is this really necessary? I would have thought the quality of your fight response is more affected by your psychological reaction to the situation. I know that some people freeze even before being hit.
I can see how this kind of conditioning might be useful if you're going to be in a long fight, maybe in the ring, but for your average street situation (I know there's no average
) I don't think it's necessary.
Also, how long are you going to train to take punches? Til your 50, 60, 70 years old? This doesn't make sense to me. I can't imagine Ip Chun doing this kind of training.
I agree with this too. All the clumsy knocks I've had and all the blows from the more sadistic seniors have got me used to the shock factor/stress/pain and have helped me develop the ability to keep going after the strike(s).