Sticking vs. Fighting

Is "sticking" to your opponent actually helpful in a real fight? And how "long" do you stick for? Is it something that's merely classroom rhetoric, or is it a viable option for gaining the upperhand?

"Sticking" is the essence of Chi-sau, and it's been shown to be a legitimate, useful element to real life fighting. How a practitioner utilizes this element, though, is really where it's at. Some feel that you should stick at all times, while others feel it's more appropriate to stick at the beginning, know where the opponent's at, then take your own initiative from that point on. We develop all of these points through controlled sparring, but also in all-out, full-scale fight training.

By that, I mean that we run the gamut of progression: we begin with learning what Chi-sau's about and how to utilize it in a slow, controlled manner. Then we speed it up by learning various sections for specific reactions. After that, we "free it up" and just let things happen as they will, while constantly working to improve speed, softness and relaxation, which in turn improves reaction time and performance.

The final stages involve two phases: the first is Chi-sau sparring with light protective equipment (so that more powerful strikes can be employed while also limiting injuries) and the second is basically real fighting, but focusing on using Chi-sau to "guide the way." Gloves might used, as well as mouth guards and groin protectors. Beyond that, though, there's nothing to protect each other except the practitioner's skill.

Does this lend itself to learning "how" to fight for real? Yes, it does. The simple fact of making contact and learning how to attack (and be attacked) conditions the body to respond in a specific way. At the various levels of progression, a great deal is learned when we can not only focus on what we're doing in a controlled manner, but also "letting it go" periodically and just seeing what happens when we up the anty, so to speak.

Where does Chi-sau really come into play? Mainly the second that contact is made, because at that very moment, your arms know where the opponent's attacks are going. And because they know where they're going, they can "do" something about it. If they can't, then it's really nothing more than "who can get there first" or "who can 'out-do' the other first." So Chi-sau definitely is used for real fighting to a great extent more than what many might see at first. The real problem I encounter sometimes, though, is when someone thinks it will be the same in the street as it is in class, and naturally, it's not.

For example, we learn the forms, but would we apply the movements exactly like the forms are performed? No. Of course not. And Chi-sau is not applied in the same manner, either. The Chi-sau drills are to teach feeling and sensitivity, teaching the practitioner to free him/herself up so that you go on "auto pilot" when a fight happens. Instead of thinking about it, you have the means in which to just let yourself go and let your body respond solely to what it's feeling. Does that mean you can't take some of your own initiative? Not at all; after all, you have eyes to see and ears to hear, so definitely use them. But in there somewhere, you must keep it firmly remembered that the sole purpose is to learn how to feel, and then take the feeling and translate it to real situations.

In those situations, we work them in the drills and let things go, experimenting with angles and power and speed and different movements, things we would encounter in real life.

"Sticking" during fighting is definitely a practical skill, by every sense of the meaning. So in your Chi-sau training, don't just "go through the motions" without working what it means to applying it in real life.