Phillip Starr has a revelation: all of your favourite legends from martial arts folklore never engaged in any freestyle sparring, and yet they are still deemed to be the greatest fighters who ever lived. So has the time come to pack up our freestyle antics?
Martial arts enthusiasts often regard freestyle sparring (aka. "free sparring") as the high point of an evening's class. They've practiced their basic techniques, worked on those god-awful boring forms, maybe run through a few self-defense maneuvers...and now it's time to see how their combative skills are coming along. There are no movements to memorize or analyze, no counting off of techniques. It's freestyle and they can finally express themselves as they see fit. It's competitive and fun.
But…
You knew there had to be a hook in here someplace, right? Sure, you did.
Dig back through your memory banks and recall the stories about the fighting prowess of the past "masters" of your particular discipline. Some of these tales border on the fantastic and are probably the result of endless telling and re-telling of the event along with massive doses of exaggeration and hero worship. But some of them are true and it's usually not too difficult to tell the difference. Stories that feature the martial arts master jumping several yards into the air, sending an opponent flying for a city block with little more than a touch, and defeating twenty armed assailants are fictional, regardless of how badly you may want to believe in them.
However, there are a great many anecdotes that are much more believable and in some cases an eyewitness or two may still be alive to verify the story! There are accounts of karate and kung-fu masters who were able to defeat an enemy (often by killing him) with a single powerful blow and tales of martial arts experts who defeated armed opponents with their bare hands. There are stories that tell of martial arts exponents using their empty hands to defend themselves against wild animals or small groups of thugs.
The point is that there are simply too many of these stories to discount them all as so much hogwash. Certainly, many of our karate and kung-fu forefathers possessed extraordinary martial skill (we never hear about those who didn't) and fighting prowess. Many such legendary figures shuffled off this mortal coil not too terribly long ago. Sun Lu-tang died in 1934, Funakoshi Gichin in 1957, and Tatsuo Shimabuku (founder of Isshin-ryu karate) passed away in 1975! There are many, many others who lived well into the 20th century and who were known to possess extraordinary fighting prowess.
And they all had one thing in common. None of them ever practiced freestyle sparring! Not one.
Why? Simply because it didn't exist (as we know it) until the end of WWII.
So those who insist that one must frequently engage in freestyle sparring in order to develop real fighting skill are a bit off base. Let's take a closer look at what sparring really involves.
The Japanese/Okinawan word that is usually translated as "sparring" is kumite. In Chinese, it is zushou. The first character (in Japanese, "kumi"...in Chinese, "zu") refers to a group or class. The second word ("te" in Japanese and "shou" in Chinese) means, simply, "hand." Thus, the term kumite has nothing to do with freestyle sparring, per se. Rather, it refers to a form of group practice.
The two most common forms of kumite practiced in traditional karate are sanbon kumite and ippon kumite (three-time kumite and one-time kumite, respectively). And, as the word kumite suggests, these exercises are practiced in group fashion. Even if there are but two participants in the "class", both will certainly have to engage in this "class training."
In sanbon kumite the attacker will execute three prearranged attacking techniques and the defender will perform various defensive maneuvers and techniques. Initially, this type of training is used to familiarize beginners with the most fundamental offensive and defensive techniques and movements. Eventually, it is used as a method of teaching students how to break an opponent's rhythm.
Ippon kumite is considered more advanced because the aggressor delivers only one attack and the receiver must respond instantaneously with an appropriate defensive maneuver.
When students first practice these forms of kumite the attacker slows down and controls his techniques so as to avoid injuring his training partner. However, as their levels of skill increase, both the attacker and receiver gradually increase the speed and power of their techniques. At advanced levels the attacker usually executes his offensive techniques with considerable force but the receiver must be careful to control his techniques perfectly because the aggressor will not attempt to defend himself.
Many years ago, the United States Karate Association sent its top competitors on an Asian tour - to Japan, Okinawa, and Taiwan - and they would visit and train with various well-known karate and kung-fu teachers and schools. I listened to several of them recount their experience in Japan one year. They visited the headquarters of the well-known Japan Karate Association and after they had changed into their practice uniforms they were paired off with their Japanese counterparts for practice of sanbon and ippon kumite.
The Americans were initially astounded at how powerfully their training partners attacked them; if they failed to execute their defensive movements correctly, they'd be knocked flat! Although some of the Westerners thought that their Japanese hosts were out to "get" them, it was simply a way of determining the skill level of the American guests. This kind of training is fairly common in the Orient.
The word "jyu" is indicative of something that is unrehearsed. In Chinese, the word is "jie." A highly advanced form of ippon kumite is known as jyu ippon kumite (roughly, "freestyle one-step"). In this form of training the attack is usually unfixed; the receiver does not know exactly what technique the attacker will execute, or when. Jyu ippon-kumite is taught through several progressive stages and develops an extremely high level of skill.
Our martial arts forefathers spoke of the importance of training basic techniques and movements (known as kihon in Japanese, and jiben in Chinese), form (in Japanese this is Kata, in Chinese it is xing), striking post practice, and kumite. With regard to the last item, they weren't referring to freestyle sparring because it didn't exist. Instead, they were referring to the various methods of practicing sanbon kumite, ippon kumite, and jyu ippon kumite. They never engaged in freestyle sparring.
And yet, their combative skills were the stuff of legend.
Huh.
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