What to do with a whooping?

[Darthwing Teorist]

I got a small whooping two Wednesdays ago, in class (my teacher is getting us ready for a MMA seminar, so the work is a bit more intense these days). So, I started to analyze it and look at it from different angles. It wasn't a bad whooping either, as far as whoopings go, just me getting punched in the face, kneed a bit then I chose to go to the floor, where I valiantly defended myself from a session of ground and pound.

What is interesting, is that this can be analyzed through different angles. In a way, it was not surprising (I will give more details a bit later). In another way, it was an interesting experience because the fight went differently from what I initially expected.

Now, a bit of the context. I go to class only once a week and my cardio is almost gone. My ribs sometimes bother me because of an accident last year and to top it all, I got my elbow injured a week before. Now, when I came to class, I saw this big russian guy hitting Bob (the punching dummy, not a real guy) with all kind of combinations. He looked pretty intense. Anyway, so during class we trained with a partner. This guy joined another massive Russian. One of the drills consisted in making teams of 4 people. Two were fighting, grappling first later adding hits, and when the teacher called out, the third one entered the fight, going for one or both partners. The first one of the previous two fighters to get out, took a break. So, during grappling, I managed to stay out of trouble by getting out as soon as I heard my teacher's call for change. I also grappled with the big Russian, he was intense but since he seemed to be used to gi grappling, he kept holding me by the t-shirt, I managed to stay on top. So far so good, I was getting a bit confident. So when we started adding strikes, I kind of enjoyed it: since my submissions are weak, I like using strikes to mess up my partner's position. However, when I faced this dude, I was getting gassed out and he started throwing punches combos at me, out of grappling range. I covered up and I went in close, my Wing Chun usually gets me out of trouble in these cases, only to be met by knees to the body. I went down easily, trying to dominate on the ground, but the guy landed on top of me and started hitting me. I did manage to protect myself and then the fight was over.

So, I looked at this and my defeat was explained by my injury status and the facts that he was larger, quite aggressive and strong (his strikes making a good impact even though he did control them well) and used a strategy that I did not expect. I wasn't happy with the result, but I did manage to protect myself in the end, but I was aware that I was in a bad position. In this context I did not win, but I wasn't too bothered by the result either.

On the other hand, I realized that this was good simulation of a real fight (I know that it wasn't close to the violence of a real one): my opponent had the advantage of strength and stamina, he was ready while I was not - he surprised me with his strategy of starting striking before grappling and he overwhelmed me - I went to ground too easily, expecting to fight better there. Well, this was a lesson on many levels: first, I had a preconceived notion of the drill and did not expect a new guy's different reaction and understanding of the same drill. Second, I was out of shape and did not use the occasion to fight back harder, as I should do in a real confrontation. Third, I chose the wrong strategy: I went to ground too easily. In this context my performance was not good.

So here it is, two ways of seeing the same thing. In the end I learned a lesson that I hope to apply in the future and I managed to stay uninjured except a tiny bruise under my eye.

[GrahamB]

Interesting. What class is this? What's the class called?

[ashe]

Eh, its training. In training its good to lose cuz it means you're looking into your weakness.

[Chris McKinley]

It's good to lose now and then. Keeps you real. Nobody is undefeatable, no technique always works, and everybody eventually slips on a banana peel. In fact, I think losing throughout one's career represents a chance to learn how to deal with the progression from wild to controlled, strength to skill, young to old, etc. Without legitimately losing occasionally, how are you going to know what in your fighting ability is rusting, needs tightening, etc. Even getting your ass kicked as an older guy can still be a valuable lesson because it gives you a glimpse into how it's going to happen so that you can shore up against that weakness. Remember: all of this is about percentages. Nobody wins all the time, and the smart guy learns more from losses than from wins.

[I am...]

Chris stated that better than I think I could have worded it, but it mirrors my experience as well. For those that find it valuable, the ego is not often fed by loss, which can give us a valuable look into reality without as much of ego's filter on the lenses.

Most schools I have visited have had at least one guy with the "big guy syndrome" for lack of a better term. Basically, because of the size and weight advantages, the person is not forced to refine technique, spirit, etc. as much. The person that feels like they are on the losing side of training may be more likely to look into all available options for improving their game, if they don't get so discouraged that they quit the activity altogether. In our training we may go out of our way to seek out those that are better, stronger, faster, etc. so that we may be reminded of the things Chris mentioned. If we are not aware of something, it can be very hard to forge/hone it.

[Jeice]

As long as you came away relatively uninjured, no harm really done, shows you where you're falling behind, gives you an idea where to go next time you're training, lets you shake out the cobwebs.

That said, the only thing that makes it ok is the lack of injury. My last beatdown crossed a lot of lines, left me unable to train for a few weeks (Concussion and broken hand). We all have to go to work the day after, if someone is fucking with your ability to tie your shoes, its not training anymore.

[yusuf]

what Jeice said..

and the fights taht teach the most are the ones where you end up with the shit beaten out of you....

[Interloper]

Look at it as a game of chess. If you get whooped, you analyze where you failed, and try other tactics from thereon-in to eliminate that hole in your method. Every time you get your butt kicked, you do that, and eventually remove and reduce your number of failings to the point where you start winning.

Sometimes we're just plain out-matched no matter what. That's reality. But the important thing is to remove as many of our own weaknesses as we can, and build our strengths where we can, so that we present as small a window as possible for our opponent. And make sure that he doesn't come out of the battle unscathed.

[Mut]

well done Teo! live and learn.

[johnwang]

If someone defeat you with some skill that you don't have, it simple means that skill is worthwhile to spend your time to develop it. I have taught my students more than 100 moves but the moves that my students like to train are still the moves that I used to use on them. I had been taken down by "knee seizing" once. It was just like the wrestler's single leg shooting, it happened so fast and before I realized, I was on the ground. Today the "knee seizing" is one of my favor moves and almost every students that I have can use it effectively. Back in 1982, 1983, and 1984, my UT Austin SC team used this move to defeat the Ohio State University SC team. Dr Daniel Weng even made a comment that, Every body from Austin liked to use "knee seize". Defeat is just like the economic crises. There are great chance during the crises such as you may be able to buy a house that you will never be able to afford it.

When someone defeated you, you may quit for the rest of your life or you may turn into the best of the best. Here is a clip from the SC King movie. After this young guy got defeated, he realized his weak point and modified his training and finally became the SC King.

http://johnswang.com/sc14.wmv

[Darthwing Teorist]

Thanks for the answers. This is not the first time that I lose. What I wanted to point out with this thread are the different aspects to look at the same event. There are also different ways that I can improve my performance. Like Jeice points out, the important thing is to keep the same quality of life as before. BTW, since reading the article about the long lasting effects of concussion, I avoid them like boiling water. I was thinking: if I wanted to keep it real, I should have tried harder: try harder to stand up, try harder to defeat my opponent. However, he was skillful and larger. If I had escalated the fight, there would have been a real danger of aggravating my injuries. I don't have a problem with losing, it does suck but I try to learn from it. What I find interesting is how to keep a balance between safety and realistic training. In this particular case, I did not like the fact that I was surprised by my opponent. In the end I managed to stay safe for a while, but for how long, that is different. It is not only the skill that I have to work on, but the mentality as well.



PS:

This was during Systema class. The subject of the class was "adhesion". I expected a grappling class, but it was more of a punchy kind of class.