|
For the first Kenpo Chi article, we will keep it simple for
everyone.
Partial Mushroom Training is an adequate description of the subject
matter
we are going to cover. You know, the phrase "like a mushroom,
kept
in the dark and fed a bunch of .." anyway, the premise of that phrase
is
what we are going to concentrate on. In case you still haven't
guessed,
we are going to talk about training in the dark. And I'm not
talking
about training in low light with just a bunch of candles around.
That we'll save for the next article. Nope, I'm talking about
dark,
pitch black, no light at all.
This can be accomplished through several methods. The easiest
being
to simply close your eyes during training. However, this is the
easiest
to cheat. Another is to train blind folded. Please
understand,
we aren't talking about putting on a blindfold and cutting a melon in
half
on your partners stomach with a katana. If you're into that, well
that is your thing. We ain't; we like our training partners
too much. We're just talking about doing Kenpo material
(especially
forms and sets) blindfolded. You can also train in a room with no
light, or as close to pitch black as you can get. The idea is to
take you sense of sight away and allow your other senses to be brought
into the forefront.
Now we are sure some of you have heard stories of this kind of
training,
and the interesting ramifications for some when this occurs. The
point of this type of training though is to get the student to assure
themselves
that these types of motion are a good idea. Sometimes we take for
granted good principles and habits for the fact that our other senses
or
talents will take up the slack. Yet, when given a handicap our
bodies
and skills are tested and must accommodate for the handicap. Our
eyes, for instance, can help our stances, strikes, and blocks have an
effective
depth, solidity, and maneuverability. Take away this sense, and
we
must accommodate and become more "in-tune" with our body to make our
Kenpo
effective.
Now we are not saying that should you find yourself in an altercation
that
you should ask them to hold on for a second so you can put on your
blindfold.
This is just an idea to try in training, and given that there is a time
and place for everything, an altercation wouldn't be a good time nor
place
for this idea. No matter what you personal opinion might be,
Kenpo
is something you must train with to be successful. For us, the
ultimate
goal of Kenpo is to become a better and more balanced person through
physical
awareness. The self-defense aspects, although vast and a main
priority,
simply come down to icing on the cake in the end. But that is a
different
story.
Some ideas to try when training blindfolded or in the dark would be
stances
first. We're not just talking about the Horse Stance
either.
We're talking about stance changes, and closing gaps. Once you
get
a solid base to work off of, try blocks and strikes with stances.
Kicks get really interesting when you can't see, by the way.
After
you get comfortable with these basics without sight, try moving on to
other
facets of Kenpo training. Sets, depending on what system you are
in, are the easiest place to begin with. Forms, which almost
every
Kenpo system will teach at some time or another, would be the next
level
to experiment with. The last would be self-defense techniques,
give
that they usually have a different conceptual level altogether.
Try
to keep good Kenpo principles and concepts while working within this
handicap,
for it could create some bad habits without them. Of course, it
is
going to be harder to execute Kenpo with this handicap and be effective
without good principles.
|
