Tuesday, October 18, 2016

When you are Old, Disabled and Weaker than your Opponent


Of course I am old….. (this is meant to be a joke)
But then again I am all of the above too.
 
Almost all karate systems have the same goal, developing a shattering fist to end confrontation with perhaps one strike. In one sense the arts are about intensifying your energy and learning how to apply that ingensified energy to the attacker.

 

So practice of vigerous striking, use of makiwara and all the rest of the subsidiary practices build to the same goal.

 

That is a fine goal, I subscribe to it myself.

 

But life is not fair. Perhaps you are smaller and weaker than your opponent. Or age and disability rob your strength. What do you do when one strike to an assailant will not stop their attack? Of course the simple answer is you do something else.

 

I would like to make a suggestion what that something else can be.

 

Having studied various examples of multiple striking from other systems around the world, there is an Isshinryu possibility that appeals to me a variation of use of the vertical fist.



That being use of the thumb on the top of the fist to drive into the underneath of the chin immediately after a strike into the solar plexus.

 

Against a RFF Right Punch (a simple attack for analysis purposes)

 
a. Shift to the left 45 degree angle and step in with your left foot in Seisan stance.
         b. Left outsides side block the strike and right Reverse Punch the solar plexus,
            c. Then continue that motion by striking up to their chin with the thumb of the right fist into the bottom of their chin, where it is soft.
            d. Then step forward with a right step behind their lead leg, which becomes a reap, striking calf to calf, taking them down and you continue to hold their arm.
            e. Conclude the motion with another Left Foot Forward crescent step into their arm elbow , to dislocate it, while it being held from their downing to the floor.

 
The Strike underneath the Chin, becomes a Force Multiplier to the initial strike. Of course other pieces of the Seisan section I am showing are also Force Multiplier(s) adding to the total effect.

 

Of course there is not one answer, this is just one of my favorite techniques. It grew out of my explorations of what the opening movements of Seisan  Kata could be used for.

 

In the late 1980s I began my exploration of the range of potentials. In 1991 I prepared this video of some possibilities I saw. That was 5 years before I met Sherman Harrill and then experienced a multitude of other possibilities. This was a presentation I made for my instructors about some of the possibilities. It is long and I suspect few will watch the whole thing

 
i. Force multiplier original definition :”A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of successful mission accomplishment.’ In my context a number of technique enhancements which increase the power of the response. The more force multipliers which can be added to a technique the increase of it’s destructive potential. They are a product of the training methodology utilized.

 

 Related posts that may be of interest.

 


 


 

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