Formosa Neijia

Hat tip to Another Neijia Blog for bringing this to my attention. Here is a relatively new interview with Mike Patterson from March of 2007. He talks about fight training and him learning liuhebafa. Here’s an excerpt about “real IMA fighting” versus “sport”:

Karl-Heinz: Internal Arts have many attacks against the neck, the spine and a lot of fast breaking techniques or things like “black hands” like in shuai chiao, where you break something while you throw someone. Do you think a fighter who will compete in sport events has to do some kind of deconditioning, so that he not pulls some of this stuff without thinking? Or with other words. must a sport fighter be trained different than IMA fighters who just train for self defense?

Mike Patterson: I have been asked that question many times over the years. My answer is no. I feel that a well trained individual should be able to adapt to different circumstances. For example, if attacked in a parking lot by more than one assailant, the tactics and technical selection will naturally be different than if attacked in a bathroom stall by one assailant, yes? In this same regard, I feel that a properly trained internal martial artist should be able to intelligently modify technical selection with regards to rules in a tournament vs. no rules in the street. One of the best living examples of that would be my eldest student, Alex Shpigel. Alex has never been defeated in the ring. He has been a World Champion, Multi-times International Champion, Multi-times National Champion and Multi-time Regional Champion.

Yet before Alex ever stepped into the ring, he had been trained classically in the internal arts for well over eight years under me. He had no trouble adapting his technical selection for the ring what-so-ever.