Mike Hammer, Alex Betzer and Gary Haffey in the background
It does not matter in what style you train but you need to have some sort of pressure testing built-in. Many systems utilize sparring to fill this void. While other systems have multiple free-flowing drills with lots of contact involved. In IRT we combine full contact sparring and grappling whether with padded sticks, rattan, empty hand, etc. along with multiple drills to get this pressure testing aspect ingrained! It is important to have that aspect in training where you are working against an opponent that is trying to beat you. This will help build confidence, skill sets, attributes and because of contact it will help build the mind-set that will allow you to take serious punishment! Now you do not need to do it all the time! Nor should you do it without the requisite skills to compete. We never throw someone new into the frying pan so to speak. Instead we build people up over time and allow their skill sets to develop so that they are confident and efficient when the time is ready for serious pressure testing! So when you develop your skill sets then pressure test them against a resisting opponent and feel the adrenaline rush! That rush and your subsequent ability to control it may serve you well in a moment of violence!
See You On The Mats!
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Brian R. VanCise
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Yep! -Gota go through that battle of wills. It transitions you from the just having faith that it’ll work -to really believing it’ll work because you just experienced it.
…or realizing that it doesn’t really work at all… like I run into a lot 🙂
Great point Branden!
One of the toughest things I find for certain students to learn is that you have to acquire some tools before we can work with you in sparring/pressure testing situations. You get someone who wants to get in there and rock and roll from their first class… Sure, we can throw ’em in the ring, and watch ’em go. But unless they have some basic tools first, it’s kind of like blindly throwing a bunch of ingredients into a cuisinart and pressing blend, then throwing it an oven, and expecting to get a professional quality pastry. Might happen… but I doubt it. You might get something tasty — but you won’t be able to replicate the success. More likely? You’ll get a mess.
There is a very special place for a sudden, unexpected and unprepared pressure test on new folks. Several police academies I’m familiar with have an excercise along these lines very early in the recruit training program. It washes a few out — and wakes most of ’em up.
Absolutley Jim! Bring their skills up and then let them pressure test them but when you throw them out immediately half the time they leave immediately afterwards. That is one reason why I like people to have developed skill sets, confidence in what they are doing and seeing and then they can pressure test them!