2015/09/15: No Secrets, A Lesson in Humility, General Ramblings

I was hanging out in the hallways of the Academy waiting for class to start, and I was talking to my buddy Shak, who was telling me about his broken rib and how he got it. Apparently he was at his Kyokushin school, and they were either sparring or having a tournament or something, but some world class competitor kicked him in the ribs and broke it. I was troubleshooting with him; I told him he should tuck his elbow tight, and he told me he was afraid of the high roundhouse. I told him about watching the subtle weight shift, and about watching the knee position to tell what kind of kick it was going to be. He told me it was too fast, but that he knew about such methods.

Huh. I guess there are no secrets in this world eh?

I used to have this weird notion, for whatever reason, that if I picked up some strange resource, and it gave me some weird information that worked, that I was the only person in the world that knew it. Well, not the only one in the world, but one of the few people that did. Maybe most of the people I talk to are knowledgeable, but then again, I neglect to realize that most people are also doing their homework, and looking at extra resources in order to get a leg up. Many other people may very well have the knowledge that I have. Boy, was that a lesson in humility.

Don't get it twisted, I know a LOT, but I don't know it all. I guess there is no substitute for experience...the true "secret" is just experience, experience, experience.

So a bit on sport fighting. So it's always been my belief that sport fighting is a lot of chess matchy feel each other out sort of stuff, whereas real confrontations are more sort of blitzkrieg all-out attacks that usually don't end very well. I've decided that I want to train for both, because movement is movement is movement, and the more movement I learn, the more I can adapt. Plus, what if that one day I encounter a situation that I was too dumb to talk myself out of, he's a sport fighter? He would know better than to engage in a full-on assault, I'll need a bit more. So my resolution is to learn street THEN sport, just like the way I'm taught at the Gracie Academy. There is one catch however.

I must continue training as though everyone will outweigh me, be faster, stronger, and have more endurance.

There is no possible way I could force the end of a sport fight, since people actually care about defense and do not needlessly overextend.

How, then, do I survive? (That is the goal, and it always will be)

Well, if they are not assaulting me, then there is absolutely nothing stopping me from running away. So I will probably just do that.

But let's be real...sport fighting is really fun ^^. So without further ado...

I cannot passively just sit there and defend, for that will allow them to play their game, and place me in traps that I do not wish to be in. But since I am physically in a pickle...

• Because they are stronger, I must apply force in a manner which does not contest their strength, or where I have a mechanical advantage to match their strength.
• Because they are faster, I must use significantly less motion to accomplish more, and I must act first.
• Because they have more endurance, I must use significantly less energy to accomplish the same if not more than them.

There is no possible way for me to best someone if their skill is identical to mine, therefore I must find ways to better them.

Well first, I must learn to be invincible. Which means that I must first learn the defense to everything, or create one. After I develop an intuitive pattern to defense (blocking), we progress to deflection. I learn to how to steer attacks away from me. Then, I progress to evasion, before finally preemption.

Because I do not have superior physical attributes, I must learn to deal with strikers without ever lifting my foot past the waistline. So they will be going for head kicks but I will not. That will be interesting...

I must develop a strategy that involves putting pressure on my opponent without needlessly opening myself. Since moving in first is a recipe for disaster against someone, I must invite their strike and take advantage of it, or create positions where only certain motions are feasible, and use that to take advantage of them. (Attack by Drawing)

I will ponder this more later, but for now I shall study the sport fighting systems a bit and see what they have to offer. Then I will make it work for me based on what I have studied.

A brief note about technique: I have previously stated that I believe principles to be superior, and I do, but in the sport fighting world, you need to have studied specific techniques due to the optimal nature of said moves. Since everyone is doing what is optimal, you too must be doing what is optimal. HOWEVER, you must be able to make adjustments, which is where principle comes in. So I guess think of technique as sort of a template for you to explore, not adhere to the letter. Though I don't think anyone does that. I still believe the whole goal of objective - example of method - principles - figure it out for yourself is better. It's just that with sport fighting you have to be a little more specific based on the rules and common behaviors.