the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

Vingativa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMlogD6FdLY

Justice and I-mon: that's great that you've had success in sparring. Justice, in my MT gym we don't even spar with elbows and Thais are all about the elbows. You gotta remember that it's sparring NOT fighting. Very different. I don't want to get all cut up and get stitches just out of a sparring session. But if someone is complaining about receiving a hard kick that's pretty weak. In my gym we go pretty hard. I've had plenty of black eyes, bruised everything, popped my ankle and even broke my nose sparring at my gym.

On another note, I contacted one of my old Capoeira buddies who is now a professor and runs his own group with our Mestre's permission. We're gonna get together and do some moderate sparring which should be very interesting. I told him that he could use MMA gloves to spar so he can be more comfortable. I'm thinking that may we can use elbow bads and knee pads to use both our knees and elbows. We'll also have head gear on and we're not gonna go all out so it should be okay to use all our weapons. I am going to tell him that head butts and knees only to the body. Again, I don't want to get all fucked up out of a sparring session as I still have a job to go to during the week.

ahh that throw. same is done in taichi, shuaijiao, and even xingyi (snake form).

Juan wrote:if someone is complaining about receiving a hard kick that's pretty weak.

Well, the main issue is that the Asian arts can generally snap their kicks for speed absent power. Our kicks are done with a limp leg; more speed means more power, less power means less speed as the power only goes as far as the hips; the leg is treated as a flexible weapon beyond that point. So we get into a spar and all these quick flicks come at us, and if we ratchet up the speed, we start getting complaints.

Sounds like fun Juan. I need to get a good collection of protective gear going to organize similar things with a couple of my friends.