Whats missing...what should be taken away...

[mwd0818]

Funny you should say that, because I've thought the same thing, and I've had people ask why there are X number of techs. for the same attack. Of course, the line of thinking is...lets take a double lapel grab. You have a tech. that addresses the attacker pulling you in, ie: Destructive Twins (Parker) and one that addresses the same attack, with more of a push, ie: Kimono Grab (Tracy).

So, now we apply that same thinking to punches, and the list grows more. Bearhugs is another.

So, if I'm reading what you're saying correctly, it seems that you do need to have 100 variations to address every attack. Then again, when the heat is on, its going to take some time to process the attack, what tech. to do, do the tech., etc.

I think it goes back to one of the key differences between Tracy and Parker Kenpo, and can even be reduced further. Tracy Kenpo, with several hundred techniques, attempts to analyze every situation with a set technique. EPAK reduced this and requires a little bit of analysis to find out how to deal with attack X, because it is somwhere in between defenses A and B.

Neither approach is wrong, it's just do I want to make a student think and figure things out on his or her own, or so I want to let the student have an answer for the majority of questions. The real problem is not in the reptition, but in memorization of techniques for memorizations sake. Too many kenpoists move through the motions, and don't understand the reasons behind them. That's where the problem is in the hundreds of techniques.