How long before a beginning CMA student hits something with full force?
What percentage of each class time does he spend doing techniques in the air?
How long before he drills these technique against a live opponent?
How long before he takes these technique drills and spars with them?
That’s not the way fighting happens. At the most you will manage to pull off five or six combinations at a time and the average is closer to two or three.
Newer forms coming from a constant testing environment would have more value. Paradoxically, if this were the case, forms would probably cease to exist in any meaningful way. Systems in which participants regularly test themselves against others have pretty much figured out that forms are inefficient and have pretty much done away with them.Again, I'm not following. Do you think newer forms would have more value?
I'm not saying that this practice is good martial arts. Read the first post of this thread.Originally Posted by SifuAbel
People who fight know that there are very few predictable outcomes from a specific movement. One might throw a side kick and knock his opponent down… or his opponent might catch the kick and throw on a heel hook… or his opponent might step back and counter with a kick of his own… or his opponent might jam the kick and follow with a punch or takedown… etc, etc, etc…
Wrestling, BJJ, MMA, Sambo, Judo, boxing, and Muay Thai coaches are nicer than CMA teachers.
Seriously, it wouldn't make sense for them not to have known how to fight "back in the day" because the usual occupation for a martial artist was bodyguard. Forms are just like very long shadow-boxing routines with various training goals in mind. They're only meant to take up like 20% of your time at most. The rest is for solo drills, pair drills, conditioning, bag work, etc. My Taiwanese teacher said that "back in the day" (when he was first training about 45 years ago) he and his classmates would spend at least half their time on jiaoshou (Praying Mantis version of push hands that doesn't require you maintain contact with the opponent). It's not a full-contact death match, but it is pressure testing.
People have gotten the mistaken impression that CMA training is all forms because they're easy to teach and look pretty. Modern people like to study forms because they're more fun and you don't have to touch people. This leads to a drastic drop in fighting ability over time as even people who could never fight but only do a good form will start teaching.
What senses do we lack that we cannot see or hear another world all around us?
--The Orange Catholic Bible
1. "something" I'm assuming is a pad , bag etc. , First week. maybe even first day depending on who it is and what they know.
2., 3. and 4. are relative questions. The 2. percentages drop dramatically toward 3 and 4 as the student progress' though the first few months. Again depending on who they are and what they are capable of.