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Tzu-Logic
Orange Belt
Joined: 13 May 2010
Posts: 116
Location: The Woods
Styles: Inayan Eskrima and Shaolin Kempo
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:13 pm Post subject: Confidence in your art |
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Hello fellow seekers,
I am going to be advancing to green belt very soon...
When I was a white-belt I tried to imagine what I would feel like when i reached the level of green belt.
(FYI: At my school green belt is an advanced students belt)
I go to a very strongly self defense oriented school. I have not been in a fight since i started training (actually I have never really been in a fight)
How do I know if I could protect myself in a real life situation? Do I ask my teacher to push me harder? Do i ask black belts to hit me hard when they practice with me?
I need to develop more confidence in myself and the combat art I am learning.
any suggestions my friends? _________________ A warrior may choose pacifism, all others are condemned to it.
"Under the sky, under the heavens, there is but one family." -Bruce Lee |
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Kuma
Black Belt
Joined: 03 Dec 2008
Posts: 1092
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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Friendly sparring. |
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ShoriKid
Pre-Black Belt
Joined: 14 Dec 2007
Posts: 900
Styles: Matsubyashi-Ryu, Okinawan Kempo, wrestling, bits of BJJ
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 4:58 am Post subject: |
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If a green belt is an "advanced student's" belt, you should be able to feel a difference in your training from here on out. I assuming that as a self defense focused school you do a lot of partner work? If so, it should show up soon.
I'll second Kuma's post with this, not just friendly, but honest sparring. Which, I would hope, is always friendly. _________________ Kisshu fushin, Oni te hotoke kokoro. A demon's hand, a saint's heart. -- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine |
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wolverine uskf
Yellow Belt
Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 85
Location: cochranton, pa
Styles: kick boxing and submission wrestling
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:36 am Post subject: |
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I agree, you should feel different about your abilities soon. If not try doing some reallistic sparring, from striking to the ground. |
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sensei8
KF Sensei
Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 16420
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Styles: Shindokan Saitou-ryu [Shuri-te/Okinawa-te based]
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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You say that green belt, in your style, is an advanced level. Your confidence should be fine. Will it get shook from time to time? Sure, especially when you're learning new things about your art as well as yourself and those around you. It's a good thing to have your confidence challenged from time to time; it's no big deal unless you make it a big deal.
You should notice a quite significant improvement in you kihon, kata, and kumite; the 3 K's. You shouldn't have any difficulties with those practitioners below your current rank, no matter the situation or drills or etc. As a matter of fact, your Shodan ranked students shouldn't be able to have their way with you each and everytime. No, you should start to gain their attention, and in that, they shouldn't try to just run you over at will. In hind sight, they should still have a level of surprise availible to show/give you. After all, they're Shodan and your a green belt in the same style.
In most styles, asking a black belt to spar with you is a sign of disrespect; a sign of a challenge to them. It's ok for a black belt to ask you because they're black belts. In that, you can't ask for tit for tat, but the black belt can. Befriend a black belt to help you guage your sparring improvements as well as your unimprovements. You could always ask you sensei, but, you might or might not get the answer your seeking. Your sensei, if he/she is worth their salt, already knows of your abilities as well as your inabilities.
SPAR until the wheels fall off and then some. As Kuma said...spar friendly, but, not just within your style. Seek out those on the outside of your style, but, keep the sparring friendly, not threatening.
"Does the river dwell on how long it will take to become the ocean..." - Sensei Bruce Payne
_________________ **Proof is on the floor!!! |
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Tzu-Logic
Orange Belt
Joined: 13 May 2010
Posts: 116
Location: The Woods
Styles: Inayan Eskrima and Shaolin Kempo
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, thank you all for your wisdom.
I truly appreciate you taking time to respond.
I was really good friends with one of the black-belts, but he had to quit training for a while. He basically became my personal fighting coach...
So without him there to test myself against its hard to tell if I am improving.
I have notcied my teacher has been testing a lot more lately... He will ask me to show him a drill, and then he will start speeding up the drill and see how fast I can go before I start getting hit.
our second degree blackbelt made a comment about my katas starting to flow together nicely...
I know I am much faster and stronger than when I started. I think you guys are right and I need lots of friendly sparring to answer my questions.
so anyone up for a round ?? _________________ A warrior may choose pacifism, all others are condemned to it.
"Under the sky, under the heavens, there is but one family." -Bruce Lee |
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ps1
Black Belt
Joined: 09 Nov 2004
Posts: 3025
Location: NE Ohio
Styles: Chuan Fa, Shotokan, JJJ, BJJ
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not sure about you, but I know the stuff I do works because I have to use it every day in class against people who are actually trying to stop me. I feel this is the best way to know for sure if what you're doing works. The problem you have is that with striking, this is hard to do in a safe manner. _________________ "It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenius." |
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bushido_man96
KF Sensei
Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 30188
Location: Hays, KS
Styles: Taekwondo, Combat Hapkido, Aikido, GRACIE, Police Krav Maga, SPEAR
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tonydee
Blue Belt
Joined: 21 Jun 2009
Posts: 253
Location: Japan
Styles: 24 yrs kong soo do, 3 yrs hapkido, bits of others
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, lots of sounds advice already. Another thing that I think is essential... hitting targets. Knowing you can knock a heavy bag flying gives you a lot of confidence that your techniques will work as expected on demand.
As a colour belt, don't try to break bricks at home, but do find a heavy punching bag somewhere and gently explore how to safely hit it with your various techniques, increasing power until you're getting useful insight into the techniques. Take it easy - many not-so-obvious things can result in injury, if you punch with your wrist bent (or not yet strong enough to stay straight), or in such a way that your thumb's being pushed or twisted as the punch penetrates, or with the palm heel in a way that pushes the wrist backwards excessively, or all sorts of other things. Torn skin just frustrates future practice, so don't punch until your knuckles are bleeding. Poor alignment can give you aching joints or torn ligaments/tendons/muscles, so concentrate on good form.
Think more about moving your bodyweight and shifting that power and shock efficiently across into the bag, rather than just the hand or foot that strikes and the surface of the bag.
A great technique to start with, in that it kind of forces you to think in closer to your core rotation and is less injury prone than most, is an elbow. If you already know exactly how your style practices an elbow, then follow that; if in doubt - bring the elbow up to shoulder height and roughly inline with the shoulder at the side of the body, then driving it forwards to be perpendicular to the line of the shoulders at the completion of the strike, at which time the fist should have twisted to face downwards. Punching and inward knife hands draw much of their power from the same leg/hip/torso/shoulder movement you'll strengthen through this practice.
Cheers,
Tony |
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bushido_man96
KF Sensei
Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 30188
Location: Hays, KS
Styles: Taekwondo, Combat Hapkido, Aikido, GRACIE, Police Krav Maga, SPEAR
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Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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Tony: one way that I have taught and practiced the elbow strike, especially when teaching it for breaking, is to start in a back stance, and shift into a front stance as the elbow strikes the bag/board. This is great for teaching the hip rotation and getting that power. _________________ www.haysgym.com
http://www.sunyis.com/
www.aikidoofnorthwestkansas.com |
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