Training like American Football Players

[lawrenceofidaho]

American football players at all levels (high school, college, and professional) seem to have similar training philosophies.

Their goal is to be prepared for 60 minutes of hard playing time in a game each weekend in which the opposing team is doing everything it can (within the framework of the game) to beat them.

I think wing chun practicioners can learn from their training ideas and apply to what they're doing because they have the common goal of wanting to be ready to face tough & skilled opponents, and to minimize injuries & abuse to their bodies while preparing themselves for actual games (or fights, in the case of martial artists).

In preparing for their games, there are a few things a good football team does to maximize their chances for success during the season:

1) Learn as much as they can about the opponents they will face.
They'll scout what the other teams are doing (when possible), watch game films, and learn the strengths & weaknesses of their opponents, -never underestimating them.


2) Work their offensive and defensive skills against what their opponents are most likely to try using against them.

A team will get it's most effective practice trying to simulate the opposing teams favorite plays (as realistically as possible), as they will likely face these situations at game time.


3) Work realistic practice scrimmages (mock mini-games) with lighter contact to minimize the chance of injuries.

Teams can get a lot of good experience (while still keeping injury risks to a minimum) by limiting the power of their hits on each other during practice while they keep other aspects of the game the same.

The defensive players on a team do their offensive players no service if during their scrimmages they only half-heartedly cover the recievers or put very little pressure into the backfield. -But, neither do they help the team by hitting too hard and knocking out their own guys before the weekend's game.......

The best coaches find ways to simulate some of the intensity and randomness of an actual game while maintaining a high level of safety for their players. -They can't just "go all out" all the time, or they would have very few healthy guys left on the team.


4) Stay as conditioned as possible.

As hard as you prepare, sometimes the unexpected can happen, and you can better adapt & adjust in those situations if you are well conditioned; physically, emotionally, and mentally.


(Smart pro fighters do all these things as well.......)

What are some more parallels that can be drawn within this model?

Is this analogy valid?

Please discuss.......

-Lawrence

[Vajramusti]

Some good points Lawrence-

But--Conditioning, strategy, tactics can vary depending on the details of the activity.

I spent 12 of my early US years in Oklahoma where junior high,
HS and college/university football and rassling is fairly widespread
and pro football is now played not too far from my house.

Conditioning and training is activity specific. Football players
do not convert easily to wrestling late in their development. Wrestlers convert to football better.

The nature of the "wind" requirements can vary from activity to activity and even by the intensities and durations of each activity.

No brief for sloppiness or being out of shape but the differences
in the training requirements in different activities are considerable imo.

[Ali Hamad Rahim]

That’s so true Joy, what ever you’re into. If you run, then run your best, if you play hockey then play you’re best. If you bowl, then; you get my meaning, any physical training light or hard, I believe it could help you in your wing chun development. There are different strokes for different folks, by age. H*ll I’m starting to feel middle age now, I cant do the things that I use too do, but I stay active with100 push up a day, 4 times a week full court basketball, and throw the football around almost daily, which isn’t much, but I play hard and get that workout in. I guess what I’m saying is that you should stay active even if it’s just walking, just anything. Your wing chun should last you a life time, and my sifu prove that to me along time ago, its just designed that way. It does take a long time to learn good wing chun, and I believe it is really for the older generation, but I don’t want to get into that right now. If you have and keep good reflexes from chi sao, because everything else should be already engraved in your mind. Then all you have to do is hit the right spots (kill spots) throat. Now if your old, you just don’t go and hit somebody in the mouth, usually some one will come up to you, and I’m sure you already will have a plan too take care of that problem. Now your wing chun is based and developed on natural reaction. You should be a master in hiding your intent. But if you eat right and stay active you probably have a very good fight at that age. Bing! and it’s over.

Ali Hamad Rahim.

detroitwingchun.com (http://detroitwingchun.com)

[anerlich]

I think you have described a sensible training approach used by most competitive fighters. Most elite level BJJ nd MMA fighters study videos of each other's fights extensively.

[AmanuJRY]

I agree.

From my experience playing Rugby, most of our practices were so intensive that the game seemed like a holiday from practice. Injuries were more common in games, mostly from the intensity, though (practice was geared toward reducing injuries, learning how to tackle correctly, take a hit, etc.).

The part of the analogy that I like best, though, is;

1) Learn as much as they can about the opponents they will face.

...and...

2) Work their offensive and defensive skills against what their opponents are most likely to try using against them.

So very true, whether you're referring to sports, war, or even business.

To use Rugby in this analogy is better, IMO, as the nature of the game is more random (like fighting) since there is not a series of 'set plays' as there is in football (not to say there isn't in Rugby, but they are limited to certain situations. i.e. line-out or scrum). The play in Rugby therefor requires that you are able to adapt and have strategies that are more 'universal' than football.

[Ernie]

if you have every had to fight a person that has played any contact sport , you can feel a great difference in there ability to hit hard , take pain and commit to an action

they have a natural sense of balance and they understand their body , they know how to learn things on a physical level , they understand strategy , timing ,sensitivity and how to work off another body

these are all valuable tools in a combative situation

comes back to training under pressure , developing skills under pressure

and confidence

all good things

sure some are more strength and speed , but don't let that fool you skill is still developed through being relaxed and calm under that pressure

the conditioning is just because they need to play the length of a game or what ever , they need to keep their skill consistent for a longer period of time

not a bad thing at all

but this requires work and self honesty

not a common thing in the traditional martial arts world

hell in the world period
:D

[Tydive]

Another thing to look at is to identify what kind of combat you are interested in doing. For example if you want to be able to go 10 rounds of full contact then running, jumping rope, circut training & bag work are really important to build stamina. However if you are training for demonstration, then form work and smoothness are key. If you want to be effective on the street then situational awareness and explosive attacking are more important than form or stamina... I guess you could do all of them in an ideal world, but there is only so much time in the day.

[lawrenceofidaho]

Originally posted by Ernie
if you have every had to fight a person that has played any contact sport , you can feel a great difference in there ability to hit hard , take pain and commit to an action
they have a natural sense of balance and they understand their body , they know how to learn things on a physical level , they understand strategy , timing ,sensitivity and how to work off another body

Terry Tate (Office Linebacker) definitely knows how to put his whole body behind a shot. -There's some pretty tough stuntmen (and women?) in these clips.

It's kinda weird seeing football hits when people aren't wearing pads. (I definitely wouldn't want to be on the recieving end of one of those!!)

They're about 15 MB each, so if your computer downloads slowly, the best ones to watch are:
1) terrys_world
2) draft_day
3) vacation

http://board.iexbeta.com/lofiversion/index.php/t47380.html

[Ernie]

ha ha saw those a while back nice !

[RedJunkRebel]

True motivation!