Hi everyone,

How do you test if your system is effective as a self defense art.
And i dont mean against your own system of techniques.
And i also dont mean in a controlled or passive way.
How do you test it and know do you know it works.

Mannie de Matos
Hakarac Boxing

Why, you simply go out onto the streets and start fights, killing your opponents. How else? *rolls eyes*

What are you trying to sell, Mannie?

NO, the true test of a system is to crush your opponents, have them driven before you and to hear...sorry, had a Conan flashback for a moment.

The best test I have had of my "system" is open sparring with other MA's in controled but street practical matches. I have found that by doing this, you can see just how many of the dojo/dojang techniques work when you are out of the school. To my amazement and horror sometimes, the things I would expect to work sometimes didn't and the stuff I never expected to work sometimes did.

The only way I found out was by working with other determined MA in one on one fighting/free sparring sessions. MattJ being one of those who pointed out to my nose and other body parts how some of my techniques do not stand up to a practical test while others work just fine. The "battlefield" is the testing ground but there are ways to control the testing. Work with friends and go about 3/4 contact. Use groin protection but all else should be natural.

No technique is off limits but use common sense and control. Do not kick a friend full strength to the groin or gouge his eyes out. Be serious and focussed but use control and common sense. Go hard but set up communications in advance so that you can cry "uncle" when you need to in order to avoid serious injury. Bring in new people from time to time to change the atmosphere a bit but make sure they understand how things work. A discussion should preceed each session to make sure everyone understands what you are trying to accomplish and how things are going to proceed to avoid injury.

Good luck and don't kill each other.

Scottie

I'm a firm believer that learning something is better than nothing. As such, I don't place too much faith in a style but rather learn its principles and apply them to a situation. So, I don't really feel the need to test my system, per se. However, inter-art sparring is my favourite way when I get the chance.

This is not a difficult question. Or maybe it is.

How do you test your system to see if it works.?
1. Do you do scenario based training
2. Do you do random based training
3. Do you do multiple attack training
4. etc...

If you do not test your system, how do you test yourself?

wow, wtf r u asking mannie!? You asked these ppl how they test their style and they told you controlled, but free and realistic fighting with ppl of their own styles and ppl of other styles. U say u mean not controlled sparring but any sparring that is safe has to be controlled in some way by rules and regulations, even if the sparring if full contact. You talk about specific "scenario" training, but did not mention that in ur original question. IMHO "scenario" training drills cannot prepare you for a fight better than a realistically setup match between skilled fighters combined with two man and solo sets(drills). And if you want to train "multiple attacks", just have a battle royale.

Quote:

---

Before I graduated, my sifu instructed our class on an altered version of Gan (sp?) Sau in Siu Lim Tao, because through repeated sparring some sifus in our system found out that the old way wasn't working all the time, and the block was ineffective. So they altered it.

---

Can you describe how you did your gan sau before and after the alteration? Just to make sure we are talking about the same thing... gan sau is cutting block against uppercuts kinda like wax-on/wax-off.
Against what strikes do you use the gan sau for?

yes, we are talking about the same thing.
I would agree with yoy, there have been very few situations where I would think the gan sau block would be effective. The more deflective version that you are talking about makes more sense. The blocks that I would use for body shots would be jum sau, low bong sau and possibly low pak sau. The only time that I have used the gan sau is for a roundhouse kick in combination with tan sau.
If you dont know it, its from the wooden dummy form and you do a gan sau with the left and a tan with the right simulteneously with a left facing turning stance to block a roundhouse kick from the left. I think that is one of the best blocks I have seen for a roundhouse kick