Training transitions into fighting

Myself and some of the more Senior Guys are doing some serious revision to get ready for the Visit of a highly regarded Sifu from Hong Kong, apart from the training we are also trying to formulate a list of Questions to ask so as to not waste time with the usual stupid Questions asked at these events, one of the Guys wants to know "How do we turn what we learn at training into useful tools for Fighting"?

This is a great Question, and like most really sharp Questions will generate a lot more Questions before we get anywhere near an Answer.

I myself have been involved in some form of M.A. for 50 years {I started Boxing late in the Year of 1960, a long time ago} and one thing I know without any doubt is that the vast majority of Martial Artists are not what you would call "Violent People", even though at some level we re training to be Violent. The opposite is more likely to be found, that most Martial Artists abhor Violence, but they realise that it is out there and realise that it could fall on them unannounced like Rain from a clear Sky and that the only chance they have of escaping in one piece is to have "Better Violence" at their command. Many have never had a Violent Encounter {excluding Schoolyard Tiffs} and as such will have absolutely no Frame of Reference to assist them come that Dark Day.

So how do we turn our training into usable Fighting Skill?

Or more pertinent "Is it even possible to turn our Training into Fighting Skill"?

My own take on all this is that we will find it impossible to use our training in a real nasty Street Encounter {been there, done that}, mainly because the Person in that fight will not be the Person that turns up for training every week.

How you Feel affects how you Think, how you Think affects how you Feel, and they both affect how you Fight. In training we Feel good and we Think clearly, this is the body that we inhabit while we are training, this is the Person that is learning the Skill Sets, and it will all evaporate instantly the Minute the Wolf leaps out the Bushes.

So why do it, why train at all?

Again this is just my take on it, but underneath all of our Flash Physical training there is another training going on, a type of training that develops Confidence, Intent, Strength of Will and Self Respect, you could almost regard this as Spiritual Training because we learn it at such a depth that it is training our very Soul, and when that "Hard Rain" starts to fall it is our Confidence and Self Respect that have us say to ourselves " this Guy does not have the right to Terrorise me" and it is our Strength of Will and our Intent that will allow us to Counter Attack and hit out with Righteous Anger and win the chance of Escape, which is all any intelligent Human being should be looking for.

If we are in a Violent Encounter it is not really all that important "How I Hit, it is not important "Where I Hit", it is only important "That I Do Hit", at the end of the Day it is always Will over Skill.  If I get into a Violent Situation my aim should be to get out any way possible, and not be looking for a chance to validate my training, if I embrace the "Escape at all cost " ethic you can be certain that some elements of my Years of Study will surface even if by accident, but you can also be certain that if there is a nice Fat Stick handy I will pick it up and use it.

In my opinion many people create Major Problems by depending on their training instead of depending on themselves, for almost 20 Years I have trained in Wing Chun, I have great belief in the effectiveness of Wing Chun, but I do not consider myself a Wing Chun Man {even after all these Years}, rather I see myself as a Man that uses Wing Chun as his primary Tool, and I would have no hesitation in changing Tools if the situation required it.

So in answer to the original Question; "How do we turn what we learn at training into useful Tools for Fighting"?

My Answer is "What makes you think you need to"?

But then again I could have it all wrong.