"The exercising of weapons putteth away aches, griefs, and diseases, it increaseth strength and sharpeneth the wits, it giveth a perfect judgment, it expelleth melancholy, choleric, and evil conceits, it keepeth a man in breath, in perfect healthe, and long life." – George Silver (1599)

February 23 2010

Mu Ryu February 2010 knife sparring

Perfect soundtrack for a knife-vs-knife fight.

Formally trained guy in the white shirt, self-trained in the black. Pretty even match. It just goes to show that it’s not the martial art that counts, it’s the fighter performing it. Even if you practice the most bad-ass ancient tradition that was ever forged in the blood of enemies on the field of battle, in a lot of ways you’re on your own. An artist must develop his own voice.

(EDIT: Don’t get it twisted, though — I expect Mr. white to outstrip his opponent eventually. Formal training is a huge advantage if you can A) get your head right and B) find a teacher who’s the real deal. Neither one is easy. How does a beginner recognize a good teacher? When progress is slow, you have to take it on faith that you’re improving — how do you do that and keep from being a mindless follower? I don’t blame Mr. black for going it alone.

The fight between different philosophies here is so interesting that I kind of hope I’m wrong, and these two stay evenly matched, progressing at the same rate forever. I want to see Quenton get even more grounded in classical technique, and Vin get even more idiosyncratic.)

miles
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Quenton
February 23, 2010
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Super Fun Stuff!!!

I’m the “formal” guy, I guess. I see the value in formal training. It provides skill sets and more importantly distilled and refined concepts of combat. I also see the value in just going out and crossing hands with as many different people as possible.
One provides a foundation that the other sharpens that into a point.

It’s the individuals responsibility to make it work, and if it doesn’t to be critical of their practice and fix it. Formal training shortens the learning curve, but to be effective all fighting requires someone to always be critical, reflective, adaptive, and open to new things.

I love having chances to pick 1 or 2 concepts and try to work them every week. sometimes it works out, sometimes not. but it’s the experience that matters.

“formality” in training is probably not a fair comparison. All activities require specificity in training Fighting/Dueling/Sparring is no different. It doesn’t get much more formal or specific to than to just go out and fight. These dudes have been doing it for 2.5 years or so. That’s pretty formal and specific, so don’t sell yourselves short. ]

It’s up to the individual to recognize that rules hold them back, discard them, and be free to make their knowledge work.

You guys rock.

miles
April 13, 2010
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Dude, you know I’m proud of you for walking in off the street and fighting Vin to a standstill with zero experience in this style of sparring.

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