INSIGHTS

   from  the              

Ching Yi Kung Fu Association Newsletter

DECEMBER 1990

  by Michael Alan Brown            President -  CYKFA

Edited by W Kraig Stephens CYKFA Black Belt #68

PUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION OF THE CHING YI KUNG FU ASSOCIATION

INSIGHTS:  Sparring:  Anyone who  has been in the martial arts for any length of time is aware of the ever-present "forms vs. sparring" controversy.  Some schools favor forms training only, others just technique practice and as much sparring as possible, others a balanced mix of forms and sparring practice, etc.  Each group has their beliefs and justifications, and no one theory can ever be proven "right".  As with religion, sparring must remain a personal choice, with each individual deciding what he or she believes will produce the desired results.

But, since this is my column, I will give you my opinion based on my experience.  I do not teach free sparring, and I doubt if I ever will.  The only justification I can see for this type of training is for tournament competition.  In tournaments, they have rules and define what techniques are permissible.   Anyone who intends to compete in this type of game must practice that game over and over again, just as you would with basketball, darts, bowling or any other game.  I've played more than my share of the game, and it is fun, but it must not be mistaken for fighting.  Whether it is no-contact, light-contact, full-contact, or whatever, it is not fighting.

Fighting has no rules,  no points, no time periods, no judges, and no limits on where you can hit.  It is just a life and death struggle.  Win or loses, it is an ugly and unrewarding endeavor.  It is best to be avoided if possible.  However, we are martial artists and one of the things we do is train to be master fighters - meticulously honing skills we hope never to use.

It is my belief that free sparring not only does not help one become a master fighter, it actually hinders the process.  In a fight, you have only a split second to react, and usually only a few seconds for the entire fight, and you will react with whatever you practice most.  If you are accustomed to dealing with human physical confrontation by striking quickly and sharply to the areas that are legal in free sparring, you will get wiped out by any opponent tough enough to have been a serious threat to you in the first place.

So what do you do?  1) Practice forms over and over to develop strength, speed, flexibility, clarity of technique, and the ability to issue power.  2)  Practice Qi Gong (which of course includes your normal Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua practice) to develop the qi and eliminate fear reactions.  3)  Do 2-person forms.  Whether using organized traditional 2-man forms, or just sets you make up from your solo forms practice.  Start slowly, clearly defining the techniques, then work up gradually to more speed and power, with the final result being full  speed, full power strikes, with full intent to drive through the most vulnerable targets.  Each person shifts from being the attacker to the defender with every move.  When attacking, you get the experience of launching real, full intent strikes at points that would kill or disable if they were to land.  When defending, you get the experience of dealing with a full power attack coming at your vital areas, one that would kill or injure you if you did not react.  Further, you learn to maintain balance, and to flow right into another move without disorientation, should your opponent avoid or block your strike.