So, at the latest session of kung fu in da park, Jeremy showed great progress while sparring and touching around. To explain the difference:
'touching around'
-light-to-medium contact simulation of street fighting
-can be used to: apply techniques or emphasize a point from the lesson
-may be performed at slow or half speed
-involves no equipment (free or empty hand)
-great for warming up or for beginners
'sparring'
-light-to-full contact simulation of street fighting
-incorporates everything learned in martial arts training
-performed at half-to-full speed (whatever two practitioners are comfortable with)
-equipment: gloves, head gear, and shin guards (optional).
-great approximation of real-life fighting
We brought the camera out and filmed some of the sparring. Video taping is a great tool for self-evaluation in martial arts. Jeremy, or any student, can chart his progress through the history of taped sessions. His improvement in both sparring and touching around can be attributed to his time invested in class and at home practicing on his own. Good job Jeremy; keep training!
This video has been uploaded to YouTube. That version was edited to fit their format and can be viewed here. The editing makes it look like I unload on Jeremy at the end of the session with a knock out right. That is not accurate, as I didn't even make contact with him on that punch! As it turns out, he injured his thumb, one of his Five Fingers of Death (hence the post's title), just before I went to punch. The noise he makes is due to this injury. It looks to be a contusion or slight sprain. Hopefully, he'll be up and going next week in time for class.
Let that be a lesson to everyone; make a fist and keep your hand closed while sparring!
For anyone interested, the entire video is posted on my DropBox site. DropBox is an online storage site which offers 2 gigs of free storage, just for signing up. You have to sign up to view the video. If you decide to sign up, I get more space in my online account. DropBox is a great for storing information that you want to link to without having it on your hard drive. Let me know if this link (or any link in my site) is bad or if you have any questions about the online service. I've used DropBox for about a year now and they have been the best online storage site I've used (and I've used 5 or 6). And the best part of all, they're free!
Click here to go to dropbox.
Box is a similar online storage service, offering 1 gig of storage for free. You can see my kung fu folder, and the photos and videos inside, by clicking here.
Anyway, now that you see how important video taping is for your martial arts training, feel free to browse my video library and see more about my class structure. Also, start your own.
You will be glad you did!
Kung Fu Kev
Kung Fu Kev's Mobile Dojo
