No one Plans what they are going to do when they get into combat it doesn't work like that like you said earlier in your post. However this is why basics are key in any art, you learn them so its instinctive of course your not going to do whatever Kata you practiced over and over again, but your body will instinctively move the way it should...
combined 2 quotes summary: This is why we spar, we train how our bodies should react... Like you said JKL we use our wit, but our bodies, and us as a person do the rest naturally.
just from personal experience, I may not reflect every Tech/Kata/style I've learned flawlessly because it dose not sit in every situation... but you adapt what you know to the situation so it fits... but at the same time you don't plan from the start what to do. Because you NEVER know 100% what they are going to do.
Hey Daishi, yes you never know what is going down in a fight until you are in a fight...LOL.
Just to clarify, when I spoke of using my wits, I was speaking of what went down before violence ensued, (as in diffusing the situation). Once the line is crossed from
pre-fight if you will... to
fight then intellect takes a back seat to body intelligence.
That being said, you are correct in basics being one of the essentials in martial arts training... they are the foundation upon which all else is built. But basics are only one piece of the puzzle. It is a combination of several elements that make up a good fighter. Sparring can be another key element... However, "sparring" is a very subjective term. To some it is play fighting, sometimes it is an athletic competition. Many acts of sparring I have seen involve a "back and forth" play similar to tennis... this is not the way a fight plays out.
Ultimately, fight training is a simulation.... and can never EXACTLY reproduce the actual encounter. The only event that completely mimics a fight is well... a fight. Now an actual fist fight can result in serious injury or death. Consider how this likelihood multiplies when dealing with a weapons based encounter.
That's another thing, the word FIGHT is also highly subjective... do you mean a combat sport match?... self defense?... mortal combat in a time of war? All of them are considerably different from one another. Specialization is needed here.
In my training... the emphasis on fighting is for the street/bar/etc.. So... protective gear goes on, whistle blows... you hit each other really hard and a lot until one is left standing. It's usually over very quickly... next. I prefer the mentality of a fight club. But that is a specialization, if one is training to fight for extended periods in a ring for example... then another fight training method is required.
Actually, martial training itself is only one tool in the tool box of being a fighter. Many people get hung up on the more skilled fighter having the decisive advantage... but this only applies if all other factors are equal.
Unfortunately, all other factors are almost never equal. Genetics, desire, and experience to name a few... should never be overlooked.
In my experience, the expression of "winning a fight is 90% WILL and 10% SKILL rings very true. This is not to say in any way that training is unimportant. But one of the main things I wanted to convey in my 1st. post was that training a MA is about more than fighting. Most everyday people are NOT getting into fights regularly...
ONE of the many benefits martial arts gives an individual is a knowledge of self defense. But when I hear martial arts students harp on self defense this... combat that... I think it's a shame that they may spend their entire life training for some grand battle which more than likely will never happen. With experience and training, you realize that if attacked... you will respond. After that, you can settle in and enjoy just how much FUN training is.
Maybe it is the fighting you enjoy... maybe the tradition... the exercise.... all are worth the effort. :)
LOL... this thread seems to have drifted from the topic a bit. Perhaps a new topic is in order if folks are interested in continuing this line of discussion?