W.C's conditioned sudden reflexes

[Ric Flair]

Hello again friends
I have yet another question.
Based first on observations/experiences.

I have noticed I respond differently to a person who suddenly jumps out of a corner and surprises me (or when someone suddenly attacks me or runs up from behind) VS when a friend playfully jabs at me.

In a situation where I FEEL there is a threat, my hands and body responds to the sudden potential attack properly most of the time. Studying and applying Wing Chun has conditioned me to do this better.

However,
whenever a friend playfully takes a light swipe at me I notice my body doesn't respond even though it is fully aware. I feel very unconfortable when someone I know playfully does an in close non telegraphic swipe at my stomach or side under my armpits or when someone taps me on my back (reminds me how easy it is for someone to knife you from behind!).
Like how the master in "Warriors 2" got stabbed from the panhandler in the restaurant.

So here are my questions

1) Is Wing Chun supposed to condition you to feel ONLY real danger while allowing you know when someone is simply playing?

2) Or are you supposed to take every single interaction with people you know and don't know seriously with your body ready just in case? Or do you simply relax and allow yourself to flow with every given situation and outcome?

3) It is almost impossible to avoid someone coming up from behind and stabbing you in places like say a crowded subway train, on a street sidewalk, a bus or while you are walking home at night, etc? I noticed the Master in Warriors 2 fought the panhandler even though he was stabbed twice in the back... Are there ways to still be aware of your surroundings in regards to this scenario though? Watch your shadow? Develop keen vision 360 degrees? Turn to face potential danger?

I know these are a lot of questions so
, people take your time, and only answer the questions you feel confident with or the ones you are interested in answering thanks.

 

[fightingfat]

1) Is Wing Chun supposed to condition you to feel ONLY real danger while allowing you know when someone is simply playing?

Surely this is about mental state, not about anything you chosen martial training will teach you?
When training, you can perform an exercise while chatting about what you did last night, or you can engage a serious attitude and apply your mind as well as your body to your training. If someone takes a friendly swipe at you in a situation that you would not feel threatened or aggressive in, why would you be able to react?
My tip would be when someone does this to me I smile and say ahh yes but then I would do this and hurt them, just a little bit, they then become less willing to do the old 'you didn't see that one coming, did you?' routine on you.

2) Or are you supposed to take every single interaction with people you know and don't know seriously with your body ready just in case? Or do you simply relax and allow yourself to flow with every given situation and outcome?

No. This way lays danger. The danger of seeing every situation as a potential conflict and as a result, finding yourself in perpetual conflict. You will soon loose all your friends!

3) It is almost impossible to avoid someone coming up from behind and stabbing you in places like say a crowded subway train, on a street sidewalk, a bus or while you are walking home at night, etc? I noticed the Master in Warriors 2 fought the panhandler even though he was stabbed twice in the back... Are there ways to still be aware of your surroundings in regards to this scenario though? Watch your shadow? Develop keen vision 360 degrees? Turn to face potential danger?

No.
We are all vulnerable. I knew a fabulous fighter who was in the pub one night and someone hit him over the head with an ashtray out of nowhere. You can't defend against the ashtray over the head attack. Just be AWARE and try to avoid potentially dangerous situations. Be a friend and not an aggressor.

Hope this made some sense.

Pax.

 

[brothershaw]

I would say that when around the average person I know that is non threatening I am definitely more resistant to reacting to thier movements than when I am around classmates. I would imagine because I know that they would not react as fast as a classmate would to my actions.
Bottom line its a lose- lose, if you rough somebody up lightly you appear to be a jerk, and if they get one over on you their ego will go through the roof. Classmates can do stuff to each other that would definitely cause problems outside of a class.

 

[Kensai]

Surely this is about mental state, not about anything you chosen martial training will teach you?
When training, you can perform an exercise while chatting about what you did last night, or you can engage a serious attitude and apply your mind as well as your body to your training. If someone takes a friendly swipe at you in a situation that you would not feel threatened or aggressive in, why would you be able to react?
My tip would be when someone does this to me I smile and say ahh yes but then I would do this and hurt them, just a little bit, they then become less willing to do the old 'you didn't see that one coming, did you?' routine on you.




No. This way lays danger. The danger of seeing every situation as a potential conflict and as a result, finding yourself in perpetual conflict. You will soon loose all your friends!



No.
We are all vulnerable. I knew a fabulous fighter who was in the pub one night and someone hit him over the head with an ashtray out of nowhere. You can't defend against the ashtray over the head attack. Just be AWARE and try to avoid potentially dangerous situations. Be a friend and not an aggressor.

Hope this made some sense.

Pax.

Perfect, that's what I do. :ultracool

I think that as a general rule, MA is spread across a wide spectrum, of which actually fighting is only one small part. As FF said, being aware of your environment, who's walking around you, are they in a group, male/female, size, age, "look", when driving through cities, lock the doors, put bolts on your door at night, leave nothing to chance, in my view as much a part of martial awareness as whether you should or shouldn't block like you mean it when messing around with mates. I'd just go with what FF said, learn a few party piece moves with which to inflict a little hurt on your colleagues. After all, what goes on in the group stays in the group.

 

[monji112000]

one of the best ways to work quick reflexes is circle drills.
examples:
http://wingchunkungfu.cn/Mastermpg/112699h.mpg
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7569982984516749691&q=allen+wing+chun
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4011601789681156091&q=allen+wing+chun

keep in mind you varry the speed and "level" based on the person's skill. Its a wast of time to just go hard and fast if you can't do it slowly correctly. (I say this becouse I often do it wrong) :idunno:

 

[marcus_p]

Hi,

One thing I've found that helps with conditioned reflexes is understanding coverage. That is, how to coordinate the use your hands and feet to defend your exposed area that is under attack from your opponent.

Here is one clip of my SiFu explaining this concept. There are many drills that help the student understand this concept, most of the videos on our website approach the technique from the point of view of "coverage". It is one of the fundamental concepts of learning how to apply Wing Chun.

/Marcus