So,, what makes a good fighter? If we watch a fight on TV or a wrestling match at a school it is fairly obvious when one or both participants are skilled. But what is it that makes them skilled? A person can be fast, strong, flexable with great endurance and still not be the victor in a battle. In many violent altercations, someone loses because they typically just try to stop the attack by pushing away or holding on. There is no organized system of attack to counter the onslaught, In a fight, the natural progression in attacks or responses to attacks is the key. A person must know what to do in a variety of conditions and situations. We can not figure it out as it happens. We must train to have options in a variety of situations. The key is to move from attack to attack, trying out options until you obtain a position of advantage and then take advantage of the liability. We have been training in drills for some time now. These drills train the body to move in certain ways and to perform more than one task at a time. This is a good start, but a sequence of events must be learned to give options for attack and defense. Eventaully we will develop an increasing number of moves and attacks that will be at our desposal when the situation calls for it. So today we go to these conditional attacks and defenses. We have trained in them before and we will repeat them often.
First we started with the hand drills. These drills condition the mind and body to repeat one of the main concepts in this system,,,, destroy what is attacking us and then move to center line attacks. These drills are becoming smoother and more effective and will soon be as normal as walking (well for some of us). These drills are not easy at first but once the mind gets out of the way the drills become easier.
Then we moved on to train in a few attack sequences. The first we call the boxing drill. It is a three part system for initial engagement that produces a very predicatable outcome. It trains the body to strike and move at the same time, to change height, to change direction and to use rotational forces to generare power. Then we move into the double hook. This is used in close combat, it trains us to strike, move out, control weapons and attack through the person. The third is an outside control measure using legs and "timing moves". This helps us control an attacker, set up pulses and creates a gap in time that will allow our attack to be more successful. These get to be fun and the speed and timing improve with each progression. We then moved on to techniques for in close battle where one or both of our hands are engaged with the opponenet. These elbow strikes and rotaional movement are very effective and produce a large amount of force on to the target.
The time went by very quickly, as it seems to happen when we are having fun. A few bruises and bumps were created during this training time but we all survived and the resulting bone sharpening will pay off in the long run. I hope you men are enjoying yourselves as much as YHC does each week. The banging of bones and clashing of bodies produces a sensation that is not found in many activities. I am honored to have this time to train with you fine men. Stay safe and stay well.