If the Paul Vunak Progressive Fighting System & Matt Thornton's Straight Blast Gym are considered the more progessive versions of the JKD camps, I have a few questions.
I'm curious first from the individuals from both camps what the core of each is & why one might pick one over another.
And for those who have trained in both what the differences are & is PFS training "alive"?
hmm, well that is something of a decent question sir.
I have a somewhat background in PFS well not really but I train w/ alot of PFS guys and they train pretty alive to an extent. Alot of what I see them do is his R.A.T. (rapid assault tactics). I have not seen or had any contact w/ the SBG guys so I cannot comment on them or how they train. I have heard though that Matt Thornton does do alot of ALIVE training w/in his curriculum.
As for the PFS group they have some decent fighters I think for the most part though from what i have seen they are older guys not interested in competition. More so just teaching and spreading the art. Thats about all I can give you on the whole deal thanks
Alive meaing non static. Going at it full contact, no holding back.. to train using all the techniques using some sense of control for injury purposes but dawn on the gear and go at it like its a real deal... its where you find out what works and what don't....
shows us that those static drills have great attributes but they arent what there all cut out to be..
btw did I tell you that Martial Arts was a scam?
While I do not train in sbg or pfs. Both are extended JKD And I might say a good aprouch to the addition of concepts. Alive well both train and test thru applied action. Only there is where a person can find what they can get to work. Basic structure then on to learning thru alive training. Different tools added . But same idea set down thru JKD. It will not be all out full contact. You have to train in steps. learn applications . test them with a resistive partener in light contact learn from that move on to more resistance harder contact. Its thru experiance and non passive training that we find what will or will not work on different people. the more trained you opponent is there less some things will work. Or the longer it will take to get them working. I would give credit to both sbg and pfs. Then say I will stick To JKD as it to offers some good tools. And Like bruce noticed a person should look into the ground game to be more comfortable there also. I think sbg might have a better ground game then pfs. And pfs. might have a better street approuch then sbg. But both probably have people who can do well in both aspects. ITs the person. Then the training. Because if you show a person something they have to be able to do it ther way to get it working.
I can't speak for SBG cause I think what you are talking about is No Holds Bar UFC fighting. But PFS IS Jeet Kune Do concepts...not an approach in addition to concepts lol. You see Concepts are broken down differently with each practitioner. Although all real JKD practitioners have the base system of Jun Fan Gung Fu, their own JKD is their own expression. PFS is Paul Vunak's expression. And RAT (Rapid Assault Tactics) are very fast, efficient, and brutal in taking out people. That's why it is taught to police, FBI, SWAT, Navy Seals, etc. Paul Vunak along with Larry Hartsell and a few others are among Dan Inosanto's elite students. And Dan does not certify just anyone.
All aliveness means is, having the qualities of timing, motion and energy (resistance from your partners) during your training. It doesn't necessarily mean "UFC fighting".
People tend to think that all the SBG does is spar as well. This isn't the case. 90% of what they do is drilling. It's just that the drills are alive (and the sparring naturally is going to be).
The RAT is a strategy for street fighting. The SBG takes a similar strategy for street fighting (no, they aren't just totally geared for the ring/cage environment) But when you do the RAT, alot of times it's just pretend training. The SBG trains ins boxing/muay Thai, savate. The wrestle and train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. They also train with weapons. It's a very good program.
John thats a very good detailed excerpt. I can verify that from the PFS and their standpoints that they do some pretty rough contact but as you mentioned its all in a controlled environment just more so in a "slower" atmosphere still making it "ALIVE" training rather then dead type drills that you and a partner just stand there and do nothing but hit at each other back and forth.
We do a basic 5 minute routine where you start in stand up / kicking or boxing range and spar lightly for approx 30sec or so and then work the clinch and from there to the ground all in all you try to go through this whole sharade about 3 times and within 5 minutes you'll be pretty wore down. This is alive training your not trying to compete w/ the person your working with rather your just trying to get a feel for the different elements and how to control them.
Its a great Cardio workout as well. As time progresses and so do you you may dawn some head protection and or hand pads and go a little rougher, or something we do is from the stand up range we use padded sticks and learn to break that range to clinch by either looking for a disarm or just entering that range while taking a blow on the arm or something.. which in real life would probably SUCK nonetheless its still all in fun. Are we gearing for UFC/PRIDE NHB ring fighting? NO were just looking to up our game a little bit and take it to new levels.
Some of you I think didn't get what I said. I said I couldn't speak about SBG because I didn't know much about it. I thought it meant UFC because usually when you rent out a UFC they have something like SBG sports or something before the tape starts. Upon further investigation, I have found out it stands for Straight Blast Gym which is Matt Thorton's JKD Concepts. Paul Vunak and Matt Thorton are both Inosanto's guys. Same base but different outcome in their approach. Neither is wrong as I also feel the same about concepts and original. Both are JKD. There is no such thing as a correct or incorrect expression therefore both ways get the job done. In this case, Vunak and Thorton are both great martial artists in their own right with their own ways of delivering effective and fast ways to taking people out. I wouldn't mind seeing what a SBG class has to offer in relationship to a PFS class which I more used to.
