Dealing with an attacker who kicks...

Korean styles are very popular in the U.S. these days. The main characteristic of Korean styles is their frequent use of kicks. The logic is that the legs are stronger than the arms and longer. If you have ever been kicked hard you know that you want to avoid it if possible. For years I have watched others training. One thing is clear. Most defenders will back up when facing a kicking attack. Either they back up and block or the try to back out of range. It is human nature to move away from such an attack. On the practical side it is not the best course of action. When we are faced with a powerful kick we should move closer to the attacker. If you are are the correct distance when the kick makes contact you will receive the maximum power from it. By moving inside the kick you are able to deflect the kick, or jamb it so it does not develop its full power. Not only that you are in range to control the fight and end it quickly. A good example of such a situation is this. The attacker tries to execute a spinning back kick or spinning axe kick. As soon as the attacker starts to spin you should move in quickly. One effective method is to move in quickly and bump the attacker with your hip. Because you are inside the circle you are not going to get kicked. By bumping the attacker, you cause him to loose his balance. Now you can control the fight and end it quickly. To learn to do this is easy. It only takes an little practice. You do however have to be close enough to the attacker when he starts to kick. you also have to get inside quickly. If by chance you should make a mistake you will not get hit with the full power of the kick. Try it you'll like it. Don't be afraid of kicks. Learn to stop them before they can hurt you. By the way I love to work out with martial artist that kick a lot. It is really fun to watch the look on their face when I continually defeat every kick that they try. Most can't believe how fast they end up no the floor. After all if they have been training a while they are use to the defender being afraid of the kicks and trying to back away.

To block, or not to block.......

From the first first lesson in any martial arts we are taught to block an attack. We spend a lot of time learning to block. Obviously we don't want to get hit. We also want to be able to counter attack so most of us are conditioned to block an attack and then counter attack. On the surface it seems like the best way to deal with an attack in general. The problem is that things are a little more complicated than that in the real world. When blocking we attempt to deflect the attack punch or kick away from its intended target. A straight punch for instance might be blocked to the side in order to prevent the punch from hurting us. If that was the only threat then that would be a good thing. But in the real world an attacker is not likely to give up after having his attack blocked. He is likely to continue to attack us. So where am I going with this??? I thought you'd never ask. My point is this. If we simplify things and attacker can attack with either his hands or feet. Our goal should be to take away as many of the attackers options as we can as quickly as we can. At the same time we should try to increase our options. Simply put we want to close with the attacker and neutralize the attack and control the situation. A good way to do this might not be to block. Instead of blocking (read as knock the punch to the side), we might want to redirect the punch and grab or trap it. By doing this we have defeated the punch and taken one of his four main weapons away. Once we have control of his arm we don't want to let go of it. We now have accomplished several things. First we have defeated the punch, Second we have taken away one of the four main weapons. Third we have given ourselves more options. Fifth, we are in range to counter attack. Sixth, we can now control the attackers balance. So what I'm saying is this. We do not want to block but control. If we only block we are only safe for the moment. The attacker will attack again. Each time he attacks he has a little more knowledge about how we react so he is better prepared when he attacks again. Each time we allow another attack we risk getting hurt. Why keep rolling the dice. The sooner we put a stop to the attacker the more likely we are to come out of the fight unharmed.
So lets get back to what we should do..... When someone punches we should not back up or just block. Instead we should redirect the punch and grab it. Many martial artist have been conditioned for so long that they do not have the skills to do this safely. This is a serious weakness that could get you killed. If you don't feel comfortable with this concept you should start training to overcome that as soon as possible. When teaching my students learn from the first day to re-direct and control the attack. Once you get a hold on the attacker continue to be in control. Finish the fight on your terms not the attackers.

Rooting and Up-Rooting an attacker

In many martial arts it is common to use joint locks and throwing techniques. What many martial artists either are not taught or have forgotten is that any joint lock or throw either roots or up-roots the attacker. To explain consider this. if you use a hip throw, you are in effect up rooting your attacker. An even better example is seen by some joint locks. Lets say you apply a joint lock that causes the attacker to stand up on his toes due to pain. This is a good example of up-rooting. Not only have you tied up one of the attackers limbs, you have taken much of his balance away by causing him to stand up on his toes. Although his strength has not changed, it is very hard for hime to get the leverage to use his strength against you.
Rooting is just the opposite of Up-Rooting. If you apply a joint lock that causes the pressure to be downward, you not only create pain, you may cause the attacker to bend his knees and squat or lean slightly. A good rooting technique many times makes it hard for the attacker to use his legs to kick. It is helpful to keep the concept of rooting and up rooting in your mind when you are training. Take time to look at every technique that you practice and look to see if it roots or up-roots the attacker. you may be surprised to see how many times your techniques incorporate this concept. By identifying those techniques that use this concept, you are better able to correct your own techniques. At the same time watch others when they are doing the same techniques. You may see small errors in the way they are doing the technique that will be helpful to them.

Train for realistic combat

For more than forty years I've studied the martial arts seriously. Not for competition but for self-defense. There are many good martial arts available for study. There are many things that I see that I see practiced often that really should be done differently. I say this not because the methods used are incorrect, but rather because I see good martial artists do some really risky and downright foolish things. To illustrate my point, consider this generic situation...... Two martial arts students are practicing self-defense techniques like this. The defender successfully responds to the attack in a way that causes the attacker to fall or be thrown to the ground. Then the defender steps back and assumes a defensive posture in case the attacker should try to attack again. This really makes no sense if you think about it. In a real situation you should never give the attacker a chance to attack again. The concept should always be, "Neutralize and Control". In other words if you come into control of the situation, keep control of it. If you are faced with a life threatening situation, don't risk your health by allowing the attacker another chance to harm you. Think about it this way, If you successfully stop an attacker and then allow the attacker to attack again you have just given them another chance to kill you. If on the second or third attempt the attacker kills you, you might as well have been killed by the first attempt. You have gained nothing by defending yourself only to become a victim. As martial artist we need to constantly look at our training from a different perspective. Often we get into routines that just don't make sense. We train hard to learn to defend ourselves. By stepping back and taking a good look at what we are practicing you may find that you are doing something that could put you at risk. Get out of the practice of defending and then moving back into a defensive position. Instead defend yourself and then continue to control the attacker until you are certain that you won't be attacked again. How you accomplish this depends on the situation. Remember having good self-defense skills are not enough. You also need to use good judgment and good common sense. Only in this way can we be truly prepared to defend ourselves.