Blocking Theory

Blocking techniques are obviously very important to protect you during a fight. With a bit of work and the proper understanding of the techniques, everybody can become proficient at defending themselves. The next step is to use the blocks the way they are intended which normally means there is more than just stopping an attack.

In a past post I spoke about blocking softly. This is exactly what should be done when redirecting a strike or trying to control with a grab but there are times where you are trying to do something else with the strike. There are times when the technique is intended to be hard because you are trying to damage the striking arm or leg. Look at the blocks you are executing and determine if it is something that is intended to deflect or something that is meant to be more aggressive. With practice and/or the help of your instructors you will see when you can use blocks for the various purposes. Take some time to make some mental notes the next time you are working on your techniques and you will notice a difference in your fighting. Deflections will become harder to detect and hard blocks will become more of a distraction to your opponents. Better understanding the blocks will also help you focus on the correct angles to execute your block.

Control Your Emotions During Fighting

Each Kung Fu student will be different when they fight and each individual will react differently when they are fighting. It's natural and completely acceptable to experience a mix of emotions when practicing fighting. It is not OK to lose control of emotions when fighting.

Newer students are often scared, anxious, apprehensive and timid when they fight. This is because fighting is probably an unknown to them. Most people have not been in many fights in their lives. Overcoming this is the first mental battle you must go through to become a decent fighter. Once you are more comfortable, you will not hesitate when executing techniques and you will become much more successful in sparring.

Depending on the student, another emotion that comes into play is pride. As we practice fighting in our class, we try to remind the students that we are all there to learn. It is not necessary to win the fight and therefore don't worry about getting hit. Learn ways to avoid getting hit the same way next time. This ties in with frustration for the same reason. Don't get frustrated because you are getting hit by your opponent during sparring...you are there to learn and find ways to get better at what you are doing.

Anger unfortunately is an emotion sometimes that creeps into Martial Arts. Accidents happen when practicing fighting and on occasion someone will get hit harder than they should during a practice session. At this point it is important to step back and remember that the class is trying to learn together and the action was not on purpose. Anger combined with competitiveness can unfortunately lead to escalation in power during fighting and lead to students getting hurt.

One last hint is to avoid being intimidated by your opponent for any reason. They may be more senior than you or stronger than you or faster than you but they are still a Martial Arts student just like you. Fighting a superior opponent is definitely a great way to improve your own fighting if you focus on the lessons learned during the fight.

5 Reminders on Fists

Punching is one of the first and most basic techniques you will learn in martial arts. Because we learn punching early in our training careers we also have the most opportunity to practice wrong or get sloppy while performing. Here are 5 points to keep in mind when practicing.

1. Your contact point on a punch should be your first two knuckles
2. At the point of impact, you should be forming a straight line from your striking point, through to your elbow. The biggest mistake is to have a bent wrist at the point of impact.
3. Try to save your torque of your arm until just before impact.
4. Your fist should be clenched tightly at the point of impact, even if you are just practicing and not making any impact. Practice correctly to avoid accidentally striking with a partially open fist.
5. The forming of your fist should be 3 steps. Fold the tips of your fingers down, fold your knuckle joints, and finally fold your thumbs in. To experienced martial artists, this should be natural but for new martial artists, this sequence will prevent you from folding your thumbs inside your fists.

Those that practice correctly should not have to think about these things after a short period of training correctly as your body will start to naturally perform correctly.

Lama Training In Class

We are at an interesting time in our class where a group of the students are learning Lama forms. We do this for fun and as a break from the core training in Fut Gar. For those that are not familiar with how I ended up learning from multiple instructors, I wrote about it in a past post.

I thought I would take some time to point out some differences from Fut Gar that should be kept in mind during the training:

1. There are points in Lama forms where you will be leaning. In Fut Gar we are always keeping our body straight with no lean.
2. You need to be in a Gung Bo for many moves. Although this is not used in Fut Gar hand forms for reasons we have discussed in class, there are reasons to use the stance in Lama.
3. Your back hand will be extended during many techniques in Lama. In Fut Gar, we are typically pulling back to an elbow directly opposite of the attack.
4. In Fut Gar we generate power mainly from the turning of the waist but in Lama you will notice that we will discuss other methods.
5. We will be using a wider Ma Bo in Lama than we do in Fut Gar.
6. You will likely find that you are burning out of energy. This is common whenever you try to do a different style because your body has not adjusted to the new way of moving.

There are some things that don't change:

1. You should be looking at your opponent during the techniques. Of course I mean at their shoulders and head, not at their feet.
2. You should continue to think of why you are executing techniques.
3. Your striking and blocking surfaces will remain the same.
4. You will still be told to lower your stances.
5. Have fun with the training.

Yes There Is a Purpose

With the evolution of martial arts, it is impossible to avoid changes to techniques in traditional forms over time. This could be due to imitation of another individual, incorrect execution, incorrectly remembering the technique, misunderstanding of a technique, overemphasis of a technique (changing the form to match the application of the technique), rushed learning leading to imprecision, or shortage of knowledge in the instructor leading to their own flavour of execution. In fact, I have seen instructors change forms over time to something they believe is easier to execute or "looks better" when they perform. Unfortunately, this takes away some potentially important details in the style.

Instead of changing forms, I would encourage martial artists to think about what they are doing. In my experiences, there are purposes for executing a technique a certain way and for specific hand positions. The purpose could be defensive such as defending an area of the body, striking to a blind spot as a defense (Fut Gar students will be very familiar with this concept), protecting from follow-up techniques, or as a backup in case your technique is unsuccessful. The purpose could be offensive such as setting up your next technique or could a hidden meaning. Before changing a technique, I believe it would be much more useful to ask what all the potential reasons are for doing something a certain way. This not only will help preserve your style but also take you through the exercise of self learning something you have not specifically been taught.

For those that make changes because it looks better...yes, I have heard this reason. An experienced martial artist appreciates a form done correctly and done well. Changing a few moves will not make a difference. Instead of adding flash, it is probably much better to practice your forms until you are known for your precision and outstanding execution.

James Moves Forward

Sorry about the delay but here are a few pics from James' grading. It was a long but successful night at the school.

Latest Grading Pics

It has been a while since I have had a chance to post but last night's grading has motivated me to log on and share the pictures. Enjoy and congratulations to Chris.