any of you feel the same way (just cant egt good)

[JetLi'sFearless]

for some reason I keep training for years and I can never really get that good. I mean when i sparred last time I sparred with some Mexican guy who doesnt have as much experience as me and I kept hitting him in the fact and he jsut kept coming at me like I ddint even hit him and I would keep runnign away form him because I didnt want to get hit cause for me it feels crappy. Do you guys think that for some guys martial arts jsut wont work and theyll never get good no matter how long they train or they just naturally arent fighters?

[jethro]

It takes dedication man. You can look at old school movie guys like Whang In-sik, Kwan Young Moon, and Hwang Jang Lee. Those guys looked perfect all the time. they still all run their own schools I am pretty sure. Whang and Hwang I know for sure still practice and Kwan Yougn Moon was always the most serious about his arts. Kwang Young Moon used to let cars run over him to show his strength. You have to keep at it everyday, and go at it hard when you do practice.

And I am 70% sure yuo are really Hieronim. I think you would have been unbanned by now, so that is why I am a bit unsure.

[David Jamieson]

for some reason I keep training for years and I can never really get that good. I mean when i sparred last time I sparred with some Mexican guy who doesnt have as much experience as me and I kept hitting him in the fact and he jsut kept coming at me like I ddint even hit him and I would keep runnign away form him because I didnt want to get hit cause for me it feels crappy. Do you guys think that for some guys martial arts jsut wont work and theyll never get good no matter how long they train or they just naturally arent fighters?

If you have no map you can't find a road, if you have no car, it takes a long time to tarvel on the road, if you have no goal you can wind up drifting and getting nowhere.

I can point out a couple of things you need to look at and find methods for.

1) learn to hit harder

2) never retreat unless you are seriously wounded.

3) if you are not training properly, diligently, with a goal and with correct intention, then no, martial arts won't work because fundamentally you are not working. One precedes the other.

[JetLi'sFearless]

the thing is if I elarn to hit harder what if I dont like to lift weights or want to for the rest of my life, does that mean I will become weak again fi I dont life weights? cause I dont plan on making my life revovle around lifting weights jsut to be able to get close to matching the strengh fo some guys twice my size (Im only 5"7 so most guys are bigger anyway so even with weights strengh isnt something that will be on my side).

[David Jamieson]

the thing is if I elarn to hit harder what if I dont like to lift weights or want to for the rest of my life, does that mean I will become weak again fi I dont life weights? cause I dont plan on making my life revovle around lifting weights jsut to be able to get close to matching the strengh fo some guys twice my size (Im only 5"7 so most guys are bigger anyway so even with weights strengh isnt something that will be on my side).

lifting weights has little to do with hitting harder. that has more to do with building strength.

hitting harder comes from developing proper structure and understanding the correct mechanics behind issuing force.

many weightlifters cannot hit very hard at all. the structure of striking uis very different from the structure of lifting.

understanding applied physics will teach you more about striking than weightlifting ever will.

[Royal Dragon]

the thing is if I elarn to hit harder what if I dont like to lift weights or want to for the rest of my life, does that mean I will become weak again fi I dont life weights? cause I dont plan on making my life revovle around lifting weights jsut to be able to get close to matching the strengh fo some guys twice my size (Im only 5"7 so most guys are bigger anyway so even with weights strengh isnt something that will be on my side).

Reply]
Dude, weights and conditioning are essential to fighting. Just suck it up and do it!!

As for structure, and proper mechanics, they are ESSENTIAL for fighting. If you don't know what the proper body structure is, or the propper mechanics, you need to find a better teacher. Worshiping Prison residence isn't going to help you. Picking alley fights is not going to help you. You need a good coach.

You can hit the bag all day long, you can do forms all you want, and you can spar all you want, but if you don't even know how to line up right, you are not going to go anywhere, or get any good. Learning techniques is only part of the game.

Get a good coach.

[EarthDragon]

Martial arts is like all things in life... there are ones who can and ones who cant.

anyone can learn to play and instument but only a small percentage of those people will be good.

How many people try out for American Idol thinking they can sing and have spent many years practicing and learning and being coached only to come on that show and say you cant sing...... face it for some people its a natural gift of agility, coordination and grace... some people will never have those traits no matter how hard and long they pratice..

[David Jamieson]

in all fairness ED, a lot of those people on American Idol haven't practiced at all. they want to be on TV mostly.

Come on, there's practice and there's PRACTICE.

the latter is the one that counts for something and the former is just idle pastime.

If a person really focuses, despite not being the best perhaps, they can still achieve "world class".

also, just because you ae world class doesn't mean you will be world known.

some of the very best talents are also very obscure.

But, if you make anything the ONE thing that you do and you focus everything into it for even one year, It will be at the very least be quite good at the end of it. If it is a more complex and robust line of study and practice, then add the time to learn the facets. a 5 year total focus in pretty much anything where you live, eat , breath, sleep and think of nothing but that one path will give you mastery.

This is a big ask of course, and the slow and progressive method with time for external distraction is almost always preferable.

that's why uni has keggers.

[Shaolin Wookie]

When you're fighting, don't have an agenda, but do have a defense. It's never as easy as punch/kick. There's footwork involved in order to get to places where you can make your punches count. Not to mention hands.....

I like to picture a centerline. It simplifies things for me, and it works.

Stress structure and balance in your forms, rather than throwing power punches. It will do wonders for your power, and you won't realize it until you hit a guy you've hit a thousand times to no effect, and your strikes start bowling him over.

Some people can take a thousand shots, they're just tanks. So take 'em to the floor with a sweep/takedown and see what happens. If you can choke him, he'll respond like everyone else. He'll pass out. Funny, you can take a thousand punches, but a good choke will make you pass out in seconds.

Other than that, listen to DJ's posts on this thread.

[SPJ]

how do we get good?

one posture/move at a time.

there is me, better me, improving me, --- it is still me.

may be me today is better than yesterday me.

relative to others, there are always higher hills/mountains and deeper ponds.

there is heaven beyond/higher than heaven. there is people beyond/better than people.

--

we may be fighting better than some. there will be always some people better than us no matter what.

--

what do we want?

--

[Shaolin Wookie]

Do you write the insertions for fortune cookies for a living?

[WinterPalm]

It is all about context, feeling, and the empty chaos between you and your opponent. Kung Fu takes a very long time and a lot of hard work...a lot.

There is a texture and a gradient to any type of combat...in the emptiness of space there are contexts and infinite potentialities. Your job is to apply a system of order to that chaos and create a situation in which you know how to deal with. That is why grapplers take you to the ground...it eliminates a lot of the chaos and bridges the gap unlike anything else. Although it stand up there is a "punchers chance" in sport fighting...conversely you never hear that there is a grapplers chance...you don't just accientally, or in the thrashing of a fight, put someone into a choke or armbar. It is thought out and executed through a series of movements that refine the contact and position until execution is the only viable option. Don't think this doesn't occur against resistance...
So when you are dealing with the standup of combat, which is what most if not all Kung Fu guys (and gals) specialize in, you have to learn to control the chaos and the feelings, subtleties, and emotions that exist within the chaos. This is usually awareness, footwork, and proper reflex as well as many feelings and intuitions that you cannot explain in words.
It takes a lot of practice to get anywhere near the contextual feeling I've described, tentatively at best, above. And these are all words that are very much detached from actual experience and learning.

You should consult your teacher.

[BlueTravesty]

When I was doing kung fu the best thing for my training is when I stopped focusing on getting good, and started to focus on getting better.

It sounds like a pat answer, I know, but just hear me out. Yes, in any competitive activity it is sometimes necessary to size up your skills relative to someone else. However it is more important to assess your own personal skills and the improvement thereof. This is part of why conditioning, calisthenics and drills are so important. In sparring, there are tons of variables, which is why underdogs can win, champs can lose, and people can make mistakes under pressure. When drilling and conditioning, the variables are considerably fewer. Can you run faster and longer than you did last week? Can you do more crunches? Can you hold that stance for a few seconds longer than you did last time? Can you throw constant roundhouses on the pad for 3 minutes instead 2:30 this time? These things are quantitative, they give you a number that you can use to gage your development relative to the last time and help to reduce the number of variables that exist in sparring.

Also, try to play upon your strengths. So you don't want to get hit? No one does, and believe me, I've taken a few real doozies. But the fact is, unless you're just doing forms, you will get hit. However, try to use your aversion to being hit- channel that into getting better at slipping and dodging punches and kicks. Once you can get good at that, you can exploit an opening in your opponent. In the process you'll also find you get more used to the shock of being hit. That is also important, because it can mean the difference between a "lucky" shot flooring you, or being a minor setback.

If you keep improving you'll see that "good" is not a platform you can jump to, but a staircase you just have to keep climbing.

[lonewolf]

what you were describing is lack of confidence. in sparring sometimes it is attitude and not just skill that gets you buy. if you have a physical presence that says "i can kick you @$$" they will pick that up. skill also comes through confidence. you are more likely to throw the punch when you see an opening and more likely to more to the side for parring rather then retreat or block. adolesnce is a hard time for guys and their self esteme. defeat can be hard but victory can be so much more better at that age. punching- work on body mechanics and form, then work on speed, after speed try power. timing only comes with sparring and with sparring patients is needed. the time will come that you figure out when to throw the punch and when to stay back. read bruce lee's book on jeet kune do for his studies on punching. not the book Tao of jeet kune do that is a abridged version of what he wrote. read the 3rd volume of the bruce lee library put together by john little. as for weight training, if you don't like lifting weights try to dedicate yourself to doing push ups and pull ups. you're not going to have an advantage if your not at least working as hard as the guys you are fighting. being smaller means that your muscles work easier on lifting. larger guys have to work harder to get bigger. this was pointed out in arnold's auto biography. arnold top body builder but smaller friend franco columbo was the strongest man in the world. keep these things in mind.

[viper]

pfft this whole im only 5,7 thing is bs im 5,6 an 130 an iv hit guys way bigger then me an bowled them over an i didnt even think i had the power. Train like you want it concentrate dont jst do it ,think it. Its through diligence and practice we triumph an its in my exp most ppl that have tru talent for nething seem to quit wat there good at because they lack the motivation to acheive for themselves not jst for glory. Dont look at a lose in a negative learn from it rejoice in the fact you learnt something new to work on.