In my martial arts studies, I’ve seen two different philosophies in regards to a certain way of training. Some styles and/or instructors prefer the use of pads in training and never touch a training partner until they have trained for about 3 years or so. The other is that equipment such as focus mitts are not used. Which method produces a more developed martial artist? How much training should be done using pads and how much should be with a training partner, given the option of equal amount of time using each tool?
Most of my Kajukenbo training was done without doing any training with pads such as kicking shields, focus mitts, heavy bags, etc. Until receiving my black belt I had used those items a total of 2 or 3 times. What I did gain was the spatial relationship and body movement of my training partners and my own body. I also got used to being hit and hitting a person in a specific target area. An experienced training partner often moves in a way that is expected and so the techniques all seem to fit perfectly. This can create a false sense of ability because the techniques are always successful since the partner knows what to expect and how to execute the techniques. By contrast, practicing on someone different for the first time who fails to move when expected if not hit hard enough, makes jerky movements in reaction to being hit, or is too loose or too stiff can make it frustrating. The advantage to this type of training is that once the ability increases, the training partners whose movements aren’t exactly what we’re expecting become the challenges that allow us to really improve our skills.
On the street, a real attacker is not going to throw one punch and then just stand there as you try to maneuver them. With that in mind, it makes sense to train with someone whose movements are more difficult to anticipate. Training with an actual person allows you to get used to using force and your body to be in control of the situation. Working with those who are bigger and a little awkward forces you to really focus on the task at hand and hit hard enough to elicit a reaction, hit each specific target, and find the right spacing that allows for control and ability to employ your strikes.
There are two sides to any fight; striking the opponent and taking strikes from the opponent. One other benefit of training with a partner is learning to take a hit. Even the most skilled martial artist will be unable to put those skills to use if he or she is crippled by the opponent’s first strike because of the inability to effectively absorb the force of the strike. Learning to properly take a hit early on in martial arts training reduces the risk of injury, both in training and in real life.
More recently, in training with others outside of Kajukenbo and exploring other arts, I’ve experienced more training with pads (focus mitts, kicking shields, heavy bags, etc). Working with a training partner, even when you actually deliver a solid hit, is not the same as putting all your force into it without holding back to avoid injuring the other person. Focus pads, kicking shields, heavy bags, and speed bags allow the trainee to put as much power and speed into their strikes as possible. It was a reality check when I tried my first kick against a heavy bag and barely moved it. Even drilling in the air doesn’t give the same effect since the energy exerted in a strike has nowhere to go. With pads, a person can strike with more power than just striking the air because they have that object to help give them balance.
Through doing some training in another art that focused mainly on using pads, I noticed that the students seemed to lack some in the ability of spatial relation with the attacker the few times that the opportunity came up. They could hit a pad, but the ability of entering and attacking targets was not the greatest. In all fairness it could be that of those I saw, only one or two had been training over a year so the experience may not have been enough at that point to have gained that awareness. It did give me the realization that training exclusively in one style or the other is not necessarily the most effective way to train. A mixture of the two training styles will allow for the student to be well rounded. By training with a partner they learn the spatial interaction, body movement, and control of their power. With the pads students can unleash their power to feel their full strength and work on increasing that ability.
