Metasketball
In kung fu class we students routinely spar against one another, meaning we fight without making (much) contact. The object is to practice fighting your opponent without really hurting him (or vice-versa).
How much this helps the student become a better fighter is a topic of interest to me. Certainly a drawback to the technique's effectiveness is the lack of fear, rage, and any other adrenaline-involving response that a real fight would certainly involve. But this lack of adrenaline might have a benefit: the sparrer can think more rationally about what moves he should be employing. There can also be trial-and-error in sparring, whereas I can't imagine getting swept to the floor by a genuine assailant and then telling him ooo - try that again but this time let me double-crescent-kick your face.
So while sparring is not perfect practice for fighting, it, with all its optional little rules you can impose, like kicks only, half-speed, and using a form, is probably the best option aside from real fighting, which is expressly not cool. What's more, it has advantages that real fighting lacks. I can envision a version of basketball that has parallel advantages over the real basketball.
I am almost certainly re-inventing the wheel, as I'm sure numerous coaches have already tried this. But I haven't been formally trained in the sport, and basketball coaches don't appear to be avid bloggers, so I will continue my thoughts.
In metasketball, the court is the normal size and the ball and rules are the same, except that there are no baskets. Players dribble and pass, trying to get open shots just like in basketball, but of course there never are shots taken. The idea is that since no shot has a 100% chance of success, there is always theoretically a better shot that could be taken. It is the player's job is to find the best assist possible.
Of course a fast-break layup is, in practice, probably the highest percentage shot there is, and the basketball player who looks to pass instead of take such a shot is a poor basketball player. But the equivalent happening in sparring is an open shot to the opponent's head, which of course the sparrer must never land. Nonetheless, both experienced sparrers will concede that, had this been a real basketball game, the puncher would have been ejected. So will metasketball players concede that the goal would have been scored.
The metasketball player has the advantage of a mind free from scoring baskets, outscoring the other team, and beating any kind of a clock (unless coach imposes one). I think it would be invaluable basketball practice. Whether a shot actually goes down is of course all that matters in basketball, but it's a matter of individual player accuracy, and is essentially a dice roll once the ball leaves the shooter's hand. At any given non-critical point of a game the coach will favor a well-executed miss over an off-balance prayer that goes in.
The idea translates to other sports and games, but if I described them all I would deny my beloved 'dloggers the thrill of discovery. So onward, dear reader! And upward!
How much this helps the student become a better fighter is a topic of interest to me. Certainly a drawback to the technique's effectiveness is the lack of fear, rage, and any other adrenaline-involving response that a real fight would certainly involve. But this lack of adrenaline might have a benefit: the sparrer can think more rationally about what moves he should be employing. There can also be trial-and-error in sparring, whereas I can't imagine getting swept to the floor by a genuine assailant and then telling him ooo - try that again but this time let me double-crescent-kick your face.
So while sparring is not perfect practice for fighting, it, with all its optional little rules you can impose, like kicks only, half-speed, and using a form, is probably the best option aside from real fighting, which is expressly not cool. What's more, it has advantages that real fighting lacks. I can envision a version of basketball that has parallel advantages over the real basketball.
I am almost certainly re-inventing the wheel, as I'm sure numerous coaches have already tried this. But I haven't been formally trained in the sport, and basketball coaches don't appear to be avid bloggers, so I will continue my thoughts.
In metasketball, the court is the normal size and the ball and rules are the same, except that there are no baskets. Players dribble and pass, trying to get open shots just like in basketball, but of course there never are shots taken. The idea is that since no shot has a 100% chance of success, there is always theoretically a better shot that could be taken. It is the player's job is to find the best assist possible.
Of course a fast-break layup is, in practice, probably the highest percentage shot there is, and the basketball player who looks to pass instead of take such a shot is a poor basketball player. But the equivalent happening in sparring is an open shot to the opponent's head, which of course the sparrer must never land. Nonetheless, both experienced sparrers will concede that, had this been a real basketball game, the puncher would have been ejected. So will metasketball players concede that the goal would have been scored.
The metasketball player has the advantage of a mind free from scoring baskets, outscoring the other team, and beating any kind of a clock (unless coach imposes one). I think it would be invaluable basketball practice. Whether a shot actually goes down is of course all that matters in basketball, but it's a matter of individual player accuracy, and is essentially a dice roll once the ball leaves the shooter's hand. At any given non-critical point of a game the coach will favor a well-executed miss over an off-balance prayer that goes in.
The idea translates to other sports and games, but if I described them all I would deny my beloved 'dloggers the thrill of discovery. So onward, dear reader! And upward!
posted by john at
7:49 PM
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