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| Freeform combat | ||
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Freeform
training
We offer our students freeform scenarios.
Solo attackers and multiple assailants attack without warning. They may be
armed or
unarmed.
The exercise is rough, spontaneous and gets the adrenaline going.
Every fight should be fought as if
life were at stake, even when you're fighting with wooden swords. Then the
martial arts would find their rightful place, and become the practice of the
way.
Otherwise, they are only a game.
(Taisen Deshimaru)
Freeform
Freeform is not kickboxing.
We are not training a sport. Your aim is not to trade blows.
You must complete
your counter-attack smoothly and efficiently.
The attacker is not trying to score points or win a trophy. Their aim is to
strike you or grapple you to the ground.
It ends when it ends
The exercise does not end until a conclusion is reached.
This may mean that you have gone to pieces, are being
held or you may have
incapacitated the attacker.
The latter outcome is your aim.
Although you will not be hurt, you may well be struck.
There is no predictable pattern to freeform. The attacker may do whatever they
like providing it is earnest and committed.
Stylised
Step-by-step techniques, stylised responses and
fancy movements will fail you
during freeform.
Your attacker will not play your game.
Their aim is to break your rhythm, intimidate you and put you down.
This is not a macho, aggressive exercise. No one gets
angry or badly hurt. But
it does test your nerve.
Complacency
Anything goes in freeform, so you cannot afford to be
cocky or complacent.
Spend too long with one person and his mate may jump on you from behind or slip
a knife between your ribs.
Your attackers will not cooperate with you or assist you in any way at all.
Their single function and purpose is to defeat you.
Evading
Group dynamics and evasion strategies cannot be codified into a step-by-step
guide.
You must learn to go with the flow, responding and adapting to the needs of the
situation.
This takes patience and practice.
If you lose your composure, you lose everything.
You need to work with punches, kicks and grapples. It needs to be varied,
confusing, unsettling and unpredictable. A melee.
Image
You cannot hide behind your image when training freeform.
What you think does not matter. All that matters is what you can do. How you can
cope.
If you are afraid of being hit, of being hurt, then this will hamper you. You will be placed in a compromising situation and required to free yourself
effectively.
This kind of challenge will cause you to re-evaluate your training and your
attitude.
Fear
Fear is the biggest demon to face in combat.
People are reluctant to face up to their own fear, their own
vulnerability,
their anxiety.
We are all human. We all feel pain. We all can be injured. We will all
die some
day.
Despite freeform combat being relatively safe, students panic,
struggle and fail
repeatedly.
Our syllabus is designed to help you work through your difficulties, and your
fears and doubts.
We train you to cope.
Stay calm
If you lack composure, you will not see what is right in front of you.
Being calm is utterly essential.
You need to remain detached, emotionally aware and at ease.
This is the real reason why lower grade students practice chin na 'escapes'.
Do not rush
When you lack composure, you are easily startled.
This leads to hurrying. And anxiety.
Instead of patiently waiting to see what unravels, you dither, hesitate and
anticipate.
Competence
Rushing indicates a lack of competence.
It is obvious that the student has not put in the practice.
When you rush, you force.
Forcing causes your opponent's nervous system to inadvertently tense-up in
reaction to your urgency.
This alerts them to your intention and makes them harder to manipulate.
Do not use tension
As soon as you use tension, you have failed.
Even if you eventually prevail, it has cost you an unnecessary amount of effort
and is not tai chi.
Correct use of alignment, timing, pressure and positioning will enable you to
skilfully defend yourself.
Beyond the ordinary
The training will eventually reach a stage where the
demands encountered in class exceed anything you might reasonably
expect to encounter in 21st Century urban combat.
This is deliberate.
When your mind and your nervous system are
attuned to 'feudal era' expectations, you will be
ready for anything.
Realm of consciousness
Tai chi aims to teach the student how to heighten their
awareness to a degree whereby
they can perceive combat in an entirely
different way:
You will begin to feel that your tai chi practice
goes beyond simple form training, and you will be able to perceive things as
energetic combinations, rather than as static physical objects. Your
training partners will appear to your senses as dynamic patterns of energy,
rather than as clumsy physical bodies. When this happens, you can skilfully
switch strategy and tactics in any situation.
(Yang Jwing-Ming)
Page created
18 March 2001
Last updated
16 June 2023
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