Metronome training?

[John Drake]

Hello all,

I saw this mentioned somewhere on this site.  What is it?  I'm familair with the metronome from piano.  (About all I know of playing the piano).  It's used to keep time.  Is the metronome used to speed up/slow down sparring?  Similair to the berimbau music controlling the speed of the game in Capoeira?  Or am I totally off base?

Regards,

John M. Drake

[Stickgrappler]

woof:

from my understanding, it is like the metronome you know. not like capoiera or the muay thai music to speedup/slow down the fight.

the "feeder" in the traditonal sense of the term (as opposed to Sayoc Kali usage) will feed steady strikes and the "receiver" in the traditonal sense of the term and not sayoc kali usage or in DBMA parlance, the "fighter" will do his techniques. this way, you can train and not "compete". we've all had feeders who sometimes sped up or are too slow. with the metronome, it's slow and steady rhythm.

[Crafty_Dog]

Woof All:

  Pretty good SG.

  Before entering into the substance first a terminology clarification:

  In the FMA consistent use of terminology between different systems is permitted only to the extent that it enables maximum confusion when terminological usage is inconsistent.    Thus for example, in DBMA an "umbrella" is a palm up parry that roughly mirrors a roof block-- a usage unlike other systems.

  With the metronome training, there is the "feeder" and the "fighter".  (This complies with the criterion of maximum confusion for those of us who also train in Sayoc.)  Thus when it is time to exchange roles I will say "Feeder fights, fighter feeds."  

By training with rhythm we:
1) allow unequal skill levels to work together
2) give honest feedback of coordination
3) develop rythm, the antecedant to timing
4) research ideas.

Woof,
Guro Crafty

[Stickgrappler]

woof Guro Crafty:

thank you - i'm learning from one of the best

however, thank you for the insight in your more complete reply. it actually cleared something up for me:  i thought the person feeding was called "the metronome". now i know.

i have 2 training partners that are more experienced than me and i tend to unconsciously speed up. after learning about the metronome method, it is much better for us now.

thank you!

[jmdrake]

Crafty, StickGrappler,

Thanks for your responses!  Ok, just so I have this straight in my head, how is the rhythm kept?  Does the "feeder" simply speed up/slow down based on how well the "fighter" is reacting to the strikes?

Regards,

John M. Drake

[Stickgrappler]

woof:

like the metronome used in music, it doesn't speed up/slow down on its own. it is a steady rhythm. the feeder could internally count 1-2-3-4 (or 1-2-3 or whatever) as he feeds or could do it verbally to maintain the slow steady rhythm. at least, that is the way i train it using the metronome concept.

[Crafty_Dog]

Woof SG et al:

  Yes the feeder is also called "the metronome".

  And exactly right that the speed is steady.  In the beginning and intermediate levels of the training, the fighter controls the tempo.  It is only after he has a decent grasp of the coordinations in question that the feeder/metronome might pick up the tempo in order to push him.

Guro Crafty