wayne hansen wrote:All though not common there were teachers of these arts in the west when I started in 73
Tim didn’t go to Taiwan until 84 so I’m not sure what you mean by the earliest
wayne hansen wrote:Can’t quite workout what you are saying there
wayne hansen wrote:I can’t be bothered going back
I think I was responding to the statement that someone said he was a great fighter
So I asked about his fights
wayne hansen wrote:I can’t be bothered going back
I think I was responding to the statement that someone said he was a great fighter
So I asked about his fights
You competed in some full contact tournaments in Taiwan. What did you learn from this experience?
After I had been training in Taiwan about six months, my Xing Yi Quan teacher entered me in a full contact tournament. Though I lost, it was an enlightening experience for me. Although there were few rules in these matches, there was a certain strategy that applied, much different from a street fight for example. Many of the Chinese fighters are extremely tough, and they usuallv dominate the international competitions there. Competing with them I gained valuable experience and insight into my own methods of training. I went back to revise my training based on my experiences and, a few months later, I entered another full contact competition. The organizers put me up into the light heavyweight division although at the time I was only 150 lbs. I took first place in the division and came through without injury. This experience was very valuable as it indicated my training methods were on the right track. The next year I entered one of the larger international tournaments. I won again, taking first place in the middleweight division. I feel these competitions gave me a wealth of valuable experience. I think the most important lessons I learned from these fights was that you can never practice the basics too much. You need to be a well rounded fighter, but knowing a thousand techniques you can do beautifully when there is no real pressure is not nearly as valuable as mastering a few techniques you can actually use in a real fight. It is, however, vital to be exposed to all areas of fighting. In order to be able to maintain mental calm and physical relaxation under pressure, you must be proficient in striking, wrestling and grappling arts. Sparring with skilled, non-cooperative opponents is a must if you hope to be able to use your art in a real fight. Finally, your mind-set and attitude will almost always prove to be the ultimate determinate of your victory or defeat.
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