Sparring Methodology

[Antonius]

Note: In an effort to make this information more accessible, I have reorganized some of my earlier posts into a new thread.

Sifu Wong’s methodology for training sparring is systematic and effective. Many kungfu schools today lack this methodology and therefore cannot apply their techniques in sparring. Those who train diligently using an effective method have no trouble applying their Kungfu techniques in sparring. Sadly, these people are hard to find today.

The Method[list=1][*]Learn and practice appropriate kungfu patterns and sets. (Many kungfu students never progress past this level.) [*]Understand and practice the combat application of each pattern individually. [*]Apply specific patterns to counter particular combat situations.[*]Link these individual combat situations into longer, flowing combat sequences. [*]Practice variations of these combat sequences. [*]Practice prearranged sparring sets (longer versions of the combat sequences) [*]Free sparring. [/list=1] In our Shaolin Wahnam school, beginners are taught a series of combat sequences that cover the 4 categories of attack and defense (Striking, Kicking, Felling, and Chin-Na). There are 16 basic sequences, each of which consists of about 3-10 patterns. A single combat sequence practiced alone would look like a short piece of a classical set. Linking 4 or more combat sequences together would look very similar to a classical set.

In practicing these combat sequences, there are important subsections of development:[list=1][*]Pre-Choice: both initiator and responder have decided on a pre-arranged sequence to practice. [*]Self-Choice: the initiator chooses a sequence without telling the responder. [*]Surprise Counter: the responder has the choice of responding with a counter outside of the prescribed sequence. [*]Continuation: either initiator or responder can choose to link the end of one sequence directly into another sequence without losing the flow. [*]External Change: allows either partner to branch out to another sequence at any logical point during the initial sequence. [*]Internal Change: allows either partner to make changes within the sequence (almost as if improvising on the prescribed sequence). [/list=1]
The main reason students today fail to apply their kungfu is because they lack the appropriate methods to train sparring. It is easy to see why trying to jump directly from Step 1 (forms) to Step 7 (free sparring) will result in failure every time. Jumping straight into free sparring is a guaranteed way to make your sophisticated kungfu techniques feel useless.

I remember when I first started sparring in Karate. As a Green Belt, I was thrown into the mix against Black Belts. A soon as my Sensei said, "Hajimei" (Go!), I thought to myself, "Now what?" Needless to say, that Black Belt had his way with me that day. Later, when I was a Black Belt sparring against Green Belts, I remember looking at their faces and thinking, "They have no idea what to do." (Of course, it was much more fun being on the other side.) Though I did eventually learn how to spar, my progress was slow and haphazard.

Kungfu is not magic. It is scientific. You cannot expect these sophisticated movements to magically work for you just because you practiced them alone on the top of a mountain for 30 years. If students follow the prescribed methodology and practice sufficiently, they will find free sparring a natural progression. They will be able to apply their techniques spontaneously not because kungfu is magic, but because they have practiced according to a systematic method.

Results

The results are remarkable. For example, while practicing Step 5 (variations on combat sequences) with one of my juniors (who has been practicing kungfu for less than 2 years), we naturally found ourselves improvising further and further outside of the prescribed sequences. By the end, we were closer to (but not at) free sparring. Anyone watching us would have no trouble recognizing our moves from the traditional forms that we practice. What we do looks like "kungfu fighting.” There is no bouncing, no boxing, no padding, no karate, and no taekwondo in any of what we do. It is all traditional kungfu.

I can give the traditional name for every move that I use in sparring. For example, a junior once tried to catch me with an unexpected move (Surprise Counter), but I spontaneously countered his counter with another surprise. He was, in fact, surprised and looked at me in shock as if I had made up some awesome new pattern. I had not. I’m not that clever. I pointed out that I had used a pattern that he already knows: "Sharp Knife Trims Bamboo." All I did was vary the stance from Bow & Arrow to Unicorn, thus varying the application slightly to fit the situation. I was still in a proper stance, and the pattern was still “Sharp Knife Trims Bamboo.”

Skills

There are also other reasons why fewer and fewer people can apply sophisticated kungfu patterns in sparring or combat. The most obvious is that they do not know, or have only a cursory understanding of the application. Some teachers even encourage students to figure out the application out on their own, as if solving some puzzle. I can tell you from repeated experience that the application you may imagine or figure out on your own is, at best, only one of many applications. It will likely also be the most unsophisticated one.

Furthermore, even if you personally witness the sophisticated application, you still may not "get" it. I witnessed, understood, and practiced the application to a particular pattern for over a year. I later felt the same pattern applied by Sifu Wong during sparring. What he did might have looked the same to others, but to me it was COMPLETELY different. It might as well have been a different technique. Don't get me wrong, I was not practicing the physical form of the move incorrectly. I just lacked the other skills required to make that physical form so effective.

The application of these patterns depends a great deal on these skills. Unfortunately, such skills are not easily seen. Many of these skills, even when felt directly from a master, still take years and years to perfect. Taijiquan Pushing Hands is a good example: it looks simple, and it is...in theory. But the skills, though simple, are invisible to the eye and take years to master.

Force

This leads us to another reason why people fail to apply their techniques: lack of force. Force can be explained and applied in many ways. Internal force is not even necessary. A tiger claw will suffice here as an example of force.

Let's say you know a particular tiger pattern called “Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain.” You have learned the application and the necessary skills directly from the world's best master--Mr. Miyagi. Let's say you practice this move thousands of times. Mr. Miyagi is there every day to correct your mistakes. A year later, you are able to apply this pattern in sparring 80% of the time.

Even if you raise your percentage to 99.9%, you are still missing a critical ingredient. If you have not trained the force for your tiger claw, your technique is worthless. Why? Because this force is necessary to make this particular pattern effective. Though you may land the technique, you will only succeed in tickling your opponent with your tiger claw. This is why force training has always been an essential ingredient in traditional kungfu.

I studied Fu Jow Pai Kungfu (Black Tiger) for about 6 months. I once saw the master jab his left pinky finger into and through a thick, corrugated cardboard box lying on the street. He did it casually, almost jokingly, leaving a perfect hole through several layers of cardboard for us all to see. This guy trained force every day. It wasn't exactly the same as internal force, but trust me: you don't want a guy like this to grab you with any of his fingers.

Kungfu for Fighting?

Many people today, including some masters, do not believe that Kungfu can be used for sparring or fighting. Some argue that classical postures are only for training purposes. Others argue that stances don’t work in combat. Others argue that modern methods, like kickboxing and wrestling, are more effective.

If you train sparring systematically in a good school, you will learn, through direct personal experience, the inaccuracy of these claims. Once your elegant and sophisticated Kungfu patterns begin to come alive, you will appreciate the incredible legacy that has been passed down from past masters. If you practice correctly and consistently, you will see that Kungfu – including proper stances and elegant classical patterns – can certainly be used for sparring and for fighting.

[Quatro Bajina]

Now What?

Antonius:

You are right, when the first time I spar in my Hsing-I class, that's my first reaction. These are the additional lists

"What the..."
"What am I supposed to do again?"
"Hmmm Which one should I use first?"
"Hey...where is that hand coming from?"
(I got hit)

Needless to say, it took me an entire month just to be comfortable with the Hsing-I sparring eventhough there is still some control variables in it (The first time we spar, we only use hand technqiues and upper body to head as a target. But still when you are clueless, it's no fun at all.) I have to spend about 1 hour daily just to do force training and shadow sparring to be able to spar comfortably...

In short, going from form to sparring is not a good idea for beginners.

[DarkCosmoz]

When sparring in Shaolin kungfu, do all moves have to be initiated by the waist or is it just taijiquan?

[Andrew]

This excellent article was written by Anthony 2 years ago. Shaolin Wahnam Grand Master Wong Kiew Kit has now additionally expanded on it in word and film on his webpage Shaolin Wahnam Sparring Methodology .

We at Shaolin Wahnam are very much aware of the effectiveness of this sparring methodology. As can be seen from the video clips, our students can spar and fight using the techniques, stances, skills and patterns we teach from a very early stage. They can be combat efficient using just these and without needing to revert to other methods. As I tell my beginning students - we train as we fight and we fight as we train.

But does it stop at Shaolin Wahnam?

When you look at the clips, you will see that a practitioner of another style of Kung Fu was able, with help from Anthony, to employ the Shaolin Wahnam Sparring Methodology to enable him to use his Kung Fu well for real sparring.

Could this systematic approach to using genuine Kung Fu for combat be beneficial to other schools or even martial arts systems?

Andrew

[cnholmes]

Lets not call it a Silver Bullet, but I'm sure there are a wide range of non-combat activities which could benefit from this approach.

A while ago I heard someone talking about improvising in playing music. If you have the right skills to use the keys and scales which match the tune - you can improvise.

Or what about snooker - you have certain shots which you set up, but your opponent can confound those shots, so you instantly modify and go straight into another setup routine.

I would think that this approach has the potential to benefit any activity where dealing with uncertainty is a key factor.

Its an approach, but perhaps not the only approach. Its the best approach we in Shaolin Wahnam know of. Others should be objective in deciding whether their approach constitutes systematic training. If it does, then please share as we do

Regards,
Chris.

[Andrew]

Interesting if somewhat abstract answer Chris

What I was wanting to concentrate on was the use of a specific methodology in Martial Arts to achieve combat efficiency. My previous karate training, for example, was completely the opposite.

We started by learning a couple of techniques. Soon (within weeks) we were free sparring (if you could call it that) mostly using no discernable techniques. And even the techniques we did try and use were modified e.g. a straight punch (similar to "Black Tiger") was taught using a stance similar to bow-arrow - both feet on the ground, body straight. We were told to raise the back heel and lean forward when sparring though to increase reach and make it work in a real situation. In other words, train one way and fight a completely different way.

Andrew

[Grimlock]

A while ago I heard someone talking about improvising in playing music. If you have the right skills to use the keys and scales which match the tune - you can improvise.

As one who plays jazz piano and had the opportunity to learn from some excellent teachers, I can verify this. The parallels go even farther, though. Jazz musicians often learn little phrases or licks by picking them out by ear off of CDs by other (often master) musicians. These licks are roughly equivalent to individual kung fu patterns like Black Tiger Steals Heart, and can be applied in different musical situations, and strung together with other licks to create musical phrases. Often, musicians learn an entire improvised solo (like a kung fu set) off of a CD and practice its individual licks. Some of these licks have been used by generations of musicians.

If anything, my recent experience training with Sifu Anthony has helped me to better recognize the parallels between the two processes and given me some ideas to play with in my jazz methodology. I should also offer the disclaimer that there are of course some differences in the processes, too.

Similarly, a great classical piano teacher I learned from put a lot of emphasis on keeping your whole body, and especially your hands, wrists, arms, and shoulders, relaxed. She also taught specific ways to strike the keys to produce different sounds.

As you said, Chris, my limited experience has long been that there are similarities in all sorts of activities that can be applied to each other.

As for other Martial Arts methodologies as asked by Sisook Andrew, my prior taekwondo training had a similar, although not quite as detailed, methodology as that used in Wahnam. It was somewhat simplified largely because compared to genuine kung fu, taekwondo itself is somewhat simplified. This is not a provocation, but a fact. For one, we really only had two fighting "stances" in taekwondo: left-side forward and right-side forward.

We learned only 2 or 3 techniques at each belt level. We often practiced the inidividual techniques as many times slowly as full-speed and broke the kicks down and practiced them in steps. For instance, Organ-seeking kick basically translates to what is called a front kick in taekwondo. We would assume a fighting stance and when the instructor called "1", we'd raise our leg up into single leg stance and hold that position, on "2" we'd kick quickly, returning our leg to single leg stance and hold, and on "3" we'd return to our initial fighting stance.

As for an actual sparring methodology, after practicing the techniques in isolation, we would often practice them with a partner doing specific defenses. First, the attack would be initiated on the instructor's command. Then, the attacker got to choose when to initiate the attack. Both sides were always practiced an equal number of times. Then, we'd progress to the same thing, but now the attacker and defender were moving around using their footwork as if sparring (we had formalized footwork). They could switch which side they had forward (left or right), the attacker could feint, but the attacker and defender roles were clearly defined. This worked on spacing, timing, and recognition. If the attacker moved towards you without attacking, you moved backwards or laterally to maintain proper spacing. If the attacker switched his stance, you generally switched along with him, depending on the available attack and defense sequences. After we worked on a couple of attacks and defenses this way, the attacker would eventually have the choice of which attack to initiate. Sometimes the roles of attacker and defender would be set for an entire sparring round, sometimes the practitioners would alternate roles after each attack/defense sequence.

There's more to it, but the above gets across the general idea, and this is already such a long post, I'll only continue if there is interest in me doing so.

[Zhang Wuji]

I have a couple of questions on sparring methodology I have been wondering about and would be grateful for my seniors' views.

The combat sequences and sparring sets are meant to train skills. As one progresses, more patterns and forms are learnt. Since one's foundation is in the patterns found in the basic sequences, would not such patterns have been more deeply "programmed" into the subconscious than those in advanced forms. I was most interested to find that those who have learnt advanced forms like the Dragon Set could spontaneously use patterns from those sets. I had imagined that the more instinctive response would be to use the basic patterns.

A related question is whether it is possible that by constant practice, one ends up using in combat only a few basic techniques (such as those found in the basic sequences) since one is so conditioned to them? Less is more....

Finally, the sequences at the beginners' level focus on one type of pattern for one type of attack. Antonious has said that an advanced exponent can use one pattern for every type of attack. Does this not require some training in spontaneous modification (ie, lighting fast in combat without thinking)? Is there also a methodology for this progression or does it come automatically, guided by qi flow in combat?

Thanks.

[Andrew]

Some very nice questions Wuji.

Since one's foundation is in the patterns found in the basic sequences, would not such patterns have been more deeply "programmed" into the subconscious than those in advanced forms.

The patterns are not the only thing (and not the most important thing either) which get "programmed". Much more important are the skills to apply the patterns. These skills are transferable to more advanced or different patterns which are learnt later on.

Maybe you could compare it to learning to play the clarinet (just one example). You spend much time learning how to play this reed instrument and practicing the basics of breath control, finger agility, tonguing, scales etc. Now you pick up a saxophone. The instruments are similar but not the same yet the skills remain pretty much unchanged. You will find a skilled clarinet player will also quickly play the saxophone to a high standard too.

Maybe you can also consider what the differences are between the basic patterns (as you call them) and the newer patterns. Or maybe others would like to make some comparisons between them. (Hint: feet / fingers).

I will not reply to your other questions at the moment and would like to encourage others (in particular Shaolin Wahnam Students) to give their opinions.

Andrew

[Zhang Wuji]

Err, I think no one is intending to reply to the questions. Andrew, is it alright if I ask for your advice, then?

[Jonny Say]

Does this not require some training in spontaneous modification (ie, lighting fast in combat without thinking)? Is there also a methodology for this progression or does it come automatically, guided by qi flow in combat?

Dear Zhang Wuji,

Ill give my answer from a basic understanding. As a practioner increases in skill level he becomes confident at defending attacks from the different levels (e.g high, low, middle, side etc). When he is very skillful in these reactions he could apply one pattern to counter any level by adapting it slightly.

For example single tiger is at beginners level used for middle attacks. If a practioner is skilled enough to counter high attacks with ease (due to having good timing and spacing, reactions etc) then he could adapt single tiger to counter high attacks. In this case he would use the skills he already has to avoid being hit e.g. timing and spacing and then could use single tiger to say grip a high attack, or intercept and grip a side attack or strike a low attack.

I think some of the crucial factors are having the skills to be safe and that single tiger is so natural that it can be adapted.

In terms of being guided by chi flow, even at my basic level there have been many times when sparring in a chi kung state of mind my classmates or I have spontaneously used a pattern in a different way, so this may be a factor but I don't understand it well enough to comment.

All the best

[Andrew]

Nice answer Jonny.

Wuji, if you don't mind hanging on a bit longer I would genuinely like to hear other Shaolin Wahnam students' ideas (don't worry if they are or are not correct .... is there a "correct" anyway?) commenting further. I have already offered one hint

Maybe you can also consider what the differences are between the basic patterns (as you call them) and the newer patterns. Or maybe others would like to make some comparisons between them. (Hint: feet / fingers).

And regarding

Does this not require some training in spontaneous modification (ie, lighting fast in combat without thinking)? Is there also a methodology for this progression ...... ?

Shaolin Wahnam students are also invited to further comment on the methodical training of "spontaneous modification" or "instantaneous change".

Andrew

[Zhang Wuji]

Thanks so much, Andrew and Jonny. Of course I will wait, and your answers have got me thinking too.

I can only kick myself for missing Sifu's Shaolinquan course this year (though I was unable to get away anyway). Many of my questions would likely be irrelevant had I undergone Sifu's systematic training.

If I may, I would like to summarise my questions to make them clearer:

1) Would the basic patterns in the combat sequences be more deeply programmed into the subconscious that newer patterns one may learn later?

Andrew's answer: Patterns are not the only things being programmed.

2) If so, would one end up using these basic patterns in combat spontaneously, to the exclusion of other patterns? (since these are more deeply programmed)

3) How does one learn to use one pattern for all attacks/defences?

Jonny: At a certain skill level, one can adapt the technique on the spot.

Maybe you can also consider what the differences are between the basic patterns (as you call them) and the newer patterns. Or maybe others would like to make some comparisons between them. (Hint: feet / fingers).

I was thinking about technical differences. For example, in Taijiquan, a middle attack has at least 3 possible defence counters I personally practice. Assuming you are blocking to the outside of the attacker as he attacks with a right punch,
a) peng block
b) Slap the punch away with a Move, Intercept Punch
c) Play the Pipa (qinna application).

[I think in Wahnam Taijiquan, the basic counter for a middle attack is Green Dragon Shoots Pearl, so that is one more.]

The body dynamics of each of these are quite different from each other, not to mention Single Tiger. If one is used to SIngle TIger in combat sequence practice, a natural movement, wouldn't that pattern become like a default one, such that the 4 patterns I mentioned would never be executed spontaneously but have to be consciously brought into play?