In fact, it is because what we are training will never be used that we need to be even better at it.
Some students embrace it while other students try to not even think about it, but we cannot escape the fact that what we do in training will never be used out in the wild.
All types of training, in every style, will always need to be creatively adapted to suit the situation we find ourselves in when the ‘Brown And Sticky Gets Airborne’, this really should be a great big “DUH”, or ‘Facepalm’ moment.
Accepting that nothing we do will ever be used can be remarkably liberating.
I have always found this a positive way of thinking, it allows me, in fact almost forces me, to think deeply about what the training is showing, it encourages me to work on the shapes and movement in different sizes, different directions, in particular doing things in reverse, yes, do the whole move, or even Form backward.
And I do not get distracted by thoughts of ‘Will this shit fly”?
I know from the very beginning that it will not fly, unless of course I can find a way to make it fly, and the more I know about any movement, shape, or even IDEA the higher the chance I can make it operational.
But this does not mean that we can be in any way ‘half-assed’ about our training, especially solo training, where there is no one to correct or motivate us.
In fact, it is because what we are training will never be used that we need to be even better at it.
If we are looking at adapting something we know the more accurate, more internalised, and most importantly the closer to perfect the movement or IDEA is then the better will be the adaptation.
This situation is like what we find with a computer, G.I.G.O. which as we know stands for “Garbage in, garbage out”.
If we can reach a position where we fully accept that training is just training, we begin to, almost surreptitiously, accelerate the work of suppressing the ego, which is a far more valuable asset than any technique could ever be.
If the work we are doing is never going to be used for real, then why are we doing it and what is the value?
Very often the learning objective is not obvious, the real gold needs to be dug up.
We can use an aspect of the stance to illustrate this really well.
Wether we are using the YEE GEE KIM YEUNG MA, the basic Wing Chun Stance, or we are using the BO MA, which is the Horse Stance from the Pole and the Knives, both of them share the action of rotating the leg, albeit in opposite directions.
The Y.C.K.Y.Ma uses adduction, it turns the leg inwards toward the centre, while the Bo Ma uses abduction, it turns the leg outwards away from the centre.
Both actions create TORSION, and torsion improves stability of the joints, which inhibits loss of power transmission.
The ‘IDEA’ of TORSION can be used in any shape and is naturally present in many of our fundamental movements, such as Taan Sau, and Bong Sau, both of which create a small amount of torsion in the forearm and upper arm bringing healthy stability to shoulder and elbow joint, both extremely important aspects of structure and power transmission.
Once we see this, and make the connection, we instinctively become more confident about this action. Confidence reduces stress, reduced stress helps us relax, and increased relaxation just makes stuff work better.
This is a cycle of improvement that happens if we are aware of it or not.
Frequently what we think we are training is not the “nugget” that we will get the best value from, just like the role of rotation, which we tend to think is just an aspect of the methodology.
I think we all understand that any adaptations we make to our training, at the moment of using it, when it is go time, will pretty much be a background task carried out by our ‘Mind-Intention Matrix’ and not a deliberate, conscious decision.
The wider the selection of accurate, correct movements that are available the more chance the ‘Man inside” has of creating something amazing.
What our ‘Mind-Intention Matrix’ chooses to adapt and use will always be beyond our control, so filling our ‘Long Term Memory’ with anything other than optimal information could seriously backfire when it picks something that is just no good because we did not train it properly.
If we think of all the potential benefits that we can get from accepting that training is just training and has F.A. to do with violence, even if just for a minute, then we must factor in all of the opposite, negative things that can come from thinking that what we train is what we will use.
I have personal experience of hitting someone with what I thought was my best shot and seeing him just blink.
I think that hurt me more than the smack in the head that he delivered.
I wouldn’t tell you if it wasn’t true..
Wing Chun Sydney, Australia 