How Much Are You Really Helping Your Partner? (Part 2)

Getting ON target.

This issue of noncommittal when attacking in partner training, is not restricted to just sparring or street techniques either, this also happens in the safety of drills.

And as in the previous blog, I’ll come back this in just a moment.

There are three stages of training:

Learn the shapes

Learn to defend yourself using these shapes

Learn to defend yourself and counter attack, using these shapes

But you could also say that there are three smaller stages:

a/ Shapes

b/ Drills

c/ Techniques

We looked at the danger of selling yourself short when training techniques, but if you are also doing this in drills we really start to create issues for ourselves.

Try this to see what I mean:

The next time you are in class and training Pak Sau techniques, step in for the Pak but then stop short of the Pak, and see what your partner does.

I will bet that 95% of the time your partners arm is dropping in expectation of the Pak, or bracing for impact, without them even knowing they’re doing it.

The outcome of this is that your Pak’s have zero effort behind them because they are simply getting used to following your partners arm instead of actually moving it.

An arm is a heavy lump of meat and takes a certain amount of muscle in order to hold it in place, so when we combine these together, you actually need a fair bit of force in your Pak.

Adding to that the reality of this being a strike, then the arm you’re defending will be even stronger and therefore need even more force!

To stay still when the Pak is coming in is actually not that easy, but it does need training.

So the next time you are on the receiving end of the Paks, do not think of this as boring or having little benefit to you, this has as much thought needed as the one doing the Pak.

The same is visible in Dan Chi Sau when training out of range.

Why do this?

What is the point?

Be in range, go for the palm strike (not necessarily with force, speed or power) and if you feel it is being stopped, stop, and if it is not, don’t stop.

How simple is that!

There is a phrase in Wing Chun,

‘Lut Sau, Jic Keun’

meaning ‘Lost Hand, Straight Punch’

This is the principle behind all Chi Sau, if you find a gap, take it!

This also should be behind the thought process of Dan Chi Sau, the introduction to Chi Sau, the very thing that teaches us to know when to go and when to stop.

I’ve mentioned there how we can improve in our drills but how do we gain the confidence to strike ON TARGET in our hand/street techniques?

Simple!

Take away thought thinking that you are throwing a PUNCH and change this idea to a PUSH.

Ok so you are going to push them back with a closed hand (Not using the word FIST here you see), but try to get yourself used to stepping in, perhaps in a Biu Mar mentality, and when you reach your partner, PUSH them back.

As you gain in confidence you can pick up the pace and even start at a closer range.

I hope this helps, trust me, your partner will thank you for it later,

and if they’re not thanking you, they should be.

Good luck and happy training!