V
vincefuess
Guest
I started my martial arts career at the tender age of seven years old. Luckily, the folks who exposed me to the arts were some of the great pioneers- mainly Allen Steen, Demetrius Havanas, and Skipper Mullins with whom my brother trained.
My family moved from Dallas to a little po-dunk town in the middle of nowhere, where there was no martial arts instruction to be had except when my brother came to visit. My brother taught me something that I try to pass on today- hammer your basics! All the techniques in the world won't help you if you cannot punch or kick effectively. I had a heavy bag, a couple of books written by Sosai Mas Oyama, and a home-made makiwara- which I punched and kicked until I could punch and kick no more.
When I graduated college and was able to actually train in a well founded school, I soon discovered that all those years spent training myself to punch and kick effectively were the key to excellence in my techniques, not to mention sparring. I could strike more effectively and more powerfully than most of my instructors- all they had to do was teach me when and where to direct that power.
All of the fancy, intricate techniques in the world do you no good whatsoever if you do not have the basic ability to deliver the decisive blow at the moment you create.
Hammer, hammer, hammer those basics. They are your life blood.
:soapbox:
My family moved from Dallas to a little po-dunk town in the middle of nowhere, where there was no martial arts instruction to be had except when my brother came to visit. My brother taught me something that I try to pass on today- hammer your basics! All the techniques in the world won't help you if you cannot punch or kick effectively. I had a heavy bag, a couple of books written by Sosai Mas Oyama, and a home-made makiwara- which I punched and kicked until I could punch and kick no more.
When I graduated college and was able to actually train in a well founded school, I soon discovered that all those years spent training myself to punch and kick effectively were the key to excellence in my techniques, not to mention sparring. I could strike more effectively and more powerfully than most of my instructors- all they had to do was teach me when and where to direct that power.
All of the fancy, intricate techniques in the world do you no good whatsoever if you do not have the basic ability to deliver the decisive blow at the moment you create.
Hammer, hammer, hammer those basics. They are your life blood.
:soapbox: