the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

Sanshan Wushu
Published on Jan 14, 2015:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuA0_diH5Us

same dude..turned up a notch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwXwUxff7VQ

Good on him for mixing it up.

We dont know where this chap is on his journey, but some general points, not in critique of him specifically but in the interest of the larger discussion.

First video he is using more force than his partner, usually at strange times, and has no 'seriousness' about him. I dont mean that he is too relaxed, but even in the face of methods that are besting him, he has an air of indifference, like he meant for things to happen this way. This is something i see alot in this sort of thing, the guy who is aparantly senior has this vague 'I dont care' expression, even when their stuff is failing. We see this in BJJ tournements sometimes too, even at the elite level, where a lack of respect for an opponent and too much self belief has been the undoing of many a great competitor.

It is strange for an art like Xing Yi though, especially, where the intent to defeat the person can almost be palpable if someone is skilled in it ... like a lion staring you in the eyes you simply dont want to go near them.

He was unable to make his method work and ate alot of shots as the pressure increased in the second video IMO.

Like i say, really good on him, so few in the TMAs would even engage in that work, let alone have it filmed. More time in that environment, more focus, he will be doing well in no time.

Chris.

Easy to be an armchair warrior about these kinds of videos. First off, lots of respect to the guy for actually trying to test his art against a resisting opponent - as Chris said, that already puts him in the <1% of TCMA guys that do this. On the positive side, see good evasion some of the time, and he is keeping his hands up to defend against shots to the head.

From a xingyi perspective though, he is not really managing to execute xingyi tactics or show xingyi power under pressure (also has to be taken into account that the opponent is taller and heavier, with longer reach). He is getting drawn into tit-for-tat shot exchanges with the guy, whereas as I understand it XY strategy is to end the fight by ideally taking the guy down. In the heavier contact video, think there were several missed opportunities for him to combine upper body attacks with legwork to knock the guy down.

Just my .02,

I too appreciate XY guy testing himself against a resisting opponent from a different style. But I think that holding onto the kickboxer's headgear starting at 1:30 was cheap. It seemed like XY guy couldn't really respond to the kickboxer's shots and pressure, ended up desperate, and tried to create an advantage so that he could take advantage. This is good self-defense thinking but not really cool (IMHO) for friendly sparring. One thing that might have helped him would have been to wear MMA gloves so that he could punch as well as slap. His slaps to the kickboxer's head were mostly negated due to the headgear.

In my experience it helps to make sure both people have the same level of protection (gloves and headgear or lackthereof).

Thanks for posting the video!

Best,
Greg

I wonder how long what I presume to be the teacher trained, versus the mma guy he was sparing with.

What I don't understand is why is he wearing silk pajamas, fighting a guy with headgear and gloves on?

I wonder how long what I presume to be the teacher trained, versus the mma guy he was sparing with.

I wouldnt assume the other person is MMA. There is nothing to suggest that he is. Also the first guy looks to be trying to use Xing Yi too in some places.

GrahamB wrote:What I don't understand is why is he wearing silk pajamas, fighting a guy with headgear and gloves on?

By this there can be no doubt who’s who

Lord, save us all from the prearranged scenario of "good guy" vs "bad guy" in martial arts.

middleway wrote:

I wonder how long what I presume to be the teacher trained, versus the mma guy he was sparing with.

I wouldnt assume the other person is MMA. There is nothing to suggest that he is. Also the first guy looks to be trying to use Xing Yi too in some places.

mma meaning mixed martial arts, "no clear style noted", back in the day I would have referred to him as a kick boxer,,,.....
whether he is any good at what ever one wants to call it I leave it to others to comment on.

He seems to understand what he's doing in dealing with the the CMA guy "what ever style" hes supposed to be representative of"


The CMA guy, is not using gloves, this means his hands should be faster and quicker.

When the non CMA guy opened up a little 2nd clip, the CMA guy did't seem like he could handle it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwXwUxff7VQ

It would be interesting to know the respective levels, training time and skill sets....and whether any xingyi practitioners feel what
was shown was reflective of how a person trained in the style would have, could have, should have, engaged with the non CMA guy.

GrahamB wrote:What I don't understand is why is he wearing silk pajamas, fighting a guy with headgear and gloves on?

To be fair, his silk pajamas are tailored very well, better than most, so he definitely gets fashion points.

To be fair, his silk pajamas are tailored very well, better than most, so he definitely gets fashion points.

I heartily concur.