The general martial arts thread

When people do a front kick they normally remain more or less stationary. They may move forward a little bit.

One of the senior students I trained with had a kick that was so powerful that when he did a front kick, the force of the kick would propel his entire body forwards by around 7-10 feet! Because his centre of gravity was so good his body would remain in a normal upright position but he would glide across the floor at speed on the one foot that was touvhing the floor.

It was a very strange thing to see.

I lost touch with them over 21 years ago but they are still alive in my memory and these stories. There are so many that it's hard to remember them all.

There is a standard training tool in traditional Karate (not used very much over here I think) called a makiwara (ma-ki-wa-ra). Basically it's a very long plank of wood with the grain going lengthways. A hole is dug in the ground and half the length of it is then buried - the one I saw in Japan was also steadied with rocks buried at it's foundation. The top part of the plank is approximately at chest level and has coarse rope wrapped around the top of the wood. This is where a student will hit 'through' to improve the destructive force of their attack such as a punch, kick or elbow attack. I used to think it would be impossible to break this type of tool in half, against the grain of the wood, buried in the ground - no way.

Note, I said 'used to believe'. One of these champions did it. Imagine being in the receiving end of a punch like that!

OK, I've told stories of power and speed.

Here's one that might interest you. Aikido is based on circular movements, using an attackers strength against them and also uses the fact that joints in a body can only move in certain directions.

When I was at the peak of fitness and strength (100 pressups on my wrists per minute without breaking sweat or changing breathing pattern, four and a half hours training a day, etc, etc, blahdy blahdy blah) a colleague of mine told me to hold my fist in front of me and to help me, I should also wedge my elbow into the side of my body to make myself more 'solid'. He told me to do everything I could NOT to let him move my fist. He then placed the end of a single finger in the centre of my tense fist and started making small circular movements. My fist would start to move very slightly with his finger, then he increased the size of the moevement very slightly every couple of seconds and my fist would continue to be swung around in circles. Eventually he was making such large circles that my elbow couldn't be held against my body anymore and my entire arm was being swung around in a circle. He did this with just one finger despite all my efforts to prevent him from moving my fist and arm! You can do this too as it's basic physics actually. !

Another example of technique conquering strength is a basic 'S' shaped wrist lock. The human arm can only move in certain directions and many martial arts that use 'locking' techniques (mobilising parts of the body so that the attacker is immobilised) use this basic 'S' shaped technique based on the position of the hand, wrist, elbow and overall arm poistion to create an 'S' shape which also traps a very painful nerve in the wrist and can also easily break the wrist.

In martial arts films this is done at speed (it looks better!). I have executed this move against a much stronger opponentwhile he was grappling with me. Speed was out of the question because the guy had immobilised by his sheer strength. What I did was, instead of trying to puch away from him, I grabbed him even harder to make his arms and body an extension of my own (a bit like gluing us together). Using small circular movements to get him off balance then veeeeeery sloooowly over a 60 second period, I just slowly changed his arm position and then made it into an 'S' shaped lock which ended up with him collapsing onto his knees from the 'sudden' intense pain he experienced when I trapped his nerve in his wrist. I didn't have to hit him as he just submitted there, particularly as all I had to do was hold his wrist with one hand while I told him off for being silly.

Speed and power is not everything.

OK Tomi, here's one you can practice at home. When we were in the Willow Tree the other day a customer overheard our conversation about the very powerful Tai Chi 'punch' that uses Chi energy and mentioned something called the 'One Inch Power Punch'. I have to confess I've never thought very much of this technique but it is often mentioned by martial art nuts as it was made famous by Bruce Lee.

It's a very simple concept actually and is based on basic secondary school physics of turning dormant energy into kinetic energy. A bit like letting go of a coiled spring.

With your fist approximately an inch from your target and your arm bent (the degree of how much your arm is bent would depend on the circumstances you are fighting in), your arm and upper body will be tensed (like the coiled spring analagy) and then you just 'let go', allowing your fist to drive forward into and through your target (as in any impact, always aim through a target and not 'at' the target). Twist your hip and upper body into the punch at the same time. On impact the fist is clenched slightly to prevent damage to your hand and wrist. your hip

That's it. Very simple and mildly effective in close combat situations but for some reason Kung Fu people go on and on and on about this. Each to their own I suppose.

A good general tip for many martial arts is that speed is often achieved by being flexible and relaxed.

The perception of many people is that tension = strength = power because it feels powerful to clench a fist and feel the latent energy that is waiting to be unleashed. In some cases this is true - there are many techniques that use this such as Karate's 'dynamic tension' or King Fu's one inch power punch. In most cases it is the opposite though. power comes from speed and technique for many 'hard' martial arts.

Technique is something you have to be taught. Speed on the other hand can be achieved with practice seperately so here's a simple of tips.

To practice how to increase the speed of a punch or kick remain as relaxed as possible. A simple way to do this with ounches is to practice punching without making a fist. Flick your relaxed hand and arm out infront of you, aiming at an imaginary opponents solar plexus (the centre of the chest) or face. Do not make a fist. Do not tense your arms and hands. Just practice 1-2 's (right-left punches). Just keep flicking your hads out towards the target. You are not trying to hit a target or to do any damage to any imaginary target - you are just flicking. DO NOT TENSE YOUR SHOULDERS. Stay relaxed and do not think of it as punching.

To use an analogy you are flicking a whip. A whip has immense destructive power but has no ability to be tense. The difference with the human arm is that it's jointed so imagine it as a piston that has no muscles that is just being flicked forward by your movements.

After a short while you should be able to increase the speed of your punches by at least 2 or 3 times the original speed. When impacting with a punch, tense the fist on impact to prevent damage to your hand and wrist.

I'll show you this properly when I see you next Tomi.

Most of these have been for the benefit of Tomi (at his request ages ago) but there is a basic self defence move (not any martial arts) that ladies (and gentlemen) may find useful.

If you are unfortunate enough to have someone get behind you and grab you around the neck, try and position your body so you can be able to lift one of your legs and place the side of your shoe (The bit between between the heel and flat of the sole) as high as possible on your attackers shin. Having made contact just ram your foot downwards, scraping the side of your shoe along the entire shin bone, ending with your foot violently slamming down onto the top of the attackers foot. If you are wearing higher heels or even stilletos it is even more effective.

Naturally this is a very violent action so must be used only when you feel it is warranted.

Additionally, most people are not trained in martial arts and will panic or freeze if under threat. If you can maintain even a semblence of rational thought and running away is not possible, if you are going to flail your arms, do it at face height with your finger nails pointing away from you. You may manage to slash the attackers eyes and temorarily stop him long enough for you to make your escape or kick him/her in the shin or between the legs before running off.

I you have even more stbility of mind and know that you are in real danger, aim for the throat or the solar plexus (the centre of the rib cage where the ribs join) and hit it as hard as you can then run.

Sorry that this is all so violent. This is panic self defence at it's worst and is meant as a diversion to allow you to get away if you feel you are in serious danger. I sincerely hope you will NEVER be in a situation like this. Ever.

Men will underestimate a female and they are often taller as well. They are also usually slower and less nimble. Women should always use this to their advantage and hopefully with a quick dodge the attacker will lose his balance. If someone lunges at you and you find they are off balance, give them a helping hand.

A basic move is to step to the side as someone lunges at you. Their momentum will mean they will commit their body weight in a straight line. As you step aside and turn around so you are facing the same direction as the attacker is facing and you are parallel to him. This is not easy to describe but very simple to demonstrate so I shall show you if we meet again one day or show Tomi and you can practice on him.

Grab the scruff of their neck and yank hard towards yourself which should be the opposite direction to the way they are travelling. If you time it right their legs will swing up into the air and gravity will do the rest for their upper body. They will land hard on their back and be winded. The bigger they are the harder they will land. This gives you a chance to run or kick them in the head and run (depending on how you feel of course!).

Or push them over as t hey pass you. Always good for a laugh. Well, they *are* trying to hurt you!

I suppose you could slow him down by getting him to wear high heels too?

Ah, but Tomi, read the posts again. The first mention of high heels was a general comment for women in general. The second time I mentioned it I was refering to you my tall friend.

I was watching Lost last night and a bad guy grabbed one of the main characters by the front of his clothes (the equivalent of 'by the lapels') and pushed him against a tree. It's a pretty common form of aggresive move made by people in violent conflicts.

I sat there thinking, 'Go on, slap him aaround the ears!' then I realised that not everyone would think to do that. This is not martial arts, it's general self defence and is of particular use for ladies or men who are being attacked by someone of greater size and physical strength.

If this happens to you, wait until the attacker is closer to you (in other words, once he/she bends their arms a little so you are brought closer to their face) and then bring your open hands together at head height in a clapping motion. You will slap the attackers ears simultaneoulsly causing immense pain - enough hopefully to drop you and run. If you slap hard enough or need to slap an extra time you may burst the attackers ear drums (that's how much it will hurt) so only do this if you are in real danger - don't just play around with your mates and try this as it will do serious damage.

No she isn't exagerrating. Even a punch to the face is potentially fatal.

i have read every story so far and i am not amazed at the feats the human body can reach but thats probably my incredbly open minds fault.

i do find it interesting though and yes the one inch punch first time i ever heard about that was an interview with bruce lee one thing i ask ook is what he says relevent more too soft or hard martials arts im refering to (be like water friend)

oh and stilettoes would so suit tomi

I'm sure Tomi will have something to say about that.

To explain Nosllew's quote from Bruce Lee, here is a wider context of the quote: -

Quote :

Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.

These philosophies are an important part of many martial arts. Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee's 'style') is interesting as it adopts a considerably less dogmatic aproach and more realistic mindset to modern day fighting than most.

For anyone interested in Jeet Kune Do, here is a link that may be of interest: -

http://www.fightingmaster.com/masters/brucelee/quotes.htm

Sadly, most practitionors of Jeet Kune Do that I have met seem to have lost their way when it comes to what Bruce Lee's vision of what Jeet Kune Do is suppoed to achieve.