I think there needs to be some air cleared on prearranged work.
I think isolated comments in response to particular statements, or heated comments intended to address certain issues, are being taken as a total opinion.
Is prearranged work required?
I do not think there are many who would say no.
Katas are solo prearranged work. I believe in Kata. I believe this prearranged work allows you to look deeply into your Martial Art.
But this isn’t about Kata is it? This is about prearranged two (or more) person work.
Is prearranged partner work required? Absolutely.
I can see the raised eyebrows. Rick Wilson who has expressed some pretty negative views about Yakusoto Kumites said YES!
Prearranged work is there to take the principles from Kata and express them in application.
You can tell a brand new student to get off the line of attack all you want, but their first response to a punch may well be to watch it hit them.
You need a means by which to demonstrate how these principles are applied.
My school works on Kata – prearranged work.
My school has reactive kumites – prearranged work.
My school has body conditioning drills – prearranged work (check out Van’s forum.)
So it is pretty hard to claim not to support prearranged work.
So why are there some posters to these forums who question the Kumites? And since I am one of them how the heck do I do both.
Well, let me describe something to you that should elaborate some of what I mean.
I had a friend visiting a Uechi/Shohei Ryu school in town (he and the Sensei were friends).
The Sensei was teaching the Okikukai Kyu/Dan Kumite. (This is NOT a comment on those Kumites.)
The Sensei of the school was trying to teach a new student the one where the aggressor steps in with a reverse punch and the respondent steps off line, performs a Wauke then a snap side kick.
Well this student was brand new and in my mind brought some good skills with him.
You see when he punched he led with his weapon and followed it with his body. He drove right in and nailed the Sensei in the chest.
This upset the Sensei and he instructed the student he must step first THEN punch.
The student came in again the same way he had and AGAIN nailed the Sensei in the chest.
The Sensei, very upset now, made it perfectly clear that the student was doing it WRONG, and they were to step in FIRST then punch.
This time the student stepped in before punching. This gave the Sensei time to step off line and then perform a perfect and invincible Wauke ripping the young man over before he delivered the snap side kick.
So what is the problem here?
Well the Sensei has not learned the purpose of the Kumite. The Sensei has altered the way the Kumite is performed so that it will work even when he performs it wrong.
The training had gone off line and making a poor technique work was more important than reality.
Of course when the student finally attacked the “right” way the Sensei got to look really cool.
1) Teaching a Kumite without understanding the principles being taught often ends up with the principles being lost and the training false.
2) The Kumites should stay honest and not be altered to allow a bad move work.
This is why we often question the manner Kumites are being taught and if the people teaching them understand the principles the Kumites are meant to pass on.
If you know what you are teaching with the Kumites then the training will be valuable.
Okay, next point.
In the above example we see another reason Kumites can get questioned. When you do a drill over and over again you can become very good at it. You can start to look very good doing it. This gives a person comfort and confidence in how they can handle an attack.
What gets questioned on these forums often is if this is a false sense of confidence AND “looking good” has become the primary purpose of the training for some.
Another example:
I was at a school and the Sensei had invited a guest instructor in. The guest instructor was running us through a number of drills (some prearranged and some not).
These were all new to us and we looked like a bunch of klutzes doing them at the start.
Much later on when watching a video of the training I noticed that the Sensei of the school was doing different things with his partner (one of the guest’s students).
What the Sensei was doing was trying to find the drill HE did that was as closest to what was being shown as possible and THAT is what they did.
And guess what? HE looked good doing it. (Didn't learn anythign new though.)
3) Doing prearranged work too much may create a false sense of security in your abilities.
4) Doing prearranged work can build a desire to simply look good over function.
So to interject at this point if you do honest prearranged work and impromptu work you can balance this all out. That is why the tape George is doing up contains both my Kumites and NLD.
Okay, so if you train Kumites honestly and they are taught with an understanding of the principles and they are balanced with impromptu work then where is the harm?
No where.
In fact prearranged work is required to pass on the principles.
However, there are schools that only do the set prearranged work: Kyu Kumite, Dan Kumite (or Kyu/Dan Kumite) the two Kanshiwa Bunakai and Seisan Bunaki. So, yes there are those who question if this is enough to train a person to protect themselves.
Okay a final point.
I do not teach my prearranged work to the point of memorization. This is my personal approach. Even my Kumites have built into them some freedom of application.
This is my personal approach to training and it does not need to be shared by anyone.
So where is my beef? (Well, all still in Alberta – oops, sorry that should be for another forum.
![Shocked 8O](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
I do not teach Kyu Kumite, because it holds little value for me.
I also have issues with Dan Kumite.
For all those who love it and know the principles you wish to teach – go for it. I have no issues with you, but I don’t know what those principles are. (And I have asked numerous times on these forums for someone to write them up.)
My issue is one of time. There is a lot of material to teach.
I have a great deal of material to teach and I rotate it through my school on a continual basis. My students learn the principles and can apply them.
I know, get to the point. If my students want to test for Dan rank under the IUKF (and I don’t care to be under anything else), then they must be very proficient at performing Dan Kumite on the test. They must “look good” doing it.
To look good and be proficient they must put in the work and that takes time.
But, Dan Kumite does not fit what I teach in my school. I have tried over the past few weeks to try and adapt it to something that fits my school but it just isn’t working for me. While I am sure it could be debated the basis for Dan Kumite was to try and teach the sparring style of the time, and it just doesn't do anything for me.
It just does not fit what I do. I dislike it. I dislike teaching it. I resent the time I have to give to it so that my students will be able to test for Dan rank.
As I said this last one is a very personal issue. For those who love to do Dan Kumite there is no issue.
But this has become an issue for me and my school.
This has placed me in a very awkward position. I either have to decide to give up a great deal of time to this drill, or give up rank in my school, or give up the IUKF. (Which just doesn’t support George’s efforts for Uechi Ryu.) Sorry to throw this one out there but hey….
I think if you look at most of the comments questioning Kumites you will find they question:
1) The training methods of the Kumties.
2) The manner in which the Kumites are now performed.
3) The over training (reliance on) Kumites to teach self protection.
4) The false senses the Kumites may raise in some.
5) When looking good doing the Kumites becomes more important than their effectiveness.
6) The principles taught in Kumites.
7) The limitations of the Kumites.
8. The time to devote to drills we feel are not important to OUR training.
But, we do actually support effective prearranged drills.
The questions we raise are intended to either improve the Kumites, or the training.
The questions we raise are to enter into discussions and debate and perhaps someone will post information that may affect our opinions.
You are free to disagree.
You are free to enter the debate and discussions.