"Hit Him Like You Mean it"

[Happy-Papi]

Please let me share this...

Early this year I went to a tournament as a supporting instructors to support the competitors. Me having very minimal knowledge of their competition rules, I couldn't give proper advice since I came from a different art. Basically I was there to help with the helmets and body protectors and while I was doing that, I noticed a kid (18 years old) who looked very worried. I went to him and asked if he was OK and he answered that his game time was closing in and is worried because his opponent is the holding champion. He was fighting for heavy weight championship (full contact with minimal protectors... thin gloves, shin and ankle pads and groin protector only) and really wanted to win but have doubts and politely asked me for my advice on techniques. I told him to just go in, fight hard and enjoy, etc. Lastly I told him to stop giving fast sissy blows and only do the "one hit, one kill" or "hit him like you mean it". Looking at his opponent, I knew he is a heavy hitter and doesn't mess around throwing fast weak punches. Their time came and both boys started exchanging heavy blows. It was the main fight of the day and the crowd was on their feet because both kids were fighting hard and it looked more like a street fight than a competition. Our boy lost but both of them got a standing ovation from the crowd and lots of cheers. The kid came to me and said that he had lots of fun and the "hit him like you mean it" really did came in handy and will be using it from now on.

His sensei then came to me and said, what did you tell him? He fought really hard this time and this was one of his best fights. I said that I just told him to fight like crazy and to hit very hard or get pounded. Then his instructor said that we rarely see this kind of heavy fights these days unlike during our younger years... He said that most kids nowadays tends to go more on fast light punches than one heavy effective blow. Many of them hates getting injured or to inflict injury to their opponents. Times has changed but seeing it again reminded us of the good old days.

The big question is... Did we really fought hard (like mad) during the good old days?

 

[Touch Of Death]

The truth is the brawler will be picked apart by the cleaner fighter. I think what happened is your guy surprised the better fighter and the fight got real interesting. The next time he fights the better fighters will be ready. What you gave him was good advice, but it is in no way a forgotten concept.
Sean

 

[Xue Sheng]

The big question is... Did we really fought hard (like mad) during the good old days?

I don't know, I do know there was less chance of getting sued in the good ole days and I do know when I learned Jujutsu it was done without a mat or protective gear and my TKD was done without protective gear and I remember going home hurt every now and then.... we may of fought harder or more based in reality...or it simply could be that we didn't know any better, I don't know.

Regardless, I do know I really would not want my kids to train like I did in the good ole days.


And one last thing...as Sean said.... you gave him good advice

 

[Happy-Papi]

I don't know, I do know there was less chance of getting sued in the good ole days and I do know when I learned Jujutsu it was done without a mat or protective gear and my TKD was done without protective gear and I remember going home hurt every now and then.... we may of fought harder or more based in reality...or it simply could be that we didn't know any better, I don't know.

Regardless, I do know I really would not want my kids to train like I did in the good ole days.


And one last thing...as Sean said.... you gave him good advice

"Less chance of getting sued"??? Do you mean that the new practitioners nowadays sue each other if they did it like how we did it? That's sad... Haven't heard of that in happening in my country and Japan yet or maybe I may have missed some rumors.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

Regardless, I do know I really would not want my kids to train like I did in the good ole days.

You are part of the majority of parents, and I think this also is what has contributed to less aggressive contact in many arenas. I'm not arguing that it should or shouldn't be this way, but let's face it society is different now than it was 20 years ago. Society is just softer now than it used to be. Half the "fun" equipment has now disappeared from playgrounds due to safety concerns (including the grass being replaced by recycled tires), kids are covered in safety equipment head to toe for all physical activities, etc.. .

I broke several bones growing up, but dammit I had fun and I wouldn't change it for anything! That said, I may change my tune when I have children in that situation.. .

 

[Xue Sheng]

"Less chance of getting sued"??? Do you mean that the new practitioners nowadays sue each other if they did it like how we did it? That's sad... Haven't heard of that in happening in my country and Japan yet or maybe I may have missed some rumors.

People in the good ole USA can be sue happy at times, or if their child gets hurt they pull them from class.

My daughter does Aikido and gets hurt on occasion, that is part of the training. What I do not want her to go through that I did was training without a mat, although much closer to reality it is also much easier to get hurt.

 

[Xue Sheng]

You are part of the majority of parents, and I think this also is what has contributed to less aggressive contact in many arenas. I'm not arguing that it should or shouldn't be this way, but let's face it society is different now than it was 20 years ago. Society is just softer now than it used to be. Half the "fun" equipment has now disappeared from playgrounds due to safety concerns (including the grass being replaced by recycled tires), kids are covered in safety equipment head to toe for all physical activities, etc.. .

I broke several bones growing up, but dammit I had fun and I wouldn't change it for anything! That said, I may change my tune when I have children in that situation.. .

I started training in the early 70s, jujutsu, no protective gear no floor mats, went to TKD (Pre-Olympic) and my teacher thought protective gear was simply silly, so we didn't use it. However I did not break anything, as far as I know, until the early 90s (in Shaolin Long Fist) and the first thing the doctor asked me was, so how did you break it the last time, my response was "I broke it before!?". Not that I didn't try mind you, riding my bicycle off road on trails long before there was BMX, doing jumps and such and later graduating to a dirt bike (the first time I actually had a helmet) and doing it all over again, took a few superman trips over the bars and a few other wipeouts. Use to go skiing in a leatherjacket and that was my only protective gear.

Yup, been there done that....survived and my kids AIN'T doin' ANY of it :uhyeah:

 

[Happy-Papi]

People in the good ole USA can be sue happy at times, or if their child gets hurt they pull them from class.

My daughter does Aikido and gets hurt on occasion, that is part of the training. What I do not want her to go through that I did was training without a mat, although much closer to reality it is also much easier to get hurt.

WoW! If I ever I go to the USA to share MA, I must be very careful and must change my teaching style or I might be the new play-toy for the inmates

 

[Happy-Papi]

I started training in the early 70s, jujutsu, no protective gear no floor mats, went to TKD (Pre-Olympic) and my teacher thought protective gear was simply silly, so we didn't use it. However I did not break anything, as far as I know, until the early 90s (in Shaolin Long Fist) and the first thing the doctor asked me was, so how did you break it the last time, my response was "I broke it before!?". Not that I didn't try mind you, riding my bicycle off road on trails long before there was BMX, doing jumps and such and later graduating to a dirt bike (the first time I actually had a helmet) and doing it all over again, took a few superman trips over the bars and a few other wipeouts. Use to go skiing in a leatherjacket and that was my only protective gear.

Yup, been there done that....survived and my kids AIN'T doin' ANY of it :uhyeah:

Same here, my teachers were crazy and often times drunk. No protectors, no mats, and real sticks and knives. Lots of bruises, got twisted and slammed a lot, still have some small knife cut traces on my hands, legs and one on my eyebrow but are less visible now

My son really begged to learn as how I learned it but still I couldn't give him the real thing because I don't want him to get hurt. Maybe as a parent, I really got soft. I still let my son do stupid stuffs like diving on a low cliff or jumping a motorcycle but he has to wear protectors and a helmet or I'll bark at him. I also played like the kid on the photo but a bit different. I use to go to a dam and slide on the concrete riding on coconut leaves. Also imitated Tarzan on a tree and slammed my jigglers and fell, lol. My favorite was to put a bicycle on it's center stand, move away then dash like mad and jump on the seat and get it running on one go but things don't often happen as I have expected it, HAHAHA!

I think that we are becoming more protective of our kids now

 

[MJS]

Please let me share this...

Early this year I went to a tournament as a supporting instructors to support the competitors. Me having very minimal knowledge of their competition rules, I couldn't give proper advice since I came from a different art. Basically I was there to help with the helmets and body protectors and while I was doing that, I noticed a kid (18 years old) who looked very worried. I went to him and asked if he was OK and he answered that his game time was closing in and is worried because his opponent is the holding champion. He was fighting for heavy weight championship (full contact with minimal protectors... thin gloves, shin and ankle pads and groin protector only) and really wanted to win but have doubts and politely asked me for my advice on techniques. I told him to just go in, fight hard and enjoy, etc. Lastly I told him to stop giving fast sissy blows and only do the "one hit, one kill" or "hit him like you mean it". Looking at his opponent, I knew he is a heavy hitter and doesn't mess around throwing fast weak punches. Their time came and both boys started exchanging heavy blows. It was the main fight of the day and the crowd was on their feet because both kids were fighting hard and it looked more like a street fight than a competition. Our boy lost but both of them got a standing ovation from the crowd and lots of cheers. The kid came to me and said that he had lots of fun and the "hit him like you mean it" really did came in handy and will be using it from now on.

His sensei then came to me and said, what did you tell him? He fought really hard this time and this was one of his best fights. I said that I just told him to fight like crazy and to hit very hard or get pounded. Then his instructor said that we rarely see this kind of heavy fights these days unlike during our younger years... He said that most kids nowadays tends to go more on fast light punches than one heavy effective blow. Many of them hates getting injured or to inflict injury to their opponents. Times has changed but seeing it again reminded us of the good old days.

The big question is... Did we really fought hard (like mad) during the good old days?

I'd say yes, the chances of a lawsuit in the good old days, was less likely than it is today. Back then, people weren't afraid of hard contact and hard training. As for the rest of your post....I agree with TOD....there is a difference between a brawler and a cleaner fighter. In the past 2yrs that I've been training Kyokushin, I've seen both types at my dojo. And yes, the cleaner guys, can still hit just as hard as the more 'wild' ones, but their shots end up being more effective.

It can be intimidating (at least for me) when you're fighting with more contact. I came from a Kenpo background and for me, that sparring was NOTHING like I do now. I'm not afraid to admit, that I was nervous as hell, when I did my first tournament. I fought twice and unfortunately, lost both matches, although IMO, I should've won the 2nd match, but thats another story..lol.

 

[Zero]

Use to go skiing in a leatherjacket and that was my only protective gear.

Yup, been there done that....survived and my kids AIN'T doin' ANY of it :uhyeah:

Yeah, we used to ski on/off piste on a good day in jeans and a t-shirt when late teens. Now the whole mountains are covered in helmets, although I seem to dedect a trend for less helmets last couple seasons aside from serious downhill or extreme stuff. That said, my wife now wears a helmet and my kid will shortly too, so somehow we 'tuff'/stupid geezers are actually the wussie parents that have fueled the litigious nambypamby environment we got ourselves in now days?? How did that happen.

Not exagerating or living (hopefully) through tinted glasses but my old club was one of the harder clubs in my area, very skilled senior practitioners but quite old school and where the sparring was pretty full on - controlled to the level the student/opponent wanted (or more so that sensei knew could handle). I sometimes had to sink into a hot bath after coming home from training/sparing with sensei and needed to stay in it for a couple of hours before could go out later that night. But I was always rearing to go come next training night. The club still turns out top notch competitors but when I drop in when back home, the training and sparing with the younger ones/including bigger teens is not anywhere at the intensity it used to be.

Cripes, like that poster, we did have go-carts with no bloody brakes we tore down-hill on (I remember vaguely the mixed feeling of excitement and joy and at times pure dread) - I still got the torn up knees to prove it - maybe I don't want my kids having those ugly battered-looking legs (face quite battered too, karate got a lot to answer for; really messed up that international modelling career I could have had!!!)...

 

[Xue Sheng]

Yeah, we used to ski on/off piste on a good day in jeans and a t-shirt when late teens. Now the whole mountains are covered in helmets, although I seem to dedect a trend for less helmets last couple seasons aside from serious downhill or extreme stuff. That said, my wife now wears a helmet and my kid will shortly too, so somehow we 'tuff'/stupid geezers are actually the wussie parents that have fueled the litigious nambypamby environment we got ourselves in now days?? How did that happen.

Not exagerating or living (hopefully) through tinted glasses but my old club was one of the harder clubs in my area, very skilled senior practitioners but quite old school and where the sparring was pretty full on - controlled to the level the student/opponent wanted (or more so that sensei knew could handle). I sometimes had to sink into a hot bath after coming home from training/sparing with sensei and needed to stay in it for a couple of hours before could go out later that night. But I was always rearing to go come next training night. The club still turns out top notch competitors but when I drop in when back home, the training and sparing with the younger ones/including bigger teens is not anywhere at the intensity it used to be.

Cripes, like that poster, we did have go-carts with no bloody brakes we tore down-hill on (I remember vaguely the mixed feeling of excitement and joy and at times pure dread) - I still got the torn up knees to prove it - maybe I don't want my kids having those ugly battered-looking legs (face quite battered too, karate got a lot to answer for; really messed up that international modelling career I could have had!!!)...

Use to do demolition sledding with friends….on a ski hill...at night....whenit was closed... when I was in high school…and the year after too... Luckily the hill was next to my school and not far from my home so I did not have far to limp/travel in pain

 

[Zero]

Use to do demolition sledding with friends….on a ski hill...at night....whenit was closed...

OK, this definitely beats skiing in t-shirts (which now sounds slightly limp, but it did pull in the chicks (well it didn't actually but at 18 we thought it would)).

You got my attention now, what is/was "demolition sledging"?? Is this when instead of slaloming you actualy plow through the obstacles?? Got me so excited I tried youtubing it but without luck.

This does not beat night time demolition sledging but we did do downhill skiing at night, from top of mountain on unlighted slopes we were familiar with, everytime the guy in front's edge caught a rock there would be orange sparks, very cool and beautiful (first time I forgot I still had my shades on, hehe, got slightly easier when I took them off).

 

[Cyriacus]

You got my attention now, what is/was "demolition sledging"??

Take sledge.
Drive sledge into house.
Repeat.


...i dont know, but thats what id *like* it to be

 

[Xue Sheng]

OK, this definitely beats skiing in t-shirts (which now sounds slightly limp, but it did pull in the chicks (well it didn't actually but at 18 we thought it would)).

You got my attention now, what is/was "demolition sledging"?? Is this when instead of slaloming you actualy plow through the obstacles?? Got me so excited I tried youtubing it but without luck.

This does not beat night time demolition sledging but we did do downhill skiing at night, from top of mountain on unlighted slopes we were familiar with, everytime the guy in front's edge caught a rock there would be orange sparks, very cool and beautiful (first time I forgot I still had my shades on, hehe, got slightly easier when I took them off).

You get some friends, you get some of those small plastic sleds, you climb to the top of a ski hill, you get on the sleds, you slide down the hill, and crash into each other trying to knock them off of their sled, winner is the last one sledding...not standing...because it is likely after that you can't stand. And I learned, by experience, that getting to the bottom, getting off your sled and standing up to see who is left, is a bad thing. You become a target and if there are any left, they come by you, rather fast, and take your legs out from under you.

Also since it is a small ski hill, and it is dark, you discover where people have built jumps.... generally you are taken completely by surprise because you are to busy trying knock the other guy off a sled while not being knocked off yourself. One of those had me limping for a couple weeks

And we were still doing this up until I was about 21, then I moved... so we did this every winter for about 4 years.

And yes, we did crash into stuff, mostly, each other, fences and trees, of course being young, stupid and indestructable, we never thought about how dangerous this actually was.

 

[Happy-Papi]

Since we are now talking about snow, this is my share.

I just got married then and was new in Japan and my wife was eager to teach me skiing. First time I saw snow and first time I went skiing. Snow was bitter for a brown man's bones so I was covered in clothing like a snowman. Almost wore all my clothing, 4 huge jackets on top the skiwear and I'm sure that I was wearing 6 pairs of socks! After figuring out how to walk like a duck, I was perspiring like a pig but was man enough not to give up my jackets, HAHAHA!!! I struggled riding the lift and basically stopped it twice because I'm awesome... HAHAHA!

Anyway, I've seen in a cartoon show (can't remember but probably from Bugs Bunny) I saw the Coyote skiing downhill and going trough a wall of snow. My wife taught me the super "H" stance and I felt like I'm a pro mogul skier already
Saw this big pile of snow and decided to run through it just like the Coyote. I was in full speed (or maybe just felt like it) in my ramming position then my wife shouted at me to stop but since I was doing around 350 kph on my olympic slalom "H" skiing stance position, it didn't stop. The skies were old and inferior to match my techniques, lol! Opened my arm just like what Coyote did in the cartoons and slammed on the wall of snow.... Man, it was ICE!!! I didn't know that the snow will be like a solid wall. Nose, mouth was bleeding and got several scratches on my face and my body was totally in pain. I could hardly breath and I was seeing stars and lots of them. My wife had to pull me out because I nearly collapsed. She also had to go after my skies and had to carry them while she assisted me to walk.

Took a bit of rest then move on to playing with a sled. My wife pushed me on a bump that sent me flying and it was just nasty (she was pure EVIL!). Sled looks fun and easy in the movies but the force of the landing was not good for my intestines! To keep my dignity, I excused myself to have a drink but the truth is I was too chicken and was just hiding from her. Learned that ignorance can be deadly.

PS: I know how to ski now but will never do the Coyote and sled thingy again

 

[superkizuna]

Define brawler.

The truth is the brawler will be picked apart by the cleaner fighter. I think what happened is your guy surprised the better fighter and the fight got real interesting. The next time he fights the better fighters will be ready. What you gave him was good advice, but it is in no way a forgotten concept.
Sean

 

[superkizuna]

+1 I like ur style

You are part of the majority of parents, and I think this also is what has contributed to less aggressive contact in many arenas. I'm not arguing that it should or shouldn't be this way, but let's face it society is different now than it was 20 years ago. Society is just softer now than it used to be. Half the "fun" equipment has now disappeared from playgrounds due to safety concerns (including the grass being replaced by recycled tires), kids are covered in safety equipment head to toe for all physical activities, etc.. .

I broke several bones growing up, but dammit I had fun and I wouldn't change it for anything! That said, I may change my tune when I have children in that situation.. .