Do you fight like you Train?

[Arod1972]

Do you think Form training is effective? Do you fight using your forms? How do you train for actual fights? I think learning form after form will not make you a better fighter. Do you agree or disagree? :rolleyes:

One who has two roots becomes a stronger tree.

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

I don't believe you can get really good with forms alone but that doesn't make them useless for fighting. Forms practice allows you to drill the techniques into your body memory and practice moves that cannot be tested out with a partner. Forms practice will not enhance reflexes or give you the exact angles for your techniques that mixing it up with a partner provides.

[NorthernMantis]

Waa!I can't stress this how no matter how many times I try.

Forms are only a part of the training as a whole.You can't have forms by itself and you can't have a system without forms.Think about the human body.The arm alone is not sufficient but when you have all the the body parts and organs working as a whole the person fuctions properly.See what I'm trying to say?Remember strong basics are important.

Also yes I do fight like the way I train because I have been able to keep my ground on againts bigger oponents when I have sparred before.

"Always be ready"

[stubbs]

alot of forms aren't practical exercises for fighting on a skill level, some of them are designed to work the muscle groups and train the timing, balance, strength and agility that can be used in a fight.

satisfaction loses, humility gains

[whitmcc]

IMHO, forms alone will not teach you how to fight. However, they do have some fantastic benefits that can conceivably alter the outcome of a conflict. Depending on the nature of the forms, they can be outstanding conditioning tools. Forms make you use your whole body, turning, twisting, jumping, rolling, not to mention the obvious blocking, trapping, kicking and striking. All this activity has the effect of strengthening the body overall, and all the muscles that control stabilization and balance end up getting a workout that standard resistance training lacks. Of course, there are tons of fighting techniques in forms, but it depends on the style, teacher, and the student as to whether or not these techniques are actually viable in combat. And for conditioning....whew! Done hard and well, some forms are better than running a few miles.

Should you train your techniques with partners? Absolutely. Sparring? Definitely. Cross training? A great idea. All of these things should be combined to some extent if you're trying to be a complete martial artist. Forms alone may put you in great shape, but you won't have the same sense of timing that sparring gives you. Sparring alone is beneficial, but unless you plan to spar for hours on end, you should do some conditioning/cross training work as well so that you don't run out of gas.

So, my vote is a definite _yea_ for forms. Use them wisely, my mantis brothers and sisters. Train hard and live long. ;-)

[aw.axis]

I enjoy my formwork, but to gain practical effect from them you have to know how to apply every move from the forms, that for me means breaking down every form and analysing every move, then putting them back together again so the moves flow into each other. That way different forms begin to flow into each other and you keep the fluidity when free fighting.

If formwork didnt work for free fighting they would never have been tought like that in the first place, slavishly following forms is ok for beginning with, but for me I like to really see what is going on, how it can be applied and manipulated to suit me. That way you switch from form to form, move to move seamlessly for free fighting.

[Martial Joe]

Well I dont punch people in the head to train.That would be fun but I train forms.