Principles of Fighting

There was a seminar this weekend involving one of the upper tier fighters teaching a bit on the principles of his fighting that have allowed him to continue to dominate the field for the past several years.  Here are some quick notes from the organizer about the subject matter of this session. 

 Basic Principles

1.Find your Center and Balance
2.Stay Relaxed and Fluid
3.Maintain Good Posture and Form
4.Keep Focused

These principles are connected, they do not act independently -- they support each other.

Center & Balance

Balance has many meanings
•physical balance
•balanced practice
•sword balance
•etc

Learn how to practice & develop better balance

Center: balance point of your body

DRILLS: BALANCE
•standing on one leg (concentrate on lowering your center of gravity down into your abdomen)
•allow your center to drop in a fight by moving with the center of your body (abdomen) instead of leading with shoulders, arms or chest
•pell work on one foot

Considerations
•be aware of your balance in a fight -- helps you refocus and keep the fight together to concentrate on BASIC technique
•every time you try to do something not simple, make sure it is grounded in the basics
•always be aware of the principles but do not focus on the principles; you focus on fight and have a general awareness that the principles are supporting your fighting or not
•move away or flow out of range if you feel like you have lost the principles in a fight and reset
•when he's out of balance, your opponent presents more openings
•when you reach, keep balance and low
•keep weight over the knees, knees over the foot, push off your back foot and use your hips

Balance of Weapon
•a tip heavy sword is ideal
•if you use a hilt heavy sword, pulling sword in tight to center and then extending out is the technique to start movement.
•different balance gives you different things


Stay Relaxed and Fluid

Constant flow of motion -- not jerky

Grip sword with little finger, most stability; rest of fingers just lightly wrap around the sword handle, firm but relaxed grip, no squeezing

Gentle movements using good technique

The center of your body should still be projecting through your opponent when your swords hits its target, and then center starts to bring back the sword before your hand relaxes completely

When relaxed you can redirect a sword with small movements of elbows, hips and shoulders

Relaxed grip w/ pinkie gives you better tip control than gripping with trigger fingers

Do not allow blows to be just wrist movements

Maintaining Good Posture and Correct Form

Good posture is part of balance and part of being allowed to flow
•move with lower body rather than shoulders
•good posture adds strength to movement
•posture allows you to be in your opponent's face with authority and power and presence
•even when squatting, lunging, stay on balls of feet to keep posture and balance
•pivot so toes and knees are in same direction, proper form for bending (safety -- no injuries; power; efficiency)

Keep Focused

•Focus on training
•keep eye on the prize (the prize is to get better and better and become a master)
•no one is born a master-- you practice to become a master
•practice; practice; practice

How do you get more focused?

How do you get better focus?

What do you do when you lose focus?

Where do you focus?

How do you train focus?

•start with the basics and build on those with complexity and detail
•focus problem -- lose focus when you get so much joy from hitting your opponent you lose focus on defense and you get popped
•train focus so that emotion leaves the fight
•maintain, pose, focus form until you are sure/ certain the fight is over (i.e. your opponent is on the ground yelling good)
•no disconnect, maintain form and positioning to maintain focus
•focus on whole of fight, not specifics (do not lose the forest for the trees)
•step out of range if you need to think about a specific thing or call hold
•focus on when your opponent shifts balance -- he will be presenting an opening
•you need to be in the moment
◦don't think about last fight
◦don't think about next fight
•BE AWARE
◦not thinking -- just focused
◦remove thoughts and just be aware
◦no mind

On Being Coach-able

Being coach-able requires a set of interpersonal skills that allow the fighter to learn, grow and achieve their potential.  To grow to potential a fighter needs to first begin by listening to their instructor. This requires active listening to what is being said, by the instructor, and not thinking about what they want to say in response.  If  too much time is spent thinking about your response then your not open to what is being said.  This leads to spending more time defending the ego instead of accepting you do not know everything and that you may learn something from the advice being given.

Second, the fighter needs to understand their emotions and reactions. When receiving criticism, constructive or not, some emotions over take them and they may begin to feel embarrassed or angry. When this happens they become defensive and in some cases completely shut down.  Understanding that on the path to reaching your potential it is crucial to be able to manage these emotions and be open to feedback.  Once this is achieved the fighter can then choose to accept the feedback and take direction to change or ignore it.  Different skills work for different people so some feedback may not be as constructive as others.  Hopefully your instructor can provided specific examples of how to improve and what to do. If not, the fighter needs to ask questions to clarify what will help them improve and what steps to take to achieve it.   If you are unsure about how to improve you also need to step up and ask for feedback about fighting performance.


Here are some thoughts from a few conventional sports trainers on the subject.   


Andy Petranek, owner/founder of CrossFit Los Angeles, says coach-able athletes have the following qualities:

They're humble. They're okay slowing down for the sake of learning form. They are usually master technicians. They think long-term. They measure progress in months and years versus day by day. They're competitive with themselves as much or more than with others. They have a good sense of humor and don't take things too seriously. They practice things on their own. They're willing to try new things. They aren't hung up on doing things the way they always have. They look toward change. They're willing to take risks. They're respectful. They know they don't know it all.

Barbara Skiba, a retired field hockey coach, looked for athletes who:

• Are committed to the sport
• Love the game/activity
• Respect coaches, teammates, and opponents
• Accept responsibility for outcome of contest; don't make excuses for losses
• Work hard at practice as well as games
• Exercise self control on and off the field of play
• Possess confidence but not arrogance
• Possess inner strength; able to control emotional responses and concentrate on what has to be done in pressure situations
• Are competitive, but have fun and enjoy the game
• Are able to set their ego aside and learn to adapt.

A Glimpse into the Upper Circle

One of the privileges of training with a high profile instructor is the opportunity to watch fighters in the upper bracket practice and discuss techniques.  Over the next month a small group, around 7, will be focusing on tournaments.  Twice a week the group will be filmed fighting a double round robin.  The idea is to gear up, warm-up, fight, then immediately review the video footage.  By reviewing the footage so quickly the fighters and the instructor can break down mental game and technique while the fights are fresh in their minds.  An overall improvement in performance is expected by stressing the importance of a few fights.  The constant rebuilding of paradigms, or situational mind-sets, will hone focus and help the fighters ability to be successful during tournaments.

For myself I took a week off.  The injuries, illness, and some uncomfortable fights were leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.  Instead of mopping around and increasing my discontent, I gave myself time to clear my head, heal, and rediscover the reasons for stepping onto the ring.  Turns out it was just what I needed.

Friday Workout Stats

No Workouts!  Food poisoning this week.

Wednesday Training

Throwing shots on the pel

1)   Find your maximum range and take up position. 
      Throw shot, moving forward.  Stay light on your feet.
      Strike thru target, keeping hand above shoulder level, and connect with pel.
      Your hand should end the blow just above the level of the opponents right shoulder.

2)   From first ending position
      Start movement in desired direction and pivot hand toward offside blow.
      Keep elbow tucked toward body to shorten rotational axis. (This also prevents you from throwing too much arm into this reversal shot and injuring your shoulder.)
     
3)   Adjustment of blows
      a) hand position determines where the tip of the sword will land. 
          hand down = tip up
          hand up = tip down 
      b) The goal is to effortlessly throw a blow using body motion in coordination with arm and hand positioning to guide the sword to its target.

4)   Alternative starting position
      a)  High guard.  Good for quick sniping sword blows and defending left side of head against quick onside snaps (against right handed opponents).
           

Late: Friday Workout Stats

Warm up: 30 minute intervals 

Lat pulls: 90 lbs   reps 3x12
Shoulder press: 30lbs   reps 3x12
Chest press: 40 lbs  reps 3x8
Triceps: 10lbs  reps 3x15
Biceps: 30lbs bar  reps 4x10
Squats: 60 with Olympic bar
Roman chair: 80, 40 with 10lbs weight
35 minutes of stretching

Alternated chest and back on Monday and Wednesday.  Friday was a travel day up to a tournament.