What if you just train one technique for the next 2 years?

[Gerry Seymour]

Well yes, but even then you'd have to neglect the rest of your game.

Let's take your hip throw example; there's a lot of ways to get there. Maybe you off balance him with some sort of strike and step in, or maybe you fake a double and go high, maybe you get it from an over under clinch, maybe you catch him on an over extension or he tried some spinning **** from too close. Etcetera etcetera...

Sure, you can train for all these variables and more, but are you really training around one technique at that point?

Conceptually (which is how I tend to look at things) you would still be. When I train a technique, I tend to train that way - recoveries, counters, etc. all become part of training that technique. Of course, it doesn't make for a nice boundary to stay within, because you can keep pushing that hazy grey area back a bit until pretty soon you've managed to fit everything in by somehow relating it to that technique.

 

[Martial D]

Conceptually (which is how I tend to look at things) you would still be. When I train a technique, I tend to train that way - recoveries, counters, etc. all become part of training that technique. Of course, it doesn't make for a nice boundary to stay within, because you can keep pushing that hazy grey area back a bit until pretty soon you've managed to fit everything in by somehow relating it to that technique.

Ya, exactly. It's all semantics at that point. I would say most of us that spar regularly have our 'go tos' that we try to get to, but it seems strange to me to imagine that everything else I train is simply to serve those techniques (hello lead uppercut and rear oblique kick)

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Ya, exactly. It's all semantics at that point. I would say most of us that spar regularly have our 'go tos' that we try to get to, but it seems strange to me to imagine that everything else I train is simply to serve those techniques (hello lead uppercut and rear oblique kick)

Well, the idea would be to treat them for a time as if they were exactly that - even knowing they aren't just that. So, if you are asked, "How can a spinning backfist get you to a lead uppercut", there's an answer somewhere that you could work on. Not sure if it'd be worth doing so, but you could.

 

[Martial D]

Well, the idea would be to treat them for a time as if they were exactly that - even knowing they aren't just that. So, if you are asked, "How can a spinning backfist get you to a lead uppercut", there's an answer somewhere that you could work on. Not sure if it'd be worth doing so, but you could.

But I'm already doing that. What I'm not doing is working my lead uppercut exclusively for hours a day though.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

But I'm already doing that. What I'm not doing is working my lead uppercut exclusively for hours a day though.

And that's where I think you should be. I don't see the value in that over-dedication to a single technique.

 

[JowGaWolf]

How many bread and butter moves will you need through your life time?

Ask a boxer if he or she needs to learn how to kick. Then put that boxer against a kicker. The answer will change.

But how good of a read is someone you never met actually going to get?

Example:
Guy tries to attack me in the bar because he thinks I’m trying to take his girlfriend home. I use Kung Fu Wang’s example of kick to the knee - high punch. By the time he gets a read on me, I’ve alread blown out his knee. Am I going to need to do that combo more than once against him?

Depends on who you are facing. For example, I'm the type of person who will read someone before a conflict starts to become physical. I'll use my story about positioning my potential attacker so I could push him into traffic as an example. I start reading people the moment their tone gets agressive.

If I feel threatened then I'm going to read that person and position myself for a best case scenario. If a stranger doesn't read me, then though luck for them. I only spar to learn everything else is about the win

 

[JowGaWolf]

And I always wonder, what if you run into someone who trained just as well to counter that one thing, because he hates losing to it?

I just assume that I will run into someone like that. What's the worst case scenario for being prepared and versatile?

 

[JR 137]

Ask a boxer if he or she needs to learn how to kick. Then put that boxer against a kicker. The answer will change.

Depends on who you are facing. For example, I'm the type of person who will read someone before a conflict starts to become physical. I'll use my story about positioning my potential attacker so I could push him into traffic as an example. I start reading people the moment their tone gets agressive.

If I feel threatened then I'm going to read that person and position myself for a best case scenario. If a stranger doesn't read me, then though luck for them. I only spar to learn everything else is about the win

The only thing reading that person like that is telling you is emotional stuff. It’s not telling you how they’re going to attack, unless you see them reaching or positioning for a potential weapon. Watching me stare you down doesn’t tell you I’m going to use a single leg takedown, 1-2 punch, kick, nor anything else.

My point was that by the time you read my techniques/combo, the fight’s over. I kicked your knee and blew it out, and punched you in the face a couple 3 times as you were on your way down.

It doesn’t matter if everyone you train with knows your intent. It doesn’t matter if they’ve seen you do the same combo repeatedly and automatically counter it without thought. The people I spar with know if I throw a hook kick, a back kick is immediately following it. I caught everyone in the dojo with it the first one or two times I threw it. They all stepped right into my back kick. After they got hit with it, they started stepping back and out of range once the hook kick came rather than forwards to attack a perceived opening.

What matters is if it works against someone who doesn’t know you.

 

[DaveB]

Assume you just train one technique for the next 2 years such as "a kick to the knee followed by a punch to the face". If you repeat this combo 2,000 times daily with your partner (about 2 hours), in 2 years you have repeated this 2 x 365 x 2000 = 1,460,000 times.

After you have drilled this move almost 1.5 million times, when you use it against your opponent, your successful rate should be high. IMO, it's worthwhile to spend 2 years of your life time to develop some dependable MA skill so you can use it for the rest of your life.

What's your opinion on this?

If I did something that much my worry would be that it became my default reaction.

I could see my wifevamd son ending up in the emergency room every time one of them catches me off guard.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Watching me stare you down doesn’t tell you I’m going to use a single leg takedown, 1-2 punch, kick, nor anything else.

This tells me a lot because I'm not just watching you stare me down down. Here's what take note of when someone stares me down.
1. Is the person advancing - trying to get within attack range be it take down, punch , or kick
2. Is the person trying to hold my attention vs trying to scare me. If a person looks like they are trying to hold my attending then I think he's got some boys around who may or may not be positioning outside of my field of vision.
3. How is the person shifting weight. Is he putting weight on his front leg, or is he squaring off? What can the person do effectively while in the stance that he's in. Is he in a good stance for punching, kicking, or tacking.
4. Where is the person's hands? Are they in a position that is more likely to fight or are they in the position to pull something from the waste line.
5. Is the person trying to get me into a fight or just being loud for some street cred?
6. What are the reactions of the people around him? Does their face give away hints of what might happen next?

My point was that by the time you read my techniques/combo, the fight’s over. I kicked your knee and blew it out, and punched you in the face a couple 3 times as you were on your way down

You can only do this if you are within striking distance. If I move back to increase the distance and you follow, then I know what to be wary of. If I move back to increase the distance then your intentions are probably not center around striking me at that moment.

The way that I spar is with the understanding that a body has to be in a certain position in order to complete a certain action. The body has to shift weight in a certain manner in order to complete a certain action. This is what I pay attention to when when I spar. The type of combo you throw means nothing to me. All I know is that when you kick, you need to shift weight just like every other 2 leg person. I know without a doubt that you have to position yourself in a certain manner and it's universal because you have 2 legs. If I position myself to the right or left of your center line, then you are going to adjust so you can take advantage of a certain opportunity.

The only way I can't read someone is if I get hit out of the blue blindsided.

I don't read punches, I don't read kicks. I read body positioning, movement, and weight shifts. I recently explained this in a video that I recently posted here.

My opinion is that you can't win by reading punches and kicks after they are thrown.

 

[JR 137]

This tells me a lot because I'm not just watching you stare me down down. Here's what take note of when someone stares me down.
1. Is the person advancing - trying to get within attack range be it take down, punch , or kick
2. Is the person trying to hold my attention vs trying to scare me. If a person looks like they are trying to hold my attending then I think he's got some boys around who may or may not be positioning outside of my field of vision.
3. How is the person shifting weight. Is he putting weight on his front leg, or is he squaring off? What can the person do effectively while in the stance that he's in. Is he in a good stance for punching, kicking, or tacking.
4. Where is the person's hands? Are they in a position that is more likely to fight or are they in the position to pull something from the waste line.
5. Is the person trying to get me into a fight or just being loud for some street cred?
6. What are the reactions of the people around him? Does their face give away hints of what might happen next?

You can only do this if you are within striking distance. If I move back to increase the distance and you follow, then I know what to be wary of. If I move back to increase the distance then your intentions are probably not center around striking me at that moment.

The way that I spar is with the understanding that a body has to be in a certain position in order to complete a certain action. The body has to shift weight in a certain manner in order to complete a certain action. This is what I pay attention to when when I spar. The type of combo you throw means nothing to me. All I know is that when you kick, you need to shift weight just like every other 2 leg person. I know without a doubt that you have to position yourself in a certain manner and it's universal because you have 2 legs. If I position myself to the right or left of your center line, then you are going to adjust so you can take advantage of a certain opportunity.

The only way I can't read someone is if I get hit out of the blue blindsided.

I don't read punches, I don't read kicks. I read body positioning, movement, and weight shifts. I recently explained this in a video that I recently posted here.

My opinion is that you can't win by reading punches and kicks after they are thrown.

I agree with all that, I’m just talking about before we engage. If the monkey dance is in effect, you can do a better job at reading. If I’ve engaged before you’ve sized me up, that’s another story. Some guys will stare you down all night and let everyone know. Other guys will come up and engage without the dance nor squaring up. I was referring to those guys.

Funny thing is, I’ve never had to fight the monkey dance guys. I only had to fight the type that felt they needed to take care of business. There wasn’t much time to read them, if at all.

Edit: I did have to beat up one monkey dance guy. And it was obvious he didn’t want to actually fight but got called out on his bluff by his boys and I and had no way out. I shouldn’t have done it, but no one’s perfect. 22 years old and drinking quite a bit wasn’t my best era.

 

[Prostar]

Remember the front kick / sidekick combo they did in Billy Jack? It was so amazingly fast. Doing the combo was nothing. It took me six months to get it that fast.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Literally just drilling the same movement and nothing else for 2 years is pointless. Techniques have context. You have to set them up. You have to react to what your opponent is doing, including defending his attacks.

If I just practice a right cross over and over for 2 years it may look mechanically perfect but my odds of actually landing it against a skilled fighter aren't that good. Even if I do, I'm likely to get beat up in the process.

On the other hand, if I train for 2 years with a focus on the right cross and all the contextual elements which make it effective, that could produce some good results.

I'd need to develop a solid jab and left hook, because those are important tools in setting up openings for the cross.

I'd train throwing a cross off of a parry, a slip, a cover, a block, a shoulder roll, and a bob & weave, which means I'd need to develop those defensive movements.

I'd need to develop good offensive and defensive footwork, and practice throwing the cross off of different footwork patterns.

I'd work on developing at least some basic feints to create openings for the cross.

All this will likely developing a really useful right cross - but I end up incorporating most of boxing in the process.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Literally just drilling the same movement and nothing else for 2 years is pointless. Techniques have context. You have to set them up. You have to react to what your opponent is doing, including defending his attacks.

If I just practice a right cross over and over for 2 years it may look mechanically perfect but my odds of actually landing it against a skilled fighter aren't that good. Even if I do, I'm likely to get beat up in the process.

On the other hand, if I train for 2 years with a focus on the right cross and all the contextual elements which make it effective, that could produce some good results.

I'd need to develop a solid jab and left hook, because those are important tools in setting up openings for the cross.

I'd train throwing a cross off of a parry, a slip, a cover, a block, a shoulder roll, and a bob & weave, which means I'd need to develop those defensive movements.

I'd need to develop good offensive and defensive footwork, and practice throwing the cross off of different footwork patterns.

I'd work on developing at least some basic feints to create openings for the cross.

All this will likely developing a really useful right cross - but I end up incorporating most of boxing in the process.

As usual, Tony, you said better what I was trying to say.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

As usual, Tony, you said better what I was trying to say.

You and Martial D were saying the same thing, but I had already planned the comment I wanted to write so I typed it out anyway.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Techniques have context. You have to set them up.

If your wrestling instructor tells you that you are only allowed to use "single leg" on the map for the next 2 years, after your opponent has found out, your opponent will not give you any opportunity for your "single leg". You then have to try everything that you can to create that opportunity for yourself.

This was how I found out to drag my opponent in circle could give me that opportunity.

 

[JowGaWolf]

If your wrestling instructor tells you that you are only allowed to use "single leg" on the map for the next 2 years, after your opponent has found out, your opponent will not give you any opportunity for your "single leg". You then have to try everything that you can to create that opportunity for yourself.

This was how I found out to drag my opponent in circle could give me that opportunity.

One day I'm going to try some of the stuff you post lol.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

One day I'm going to try some of the stuff you post lol.

I've tried a couple of them, and they work. I thought the rhino guard looked ridiculous, but its actually pretty helpful.

Honestly, even this seems good. If someone has 10 years overall training, and then takes a break for 2 years to practice only 1-2 techniques (with the other stuff not decaying too much), you would have one or two things you are absolutely amazing at, and can set up whenever. I just don't have the patience for that, nor do I think many instructors/training partners would have the patience for me doing it either. But if I could, it would definitely help.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Ask a boxer if he or she needs to learn how to kick. Then put that boxer against a kicker. The answer will change.

Same for sweeps. But the issue isn't that they need to learn it, it's that they need how to deal with it. But if you spend enough time dealing with kickers, at some point you'll learn how to kick.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

That single technique that you have developed in 2 years will be the trunk of a MA tree that you try to grow. For any technique that you have developed, you may find many different ways to

- set it up (tree root),
- finish (tree leafs).
- set up your next technique (tree branches).

Your tree will start to grow. Why take 2 years? Because you want to have a strong tree trunk. You may grow many trees through your life time.