Results from today

[Ryu (non-working password]

"Training" to me means to spar and actually use the techniques against one another.
This guy is kind of a friend of mine, we were in a Chinese history class together.
He came over today, and we trained for about half an hour or so. He's extremely fluid, and has kicks that are super fast, and his flexibility is sensational. His syle is northern Shaolin or something I think. I know it's a shaolin style.
Anyway we sparred, and it wasn't anything too hard.
But I did want to actually move, and have him come at me with his style. He did, and I was able just to clinch him and take him down at will. He really had no ground skills or experience at all, and almost froze when he got there.
Actually I think it was Lacrymosa who mentioned this, but what I did was just basic BJJ. I kicked out, he moved to react to the kick, I clinched, I took him down with ushiro goshi, got into side control, got mount, punched from mount (no contact), and he turned onto his side. His arm shot up and formed a perfect hook for me to sink my arm through, and I fell back in a straight armlock.
Then we went out for Vietnamese food.
He's a cool guy, and I will train with him again. I want to teach him more about the ground because it's not challenging at all once he's there. Even clinching was fairly easy. He's fast though with those damn kicks!

But all in all a good little experience, nothing too hard or rough, and some good times driving around afterward.

Talk to you guys later!

Ryu

[dan downard]

Exellent.Sounds like you guys had fun.

[SweepEm]

I trained Kung Fu for several years and I was always asking about fighting on the ground and the response was:

"don't go to the ground. or don't get taken down."

Easy to say my friend. Difficult in reality.

I had been out of martial arts for quite a while and wanted to get back into training and into shape. I called one of my friends who worked for the magazine conglomerate Curtis Wong Productions and asked him what martial arts to get into.
Without any hesistation, he said "Gracie brothers in Torrance."
I went on a bit of a search to find a good school and went to Torrance last. I sat there watching Royce teach a class and thought to myself, "hey this stuff is good." I took the free intro class and was convinced, even though I was looking at a Kung Fu school that was my exact style and in a few weeks of training, would be at the same level I left at.
Instead, I went into Torrance as an ass wipe white belt with no ground training other than some foolish attempts at some wrestling with some friends. I believe that it was my best decision I ever made about a hobby, next to snowboarding, but that's a whole 'nother story.

[sakattack]

Ryu, what was his reaction to you dominating him and submitting him on the ground? Is there a change in attitude? Is there enlightenment?

[Evilution]

I love those guys who say "I don't need to learn to groundfight, you don't want to go to the ground". I have a question I always ask these people. I ask, if you were in a fighter jet flying a mission over hostile territory, obviously you don't want to be shot down, your strength lies in being in the air. But does that mean you wouldn't carry a parachute, just because you don't want to be shot down? You might WANT to stay in the air but "if" you get shot down wouldn't you want the tools to at least survive going down?

[HungryWolf21]

Great analogy with the jet fighter Evil. Groudfighting is not the end all be all, but it sure is critical to know.

[Ryu (non-working password]

Sakattack,
actually he is a very open-minded guy. When I clinched him and took him down over and over, he said "see I don't know how to defend this.."
When I submitted him he actually laughed at himself and said that the style was really something he hadn't been exposed to before. So he seems willing to learn it.

Ryu

[Evilution]

That's good that he's open minded, every artist should be.