Sparring Practice?

[Jade Tigress]

I've been training in Sil Lum Kung Fu for 21 months, 2 group classes a week at 1 - 1 1/2 hours per class. I love it and want to develop my sparring techniques more. We don't spend time sparring every class. Because of schedules and such I really don't have anyone I can practice with outside of class time.

I'm considering purchasing a mook jong (or construction plans) but have never used one before. Would this be something that would help me implement what I'm learning in class? Seems like I'm still at the stage where when it comes time to spar, technique goes out the window and I end up pretty much kickboxing. I want to practice strikes, traps, blocks, followups, kicks and angling.

How do you use a mook jong? I think an accompanying video would be helpful to get me started except I want to practice techniques from my style and not another art, and how do I know which design would be most effective in training my techniques? Does it even matter? Sorry if these are stupid questions. I really don't know much about it and have a strong desire to improve my sparring, just don't know how to practice without a partner.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
:asian:

 

[clfsean]

I'm considering purchasing a mook jong (or construction plans) but have never used one before. Would this be something that would help me implement what I'm learning in class? Seems like I'm still at the stage where when it comes time to spar, technique goes out the window and I end up pretty much kickboxing. I want to practice strikes, traps, blocks, followups, kicks and angling.

Jongs are pricey & an investment with singular returns & no real value to the rest of the world. Really more than anything it depends on what you're doing, what you're learning & if it lends itself to jong usage. In Choy Lee Fut, we have several different types of jongs, but they're for different things, just like the Wing Chun Mook Jong is slightly different than the Bak Mei jong or even some Hung Ga school's jongs. They're usable by most anybody but your schools, if they have jongs in the system, will be specific to itself.

How do you use a mook jong? I think an accompanying video would be helpful to get me started except I want to practice techniques from my style and not another art, and how do I know which design would be most effective in training my techniques? Does it even matter? Sorry if these are stupid questions. I really don't know much about it and have a strong desire to improve my sparring, just don't know how to practice without a partner.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
:asian:

Again this goes back to what you're doing, how it's designed, etc... If you want one, buy one & use it & try to apply what you do to it. However there are somethings out there that just don't lend itself to jong training.

As far as technique training, pick one technique from a set & break it apart. Practice it with different stepping patterns, timings, angles, etc... Do it until you're not even thinking about it & it happens. Then move to the next one.

 

[arnisador]

You might get a Wing Chun video that shows their mook jong set. Not that you'd want to do that set, but it'd give you some ideas of how to do your art on your wooden dummy.

 

[7starmantis]

I personally think its pretty hard to develop great skill in fighting without a partner. I know it sucks but I think thats just the way it is. I would tell you to take it slow, do your techniques very slow, liek tai chi slow, think of what every part of your body is doing (ie twist the waist, bend the knee, etc) and get timing together (such as sinking with the strike). This will really help get the correct techniques in your "muscle memory" but without a partner its goin to be hard to get the feel needed to use them.

I would advise bag training as much as possible. Break your forms or techniques apart and do them on the bags, go very slow, then do it with lots of power, then do it really fast, then add them together. however, its still not going to be as good as having a partner.

I just keep remembering what my sifu asllways says. He asked his sifu how he got so good at fighting, his respone was: "Fighting".

7sm

 

[Jade Tigress]

Thanks for the great replies everyone. Sounds like overall a mook jong is not the way to go. I will definitely try working my techniques as you all have suggested until I can find a sparring partner whose schedule can coincide with mine. Maybe I should invest in a bag instead for the time being?

 

[7starmantis]

If I was having to choose between a mook jong and a nice heavy bag (for your intrests) I would choose the bag.

Just my opinion,
7sm

 

[Jade Tigress]

A bag it is! :asian:

 

[Flying Crane]

Thanks for the great replies everyone. Sounds like overall a mook jong is not the way to go. I will definitely try working my techniques as you all have suggested until I can find a sparring partner whose schedule can coincide with mine. Maybe I should invest in a bag instead for the time being?

Mook jong is the way to go if you can get the training in how to properly use it. Not every system uses it, so that can be a dead-end if that training is unavailable. I don't recommend working off a video, especially if it is from a system you haven't trained in. The quality of movement is different and you won't pick that up from a video.

Heavy bag is a good investment.

When I was younger and still living with my parents, I used to tie a wooden dowel at right angles to the support pillar in the basement. This became a mock punch or kick, and gave me something to work techniques on, when I was training by myself and didn't have a partner to work with. Use your imagination, and maybe you can come up with something to improvise with.

 

[Andrew Green]

Bag will likely work out better, and cost a lot less.

Don't forget shadow boxing as well.

And think about your attacks, and how the opponent reacts. Try to set them up and force them to react in certain ways.

Lots of people make the mistake of just trying to land every hit and not thinking about what they are doing at all. (Not saying you do) But the real secrets are in your head, knowing how people react to certain things, how to set them up, and how to change your reactions so that you don't get set up.

 

[Jade Tigress]

Yes, the more I think about it the more a bag makes sense. Don't know why my mind went to a mook jong instead of a bag. The only thing I won't be able to practice with a bag is traps. Now, what's the best weight? Is 20lbs. too light? I was just looking at cost and there is a pretty good difference between 20, 40 and 65lb. bags. I'm not sure how heavy the ones at my school are...
What do you recommend?

 

[Andrew Green]

70lbs is pretty standard, more if you like to through heavy kicks into it.

Just make sure you learn how to wrap your hands and wear gloves if you don't already

 

[Jade Tigress]

Thanks. I do use a few heavy kicks and prefer weightier bag...except I don't use bag gloves...

look here:
http://www.martialartsmart.net/10-820.html

What do you think? Any other links I should look at?

 

[Andrew Green]

Well, first I'd advise changing your mind about hand wraps and gloves. And if you won't do that I'd reccomend going with one of the "Wave" bags, or a clone. They have a water core for weight and a thick soft foam surrounding it.

Those ones are a little light, and it doesn't say what they are covered with. Might be worth investing a little more as a quality heavy bag will last years, a cheap one can rip pretty quickly under heavy use.

 

[7starmantis]

If your goin with those from your link the 65 pound would be what I suggest. Using wraps and gloves is something I would also suggest, or a wrist wrap glove like this one. Also, look for a bag like these, either vinyl or canvas, leather is good but usually a little more costly. Of course is you want my favorite, try a muay thai bag.

7sm

 

[Jade Tigress]

ooooooooo. Those bags are nice 7sm. I'm thinkin the 70 lb'er with the free bag gloves is lookin pretty good...

BTW - What's a wave bag?

 

[7starmantis]

Wave bag is a bag with a hard plastic bladder of water in the middle with foam around it.

Course a wavemaster is a bag on a stand that is filled with water.


7sm

 

[Makalakumu]

Wrapping the wrists and using bag gloves will protect your hands, but you may want to think about training open hand strikes on the bag as well. They don't require as much protection and development of these strikes is very benificial for the street.

 

[7starmantis]

Hand conditioning is a major part of fighting and self defense, but not something that should be done at the same time as heavy bag work. Its just not worth hurting yourself doing hard bag work. I would advise, if your interested in conditioning your hands, do it seperately from heavy bag training.

7sm

 

[Jade Tigress]

The wavemaster looks way cool. What to do, what to do...
I would like to train open hand strikes as well...
What option would allow for the most versatility in training?

Thanks for all the help

 

[Andrew Green]

The wavemaster looks way cool. What to do, what to do...
I would like to train open hand strikes as well...
What option would allow for the most versatility in training?

Thanks for all the help

A hanging bag, the wavemasters move around a lot and can be knocked right over.