(In)complete Control 2 – Kinaesthetics

Despite my dislike for training to emphasise control and form there may be benefits derived from this type of training. Sean over on Gisoku Budo blog has been able to use the ‘Form Police’ approach to his advantage, in more ways than simply achieving good form and controlled technique. Sean’s blog records “training experiences and thoughts on martial arts from the perspective of an above-knee amputee”. Sean has a very inspiring post entitled Learning to walk again through karate and after reading the ‘Form Police’ post on here Sean responded.

jumping round kick

jumping spin kick

It’s great that Sean has got so much from

“Standing in funny stances with plenty of minute correction is …. (important)…. to understanding the inherent functions of my body, especially with regards to my physical disability”

Put simply, emphasis on form in karate has benefited him immensely. By becoming aware of how his body is working (improving his kinaesthetic sense) he has been able to participate and succeed in karate and improve his general lifestyle. This is a wonderful outcome and his dedication is an example to all and gives credence to the insistence of emphasis on form.

I do wonder, however, whether the other students in his club have been so successful in understanding their inherent body functions as a result of minute corrections. Sean having to overcome the “free-swinging hinge in the middle of (his prosthesis)” to attain sufficient balance to kick from his artificial leg would surely enforce a high degree of kinaesthetic awareness to be successful. This confound the assumption that minute correction itself was responisbile for heightened boady awareness. Even if we accept that the insistance on correct form and minute correction leads to an advanced body awareness or kinaesthetic sense, which is hugely useful in martial arts training, the question is whether or not this emphasis on form provides the optimal method of attaining this?

Kata is an expression of perfect form in karate, or at least it’s an attempt. Kata performance, of course, varies in it’s execution, although there is generally a striving for it to be performed ‘just so’. The kata arena is a good example of when ‘minute correction’ in karate is rife. I can watch a lot of kata on you tube or in dojo’s, but I don’t often see very much in the way of heightened kinaesthetic sense. Quite the opposite, usually there’s very little evident, and as such the performance is rather ‘empty’. So while kata training provides plenty of emphasis on form perhaps it is not the optimal method of attaining body awareness,  it all depends on how the kata is trained I guess. When emphasising form and control throughout technique execution during kata or elasewhere, there is not necessarily any body awareness training going on. However, if the emphasis switches to focusing on feeling how we move to perform these techniques there may well be kinaesthetic training occurring.

Some people are biased to learning through body awareness, this is natural to them, others may acquire this awareness by concentrating on form and control when learning to punch, kick or whatever. If the goal involves  in transferring significant force into a target concentrating on form/control does not achieve this in an optimal manner. It’s all very well being aware of whats happening kinaesthetically, but if whats happening is of little value there’s little point in attending to it.

The question is how transferable is any body awareness knowledge gleaned from training emphasising form/control to self-protection training? But thats another post…..

(In)complete Control 1 – Chaos

Control - side kick held in position

In Karate, and other traditional martial arts, control, in terms of controlling the level of impact, is considered a desirable attribute. Some consider control to assist accuracy, which can be attained through careful attention to form. Control is considered to relate to skillful execution of technique and of course there is skill involved in being able to execute a side kick and hold it in place an inch from your partners face, in a Jean–Claude Van Damme stylee. All very pretty, dramatic and skillful, controlled and aesthetically pleasing, but is there a downside?

Well, in my humble opinion there is and its potentially a very serious downside. If the training emphasis is on controlled strikes the question is whether or not the control can be switched off if required. It is not automatic, that’s for sure. I remember the first time I had someone train with us who’d never hit a pad. He was a big bloke, 6ft 4, with long legs. I had him do front kicks on a shield and was very surprised at the power generated. Rather at the lack of power generated, continually hitting the air had ensured he had great control but close to zero impact.

Control in sparring is oft cited as essential for safety reasons, but ‘pulling punches’ so that contact is minimal is a sub-optimal approach. One reason is that the timing is altered, so that fast light strikes can ‘score’. It’s far from realistic, much better to use safety equipment and allow heavy contact, this assures the timing remains intact and so is closer to the unruliness of a real fight. Good 16oz boxing gloves offer great protection, head guards have drawbacks as this blog post discusses.

Steve Morris advocates creating something choatic saying “One minute of aggressive resolve in a milling session is worth hours of light sparring, pushing hands, dojo kumite, etc.” Once we err toward reality and away from points the less aestheticly pleasing the performance and by definition a reduced emphasis on control/form. It’s essential to train to be effective in a self-defence situation otherwise we are compromising our ability to defend ourselves; this can lead to an inflated confidence in ability and subsequently tricky situations in a fight.

Chaos - Bar Brawl

That is not to say that control/form is completely unimportant. It would be daft to completely ignore form as some emphasis is required to train for optimal power production etc., the striking action needs to be performed optimally. Also some control is required in order to allow heavy Ground and Pound training, for example, within safe limits. It’s no good dropping control completely to the detriment of safety; after all we need to be capable of turning up for tomorrows training session.  It’s not simply a question of all or nothing, there are degrees of emphasis.

My main gripe with emphasis on form and control is that this can detract from training that is transferable to the chaos of a fight. To prepare for choas we need some chaos training,  emphasising control and form to the nth degree detracts from this.