The “Other Half of the Workout”

A San Soo Journal Flashback – Originally Published 1995

By Master Jim McCraw, El Monte School

Are you paying too much for your Kung Fu Lessons?
You may be if you are only using half of your time effectively when you practice at your Kung Fu Studio.
In making that statement I am commenting on the many students I have observed over the seventeen years I have been training at the El Monte School. Most of us work out the way that Jimmy taught us. I throw two punches and you throw me two. Unfortunately, most students are concentrating only when it is their turn. When it becomes the opponent’s turn, we stop being fighters and, most importantly, we stop using our mind. That is not what Jimmy H. Woo taught us!
During all the years that I trained with Jimmy, he taught the lessons in two ways: the white and yellow belt lesson was started by having the opponent throw a punch or kick, and the green belt and above lesson was performed by stepping into the opponent and grabbing, punching, kicking, etc. The difference between the two was that the lower belt lesson started with defense and ended with offense, but the higher belt lesson was pure offense. I believe Jimmy had a reason for teaching the lessons in this manner. To start training in Kung Fu, you have to learn to throw a punch correctly, and for the white and yellow belts this was part of the lesson. As a student progresses he or she should become increasingly offense oriented. We are not trained in San Soo to wait for someone to attack – as Jimmy used to say, “The element of surprise is critical to our style of fighting”.
Watch the average class train at most studios and notice how the students are attacking when it is the other student’s turn to perform the technique. I generally see punches with no form, students that are clearly off balance, often punches that would not connect or hurt the opponent if they did land. Mostly the students look and work out as if they are bored and cannot wait until it is their turn to perform the techniques. This is wasting half of your workout time. There is much to be learned when it is the other student’s turn to throw to you. For our workout to be successful, it must be a cooperative effort between the two students. To achieve a good workout both students must be good “victims”. Here are some common mistakes that students make when they are having a technique performed on them:
Throwing an ineffective punch
This can mean several things. The most common is to throw a punch and have the heel of your back foot come up off the ground. Another is to change the direction of the punch while it is moving. This reduces any power you might have had. Many students fail to pick a specific target when throwing a punch. How often did Jimmy say “Throw a punch in the general direction of the opponent”? Never!! Always have a target in mind and throw a punch or strike that is applicable to that target. Roundhouse punch to the jaw, palm to the nose, medial knuckle punch to the groin – your attack should be something you could use in teaching a lesson. Do not throw the same punch during the entire workout. Vary your attacks by changing the target; sometimes throw a one-knuckle punch, backhand, palm, etc. This will not only give your partner something new with which to work, it will also enable you to practice all of these different kinds of weapons. The basic question to ask yourself is this: If this offensive move connected, would it hurt my opponent? If the answer to that is YES, you have probably thrown an effecting opening attack.

Giving a False Reaction to your Opponent
One important aspect of the Art of Kung Fu San Soo is learning how the body reacts to various punches, kicks, and blows. It is your responsibility to learn these things and then use them when your opponent is performing techniques against you. Without an honest reaction, the opponent cannot practice techniques in any realistic way. Do you think if someone kicked you in the groin with full power you could stand straight up? If you do, I would like to try that one on you. Yet, how many times do you see that happening in the studio? Jimmy taught us a specific set of reactions depending on where the blow makes contact. I am sure that your instructor explains these to you when showing techniques. A punch to the heart will make the opponent step back with his left foot, a kick to the knee will make the opponent look down at the knee, a punch to the groin will cause a man to drop his buttocks whereas a punch to the stomach will bend him straight over, a punch or kick to the kidneys causes the opponent to straighten up and bend backward. Jimmy’s knowledge of these things was so acute that it sometimes amazed me. He once showed a technique where you hammer blow down to the top of a man’s shoulder next to the throat, and according to Jimmy, the man would swallow involuntarily. These types of things need to be incorporated into the workout if we are to get a fair assessment of the effectiveness of the technique. Most of the lessons combine a kick or punch to get a certain reaction that sets the opponent up for a take-down. Without the correct reaction, the technique does not work. Remember, we are working out cooperatively, not sparring.

Anticipating the Technique/Fighting the Technique
Both of these things are just as wrong. You should never guess what the opponent is going to do to you. This is how people get hurt. A good victim learns how to relax and let the person doing the technique complete it without trying to jump into a roll or fall backward with sufficient force to take you that way. Fighting the technique has a similar effect. Neither student learns from the practice. Often I see one student step in and kick, throw three or four punches, and then the opponent will stiffen up or step out of a technique. This is obviously not realistic. I was hit in the groin once by accident while playing handball, and I could not move for about ten minutes. It always amuses me to see students continue to stand straight up or back up or dance around after the opponent has supposedly thrown three or four damaging blows. This discussion does not mean you should go for the partner every time. If something does not feel right, you are doing that person a favor by not going for the technique – as long as you have given them and honest reaction to what they have done. I have students try to throw me, and, since I weigh something over 200 pounds, they struggle with it. But this is only if they have blocked and not taken me off balance and the tried to throw me without as much as a punch or kick to hurt me or take me off balance. I feel that they need to know when the technique is off. Remember, the idea is not to fight each other or make each other look and feel bad. We are there to help each other learn this Art. I work with some people who back up and start to fall down before I throw any punch, and some resist every technique you try to do to them. Both of these types of opponents cause a poor workout.

Now that we have outlined the skills necessary to make a good workout “victim” – throwing a good punch, giving a good, honest reaction, and making the other student legitimately throw you – what else is to be learned when it is the other guy’s turn? Jimmy used to say that it was as important to work out your mind as well as your body. Using your skills in that way when it is the other student’s turn will sharpen your skills as a fighter. As your opponent starts a combination or leverage, try to figure out how you would counter or escape that technique. Is there a way for you to block the punches or strikes? Could you shift your weight and throw your opponent instead of him throwing you? I am not proposing that you do these things, although Jimmy advocated practicing counters to techniques when a student reached Black Belt. You can just as easily do these things in your mind. I work out with one Master who has been learning San Soo many years longer than I have, and every time I throw a punch or kick, he has his hand at the exact place I am throwing the punch. He could easily block or parry many of my strikes, but he does not do that. He is practicing in his mind and does not make me look bad or throw my techniques off. That is an example of someone who is concentrating on the workout 100% of the time instead of 50%. Jimmy always wanted us to get the maximum out of the time we spent in the studio.

For the next few weeks, try and use some of these ideas I have outlined and concentrate on that “other part” of your workout. I am sure it will make you a better fighter. In addition to the reasons already discussed, you will see better techniques from your fellow students and this will allow you to steal some great techniques. Yes, I said steal techniques because it is a great way to improve your own workout. One more thing to keep in mind: If you are a good workout partner and do all the things I have outlined above, maybe your partners will be motivated to be better workout “victims” for you. Everyone will be better off for it.