Hiding Intention
Posted on | December 18, 2008
A lot of times, opponents can block attacks because you telegraph, or give them signals, as to what your next movement is going to be. I talked a bit about paying attention to vital areas of your opponent to read him like a book, so that you know when, where, and how his next movement is going to take place. This time, I’m going to go over things to do to make sure you are not telegraphing your movements to others.
There is not a whole lot one can talk about this subject, other than to provide hints for things you should check for when you’re practicing. Each person is going to have a variety of things that give them away to any opponent that pays enough attention. The idea is to minimize these down to a very small amount(with the goal being none 
).
Here are some things to pay attention to:
- Eyes – Your eyes can give away a lot of information to your opponent. Make sure that you’re keeping your eyes on your opponent at all times, don’t look away or look at your own hands, feet, etc. To be more precise, keep your vision on his. The idea is that by looking into his eyes, you’re not only hiding your intent that way, but you’re also attempting to read his.
- Feet – Kicking is definitely a highly relied upon skill in most Martial Arts because kicks can be so fast and powerful. The point is that they can be fast and powerful, as long as they are executed precisely, intelligently, and without showing intent. For the most part, the most effective kicks are low kicks. The reason low kicks are so effective is because of how little intent you display when you just bring your leg forward, rather than up really high. Another reason is because of the vital areas you can kick. If you kick someone’s shin, thigh, or knee joint, you can put them down for good. Just make sure that when you kick low, you’re not kicking in two motions like higher kicks. When you kick to the chest, arms, or head then you usually have two motions(though you can minimize this into almost one when you get really quick), but in a low kick there is no need. Don’t raise your leg and then kick. Simply bring your foot up to your target in one swift movement and then slam their leg downwards or scape it, etc. If you raise your knee first, which does generate more power, there is a good chance they’ll see it coming and have time to move or block it. Even if you don’t get as much power out of the one motion low kick, it doesn’t take very much force at all when kicking the shin, thigh, or knee join to put the opponent down.
- Hands – The biggest thing to watch with the hands is basically the same thing as the feet, just make sure that you’re not pulling(cocking) your arm back right before you go to throw a punch. Doing this gives off the intent that you’re going to throw a punch with that hand. Always keep moving forward. Obviously you want your hand to snap back to some degree after you land a punch, but that’s after you’ve already landed a punch. Many people have the problem of pulling back their arm right before they go for a punch because their attempting to gain more power.
- Nervous Habits – We all have our own stupids nervous habits that we sometimes do without realizing that we’re even doing them. These habits can be a dead give away to your next move. These habits may include things such as: blinking, eye movements, twitching, leading a certain way, etc. Just pay close attention to what you’re doing at all times.
I’m absolutely positive that there are plenty more ways we give off our intentions, so don’t take this as a complete list. Pay attention to every movement you make while keeping in mind what your opponent might be reading from you. Later on, this leads to the great ability of “faking”.
Overrated Strength
Posted on | December 9, 2008
Strength is overrated by far too many people and it’s kind of sad yet funny at the same time. It’s sad, simply because of just how many people think strength is the most important thing. Yet, at the same time, it’s funny to see those of lesser strength easily overtake those of greater strength than their own.
Don’t get me wrong, strength is definitely needed, but it’s strength in a different way than a lot of people think. Physical strength, as in how much muscle you contain, can actually limit you if you become very huge. I don’t just mean a person with big muscles, I mean a huge body builder. While your muscle mass, and overall strength, may increase, there are plenty of attributes you lose such as: agility, flexibility, etc.
For me, at least the way I currently look at it, there is a point where strength actually converts, or turns into, conditioning. Think of someone who currently isn’t in physical shape, but isn’t overweight, just thin and doesn’t have much muscle mass. Physical strength would be what they would be most likely after in doing their exercises. But once they begin to develop muscle mass and are becoming more and more defined, this is where there becomes a fork in the road and they can go do one of two main paths. The first path leads to becoming bigger and bigger, such as the path that a body builder takes. The second path leads to conditioning(in my view), which is what Martial Artists should take. You can develop an enormous amount of more “strength” without ever growing your muscles much, if any, bigger than they already are. It is the reason you see many Muay Thai fighters able to take blows and deliver them with such power that even a man with much more muscle mass can’t imagine being able to do what they do. Their muscles get conditioned to the point that they are solid like a rock, yet while maintaining their bodies overall agility and flexibility, which is definitely needed in Martial Arts.
Even with conditioning put off to the side, and just focusing about a big opponent versus a smaller opponent. The smaller opponent may or may not be smaller in height, but simply in muscle mass, yet if the smaller person knows how to apply his force more in tune with his body than the larger opponent, then the smaller person will win. This is most commonly seen in Martial Arts like BJJ or traditional Judo, where a smaller opponent will flip or throw a larger opponent with great ease. Most people tend to just apply this to grappling and Martial arts like BJJ and Judo though, when it can actually be applied to far more.
Wing Chun uses the relaxation of the muscles to take down, or take over, the opponent by using the force of the opponent against himself. Any one who has studied Wing Chun or knows about it, knows that in Wing Chun, being tense is a horrible thing. It can also be quite a hard habit to break. By using the strength of your opponent, you not only minimize the amount of strength you even need to have, but also the amount of energy you need to use to defeat him. It doesn’t take long for anyone’s strength or stamina to wear down if they don’t use their energy efficiently. Not using strength allows you to conserve your strength so that when you do find that perfect opening, which is quite easy to find on those who simply use nothing but force, you can use all that conserved energy to put your opponent down to ensure he won’t be getting back up.
Mixed Martial Arts – Day Nine and Ten
Posted on | December 3, 2008
Last Friday and Saturday we had practice, because a lot of times our schedules all change and so we don’t necessarily always have it on the same day. Plus, everyone had off both Friday and Saturday because it was the Holiday weekend.
On Friday, we all went over to my instructors house, which was the first time any of us had ever been there. He happens to have a decent size basement which he has setup mostly as a training room. He’s got a couple punching bags hanging from the ceiling, a couple of mats, and then a good amount of various work out and training equipment. From what he, and his wife, told us, he has been accumulating all of this equipment over a long period of time.
After everyone finally arrived(I got there a bit early accidentally 
), we decided to get started. We worked on the bags quite a lot. Since we normally train out at a park with focus mitts and large pads, it was a bit different. We did rotations where he’d time us and we’d go “all out” on whatever task he gave each of us, for 30 seconds, before we’d stop and rest for just a short moment. Then we’d shift and trade positions with someone else, and do the same thing but with a different task this time. The tasks roughly included things like only using your legs and kicking as fast as you can with various kicks but not thinking about it just “doing”, working on only the speed of your hands by reaction(again, by just doing), and throwing as many various combinations in a row(with hands and legs) as fast as you can with as much power as you can.
On Saturday, one of my friends who can’t normally attend to the normal classes, because he has work, was able to come out and get a feel as to exactly how we work. Because we had just had a rough class the day before, we decided to take it light which allowed my friend to keep up with us a lot easier. Our instructor focused a bit on him to get his form and technique more in order, since he simply has to say “do this…” and we usually know how to do it already and can work on it alone. By the end of the session, my friends kicks on his right leg were starting to get some form to them, but his left still has a ways to go, but so does mine.
The technique of my kicks is getting better and it will only increase with more and more consistent practice. I generally know how my kicks should be, I just need to get them to that point. One step at a time, I suppose.. 
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