Greed: is it good?...

Yesterday I attended a class on point sparring. It is not something I spend a lot of time doing, so I took the class for that reason, and was quite fortunate in the caliber of instruction I had during the session.
We did a lot of counters, especially from reverse punches and roundhouse kicks. I caught on fairly well, largely due to the direction given to me from the highly experienced fighter I was paired up with. It was a good workout and we had a laugh as well.
But of all the help I received yesterday, one of the most memorable comments came from the teacher's uke/assistant instructor, who strolled around the training area, offering bits of advice and guidance.
"You're doing it fine," he said, going over the form and movement of my counter attack. Then he hesitated, and his face became animated. "But you need to be greedy. Take the point by being greedy."
And he demonstrated--with speed and decisiveness--what it is he meant by these words. The block and punch were all in one motion, and it looked like his will itself was overpowering the attacker.
Sure enough, he seemed, well, "greedy."
I paused for a moment, thanked him and bowed, and returned to the drill to try emulating this greed: a state of being we normally associate with bad behavior; a way of acting we usually feel needs to be suppressed or ignored.
But he summed up, really, what can make the difference between two combatants in the cat-and-mouse game of sparring: The desire and will to just, "Take the point."

Defensive drills...

I spend too much time dwelling on how good my offence is. That is, in my mind, I focus on progression in terms of how successful my attacks would be in a specific situation.
Funny, since I practice a defensive form of jiu-jitsu. So, I've decided I need to spend more mental time on understanding my level of defense, and understanding the progression of my skills in this respect.
It reminds me of a couple of drills I have done in the past. One is setting up a sparring situation where one person can strike, and the other may only defend. This exercise can hone one's defensive skills and boost your confidence when it comes to evading attacks. You will also find many openings you might normally have overlooked due to utilizing extra patience. Both blocking and footwork will be crucial.
The second drill is almost the same as the first. However, the defender sets up a "wall" or "fence" with his/her hands held high in a defensive position. While your partner throws light and varied strikes, you must keep your hands in the same continuous position (think boxing), blocking strikes by footwork and torso movement alone. Surprisingly, a small percentage of strikes actually get through. This exercise also boosts defensive confidence and teaches economy of movement.
Taking away the attack refocuses your thinking process, and in my case, brings me back to the gentle art of defense.

holding the pads....

I always jump at the chance to hold the pads for punching/kicking drills.

Firstly, I just like the feeling of absorbing the energy. It feels good to play hard.

Secondly, I can learn a lot about an individual's style, especially if their martial arts background differs from my own.

When sparring, half of one's attention is focused on offense, and half on defense. You are an active participant, which, personally, narrows my scope to freely observe, while holding pads I become a fly on the wall. Breath patterns, eye movement, strengths, weak points, and tells are all on display.

Now, the goal isn't to use this to defeat anyone, rather, to apply the lessons to yourself. I've talked before about picking up tips from boxers and kick boxers. Tips to use and tips just for the sake of awareness.

Recently, I was training with a heavy striker. I let him pound the pads as hard as he wanted--and I moved him around the room to see how his feet moved. The lesson, however, was not about his telegraphing punches or a potential weakness to exploit in his guard. Instead, a painfully obvious conclusion was made by myself:

Don't strike with a striker! Get in close--without getting knocked out--and use what you know best.

Hey, honesty has to count for something!

"You lookin' at me?"

The eyes can give away an opponent's intent.... but they can also be used to deceive.

As a former hockey player, we were coached to always look at the chest when defending, because to look at the puck or face would give the other guy a good chance to trick you with a fake. Look at his chest and hit him was the idea.

That said, when I spar I like to engage the opponents eyes (I've been told not to before). But I find most opponents will give away more strategy with their eyes than they will deceive you with them, but I remain very cognizant of the possibility. This awareness is the key, to me.

As my training is based more on defending in real situations and not squared-off fighting per se, body language and visual cues are of utmost importance.

This said, being cognizant of your own cues is also immensely important. You may give away your own attacks with your visual focus, so not telegraphing is important, unless of course it is being used deliberately to misguide your foe. Football quarterbacks are excellent at this--looking at one receiver and then throwing the ball to someone in another location. But a QB who telegraphs his throws gets picked off routinely, and his receivers get very sore and disgruntled.

It's something to look into, anyway.

Balance - Mind Barriers part two

In Japanese systems such as judo, jiujitsu, and aikido, a great deal of focus is directed upon breaking the balance of an opponent. This can be done different ways, but the overall theory is similar to knocking over a large fridge, it can be easily done if the appliance is resting on just one corner of its base, rather than all four.

But I think the theory extends to the mental game as well. If an opponent's thoughts can be disrupted and put off balance, the physical struggle will be minimized. Journeyman spoke about a similar topic when confronted by an attacker--acting crazy or unpredictably--thereby confusing the assailant. But the concept is integral in other situations as well, whether it be sparring, boxing, or even grappling. In this way, breaking the balance can mean changing the focus of an opponent (feint, softening strike, disceptive telegraphing); it could mean intimidation or confidence; it could mean drawing the opponent into a vulnerable position by showing him/her an opening in your guard.

In judo, for example, it is common to push forward as if looking for a throw, and when the opponent resists and pushes back in response to this force, landing the sought after move through a pulling motion instead.

This becomes a merging of mental and physical balance breaking.

And momentum is crucial to both.

attacking the lead arm...

There is a basic attack in fencing (epee) I was taught over a decade ago, and it is a technique we utilize in sparring quite often in the dojo.

The move is an attack whereby the defender's weapon is attacked first--cleared aside--creating an opening in which to strike (this is all done with the foil or epee in a single motion, much like a stop hit). In jiu-jitsu, we attack the opponent's lead arm the same way, clearing it to the side or down, leaving an open target for the back hand that has already moved to strike. I've been nailed by Sensei this way more than once--in the chest--and when done fast the attack is virtually unstoppable as it removes the defender's blocking hand from the equation.

Although I know little about Bruce Lee compared to his many fans, I have read on several occassions that he gave careful study to fencing tactics (JKD, like fencing, uses a strong-side-forward stance. Since my brief foray in this sport I have found I cannot get away from this).

Also in fencing, like many martial arts, one turns his/her body to the side to narrow themselves as a target (the feet are in a type of backstance). The myth goes Lee passed this along to the boxer Muhammed Ali.
Anyway, I think Lee's JKD definately shows some fencing components, and there a few of which I would encourage any student of budo to understand.