Using the Space each attack offers

 

The picture above is of course a bit of whimsy. Yet the topic, to my mind, is most serious.

Having trained with many great instructors, I know there is not one right answer to deal with an attack. Actually there are multitudes of right answers. But for me, from the experiences of training with multitudes of instructors of all sorts I always learned something that I would retain.

Starting in the days when no one talked openly about 'bunkai', seeing it becoming an open discussion topic. with many instructors joining the 'bunkai' generation, to my ongoing research into the uses of karate technique application potential, I noticed many things with those more knowledgeable instructors who I trained  with for over a decade each.

I realized so many were focusing on the end point of the attack and using the bunkai they taught to disupt that attack conclusion. Of course that works, however it seemed to focus not on, IMO, the more important issue, that being every attack does not come from the same focus. A preset response seems too tame for what I wanted to see.

Now I have experienced many great programs that offer a multitude of options.  But I wanted to have even  greater freedom of possible response.

Now if a program develops the ability to sell any response and drop the attacker, that is well and good.

However ,after working the Aikido techniques (actually a combination of aikido/shotokan karate/tjimande) I came to see something else, Those techniques were using the space around the attack to neutralize the attack and then conclude it.

Basically this would be the
INTERIOR line of Defense/Defense-Attack/Attack or
the EXTERIOR line of Defense/Defense-Attack/Attack

Of course reading this rapidly becomes word salad. There are a lot of principles behind each answer. I know I have commented on them in the past extensively.

So, I am going to simplify this by providing one example. There are multitudes of them in any case.

Your attacker steps in with a Right Single Punch or a Right Hooking Punch or a Right Grab towards your left chest, it matters not in any of these cases.

Your training provides you an answer, (Keeping the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in Mind) you choose to use the outside line of defense (that zone does keep you away from their other weapons).

Your left foot steps forward with a crescent step outside of their incoming attack. As you are stepping forward your arms cross to begin your response.

The instant your left foot touches down, you step with your right foot and then spin counter-clock wise away from the attack to then in Seisan stance facing toward where they are striking.  As you do so you also execute a left outside block (the force generated from the spin increases the force behind the block) against the incoming arm forcing it away from where you are. Of course as you execute the block you chamber your right hand at your side.

As soon as the left side block concludes, you instantly ust the left fist to strike the attacker's head.

And as you then chamber your left hand to your side at the same time you deliver a powerful right punch with the ridge of right knuckles into their ribs.

Conclude stepping forward with your left foot, you are facing about 20 degrees across the original line of attack. As you conclude that step you strike into their right armpit with a left vertical punch becoming a single knuckle vertical strike into that armpit.

The three strikes ought do down the opponent.

Those strikes would be delivered in  rapid 1-2-3 count.

And a more advanced version does not chamber your hands at your sides, you sacrifice power in the following techniques in order to strike faster without using the chamber.

Finding the best way to use the space around a strike in the better goal of training. Having only one fixed answer, of course works, but does it offer the best place to be at the conclusion of your defense.

IMO a correct training program instructs the available principles to use when creating a defense in every case.

While I have just used the opening of Seisan kata for this example, my own studies have found over 100 ways to use just that section of the kata. Now multiply that by the number of moves in every kata of your system then multiply that number by the number of kata and you begin to understand how much you have to wort with.

The key is understanding the principles behind your kata technique usage, then acquiring knowledge how to make their utilization work and of course working to make them real for you.

It may seem a daunting task, but it just is the goal of a training program, to get to technique application realization then to keep pushing your mind by continually finding another technique use to infinity and beyond.