What would you teach next?

Thanks for the reply AP.

I think its great that you teach different people different ways depending on sizes and mind sets,my scenario was prompted when i thought of how i teach Muay Thai to different people and i wondered how other Martial Artists approached teaching their arts.

 

No worries Fire Cobra. I'm glad you asked.

I'm not really convinced that particular styles lend themselves better to particular body types. I think most styles are comprehensive enough that they contain tactics that'll suit various body types. Take BJJ for instance. You've got your Matt Serra, who's built like a bull dog. Then a Carlos Newton, who's talk, lanky, and sprawls like a spider monkey. Both have advantages. It's just a question of how they use them.

Besides, it would be kinda irresponsible of me to advocate poor JR closing distance on anybody with his experience level, but twice his size, with grappling experience. You gotta give people the tools they need to stand a chance.

On a sidenote, I've done a handful of muay thai classes with Khun Kao. Not enough to really start tailoring a "style" within muay thai. But I hope to get back to it at some point.


Stuart

 

One thing I do to teach beginners is to teach a basic foundation usually being the first 5 strikes of our 12(rapid arnis) and a bit of footwork(male and female triangle).
Then I show actual "street" applications for these areas.
I do show defenses,but I concentrate a little more offensive.
Reason being; in 25+ years of teaching and just as many years in practical situations(not theoretical) I can give the students a more practical basis for the possiblity of being able to use something as soon as they walk out of the class,if need be.
I do not and will not speak for anyone else; but I have found in my experience "defenses" have a limited effect in a street situation.
Offense is what works best. Lets say...a 70-30 split in favour of offense.
I have been told by other instructors that I am too agressive in my teaching style.True.
I have been told that I don't teach "technicians",but rather "fighters".
Also true,but I do teach the technical side in an applicable manner.
Once I show the basic foundation I want to convey and then transffer into application, I then sit back and watch each student to see how would be best to tailor that foundation to suit them personally.
We will all fight differently and for different reasons. If I wanted everyone to do the exact same thing; I'd still be teaching shotokan!
But since I do a 60-40 split of psychological/ physical in favour of psychological,it helps people get more comfortable and more confident within themselves.
It must be workin....
I had a yellow belt go against a 4th dan and the 4th dan got busted right smack in the nose and the yellow belt kept commin!
And he never did another sport related thing in his life!


But that is just a short version of how I progress teaching.

I hope this may help a bit.



Damien

 

Certainly does, Ollie! I mean Damien.

Sorry. That's probably not nearly as funny if you haven't seen my father's impression of Stan Laurel.

 

Well I take a little different approach when I am teaching FMA to my guys. I do not teach the angles to my guys in the beginning. By that I mean I do not call them Angle#1, Angle#2 etc. Instead I just call them diagonal strike, horizontal strike and vertical strike. I have found that beginner students focus to much on the numbers and less on the actual strike. I do teach numbering systems later.

I teach my guys foot work from day 1 and drill them on it everyday. So footwork is a very big part of everything I do. I also teach them to move or angle their bodies in defense ( I to really like the elastico). I teach them how to block/parry/redirect early on as well.

If they are in long range I will have them wear the hand guards and have them work "meet the force" to defend against the attack. When the strike comes in they will zone off or move just enough to not get hit and hit the attackers hand at the same time.

If they are in middle range then I will have them "meet the force" and use the checking hand on the weapon. Later I will have them use the checking hand and immediately follow up with a strike. I continue to build upon this as we go.

I try to teach them the three basic defenses against an attack which are:

Meet the Force
Follow the Force
Meet to Follow or Follow to Meet

I have found that if you teach the student how to defend against an attack and use foot work properly that he is more willing to get in there in the heat of the battle.

Now let me just say that when I am teaching them to block... (I really don't like callign it a block because it is more of redirect or parry than a block) I also teach them to do a follow up strike right away. My philosophy is when ever you strike you are creating an opening for a very brief moment. So when your opponent strikes he has just created an opening for you to strike back.

It is also very important that the student understands how to properly use the footwork. When your opponent attacks you want to make sure that you move back just enough to not get hit. If you move back to far then you have to start all over by trying to get back in range where yo ucan hit your opponent. The beauty of footwork is being able to always move just far enough away so that you are not hit by the attack. By moving just far enough away you are able to quickly move up and strike your opponent once his stick clears you.

I hope this is clear to everyone...if not then I will stop taking my cold medicine and retype this when I am not so loopy.

Tim

 

Footwork is probably one f the most important aspects of FMA and should be taught right from the start, but the most important aspect I feel is getting over the fear of the weapon, because no matter how big or small they are, swing a stick at them and watch them flinch, get them over that then you can really get to work on them. I have found this in time also learn's them to respect the weapon which makes teaching evasion a whole lot easier.

Best regards

Pat

 

Obviously it does depend on the size and build of the person, but I would start with parrying and evasive moves, such as slippin and rolling as they are easy to learn and remember.

 

good thread..

 

I got it! But I had to think for a minute....
When GM Juny Canete was here last, I made a stir because I was the only guy who showed up ready to do my stick bit whilest wearing a bowler!
So I had to wonder if any of those pics made it out to the public



Damien

 

If any of them were made public, consider this an official edict to post them here.

 

After the angles & footwork are taught, then I tell the students this -" Every strike is block & every block is a strike, then the first defense I teach is the 'umbrella block' which is one of the oldest techniques because the 'umbrella' covers the whole body, its very easy to understand for a begginner, I have kids as well.

 

First off, let me say that I don't teach the 12 strikes immediately. I usually teach 4 power strikes first. Most people cannot throw a proper strike, and giving them 12 angles to work on just confuses them. Giving them 4 strikes is enough, because the body mechanics for them is essentially the same for the rest of the strikes.

THAT being said, footwork comes next, usually elastiko and triangles, sidesteps, etc. for evasion. And using footwork provides you with the defenses by using the same 4 strikes as defense. Then I move to umbrella block and a version of the four walls to deal with the 4 aforementioned strikes. I also find that the umbrella block is pretty intuitive - (a flinch mechanic with the stick covering your head, right?). I teach it "first" because most people are going to throw a big forehand diagonal, and a good umbrella will protect you against that.

I had a new student who had taken a total of 2 classes with me. Long story short, he had to defend himself against a big strong "Caveman". We had done an umbrella drill in both classes he attended, and so that's what he did. I think he broke his finger, but he credited the umbrella block for not getting killed. Yes, believe it or not, a stick to stick altercation.