Things I'd change about the way the martial arts are practiced.
There are many things that could be improved by changes in the way martial artists train. For many years, there have been many misconceptions that have changed the way martial arts are taught and practiced. If an instructor is taught incorrectly, he in turn will teach his students incorrectly. This has happened for so many generations that it is difficult to know how things should be done. Because the subject is to broad to discuss in this forum, I will mention only a few things here. In the future I will occasionally continue to post on this subject.
At first glance, I see several things that most every karate or Tae Kwon do student does incorrectly. The knife-hand strike is practiced incorrectly. Most of us were taught to form a straight hand with the fingers together and the thumb bent and tensed against the hand on the palm side. The correct way is to place the thumb straight and laying parallel to the index finger. The hand is not tensed tightly. Formed this way the knife hand is more effective. Striking is not on the surface, but strikes are carried through the target. Strikes done with the hand only loosly tensed are known as "Dead-hand" strikes.
The basic twisting (cork-screw) punch is also practice incorrectly by most martial artists. There are several different ways that this is commonly practiced. Most are incorrect. How can I say that? Even though various ryu/styles perform techniques differently, there are reasons why some techniques should be done a certain way. It is common to see many punch so that at the end of the punch, the elbow is locked straight. Along with this the fist is rotated until at the striking point the first two knuckles are parallel to the floor and the palm side of the hand is facing straight down. The correct method is a little different. When punching the arm does not extend until locked. Rather the punch extends only until the point of the elbow is pointing down towards the floor at a 45 degree angle. The fist has at this point rotated only so that the first two knuckles are at a 45 degree angle to the floor. Overall the punch is shorter that the locked arm punch. However, it can be more effective. This punch was originally designed to hit pressure points on the attacker. One target is the soft inverted "V" formed by the bottom ribs. The striking point is the very top of the "V" just under the sternum but below the ribs. The locked arm punch will allow only one knuckle at most to strik the soft spot there. The ribs tend to get in the way. With the fist at 45 degrees the first knuckle will easily strike correctly and allows the second knuckle to strike the point next to the first one. In this way two points can be struck at the same time. The strike is even more effective if at the last second the strike is directed in and down. Use caution when practicing this. Very little power is needed to make this strike work effectively. NEVER strike this target hard.
At first glance, I see several things that most every karate or Tae Kwon do student does incorrectly. The knife-hand strike is practiced incorrectly. Most of us were taught to form a straight hand with the fingers together and the thumb bent and tensed against the hand on the palm side. The correct way is to place the thumb straight and laying parallel to the index finger. The hand is not tensed tightly. Formed this way the knife hand is more effective. Striking is not on the surface, but strikes are carried through the target. Strikes done with the hand only loosly tensed are known as "Dead-hand" strikes.
The basic twisting (cork-screw) punch is also practice incorrectly by most martial artists. There are several different ways that this is commonly practiced. Most are incorrect. How can I say that? Even though various ryu/styles perform techniques differently, there are reasons why some techniques should be done a certain way. It is common to see many punch so that at the end of the punch, the elbow is locked straight. Along with this the fist is rotated until at the striking point the first two knuckles are parallel to the floor and the palm side of the hand is facing straight down. The correct method is a little different. When punching the arm does not extend until locked. Rather the punch extends only until the point of the elbow is pointing down towards the floor at a 45 degree angle. The fist has at this point rotated only so that the first two knuckles are at a 45 degree angle to the floor. Overall the punch is shorter that the locked arm punch. However, it can be more effective. This punch was originally designed to hit pressure points on the attacker. One target is the soft inverted "V" formed by the bottom ribs. The striking point is the very top of the "V" just under the sternum but below the ribs. The locked arm punch will allow only one knuckle at most to strik the soft spot there. The ribs tend to get in the way. With the fist at 45 degrees the first knuckle will easily strike correctly and allows the second knuckle to strike the point next to the first one. In this way two points can be struck at the same time. The strike is even more effective if at the last second the strike is directed in and down. Use caution when practicing this. Very little power is needed to make this strike work effectively. NEVER strike this target hard.
posted by Charles B. Stanley at 6:44 AM
<< Home