Ready to get hit?
Ready to get sucker punched?
If your answer is no, you're not alone. I would say 95% or more don't have a clue what on earth to do.
Hopefully the last class will get you on the road to preparedness. Sucker punches and assaults are not always noticed until you feel that weird tingle on your head. Now what? What are you going to do next? Are you going to "Put your Pumpkin on a Post"? God I hope not.
Here's what Chris and I recommend.
-Cover: You have been hit, you may or may not know where your assault came from. It's your job to protect your computer, and get ready to counter. Protect it with a cover. Make sure your head is covered on all sides. Body shots hurt, but without your brain, you're as dead as fried chicken.
-Look: Look through your brow and see what is around you. Locate exits, or means of escape. Unless you have a clue what is in front of you, you're bound to do more damage to yourself than your opponent could dream of doing to you.
-Get Mobile: Bob and weave. Shuck and jive. Stick and move. Dance and prance. I don't care what you call it, you have to make yourself violent to your attacker and also protect yourself. This involves level changes, elbow thrashing, knees, or whatever you can do to make it hard to hit you.
-CHARGE!: This might be the most important part of the whole equation. If you stick around and try your best Jet Li impression, you're going to get your ass kicked. Move! Find your exit and charge! What if you're surrounded? What if your exit is blocked? Remember that Cover thing you got? USE IT! Plow through your blockers and keep on going! If you fall down, get your ass up, and go again!
Well, let's say for the sake of discussion, that you didn't do these things and you got knocked down. Well, now you got a problem. You're already behind in the game and you have to get the hell out.
Remember, you must assume that your attacker has friends, and that those friends have weapons. You cannot stay and fight. I am a pretty damn good wrestler, but I know better than to stay and tussle with some jerk on a asphalt parking lot. My goal is not to tap the guy out, or win points, or even look cool. I'm purely trying to live to see tomorrow with as much of my body in tact as possible. You have to get up!
Here are some techniques on how to get up. Now keep in mind. Some of these we have not officially covered in class. Study these anyway, and learn how to escape. If you have any questions, you can contact Chris or I at minnesotawesternmartialarts@gmail.com
-Shoulder Sprints: This is a loose term to describe the sliding motion that we practiced that is designed to flee from your opponent. Wiggle your way to safety!
-Arm Pin and Arch: There is about 3839493489349 known ways to do this technique. We practiced it as a high grab, block the ankle, and turn. Here is a pretty good video on how to do the same thing in a different way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sH7fF_Rcss
-Shrimp: This is the technique where you use your feet or hands to push off their body to create space between you and your attacker. The basic idea is that you go to your side, and touch your toes. Push off with your hands or feet the best you can!
-Stand up: No, not that lame crap on comedy central, but the wrestling move. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bemuWEs8SR0
-Sit out: Kicking out your legs, switching it on your opponent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdfov1FQ0to
I don't think you can properly talk about ground defense without mentioning the greatest (in my opinion) ground fighter to ever live. Fedor Emelianenko. This guy is tougher than any human being I have ever seen when it comes to ground work. If you want to see some of his tactics, this is a great place to start. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBsZkxlgoRk
Also, for those of you who have been to our classes in the past, watch Fedor's foot work. Unreal. You will notice how much relentless assault this guy puts on. Drop steps, and drop shifts with an uncontrollable offense.
Another little extra for those of you who know the drop step/drop shift foot work, check out this video Chris sent me. This is Chuck Liddel giving a quick lesson on how to punch like him. His fist work is good, but what he does really well is his foot work and body mechanics. Watch how when he throws his whole body seems to drop. This video really shows a good drop shift/drop step type of movement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BCU64CwmYc
Keep practicing!
Another real quick thing, class will be at 4pm for now on. See you there!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
April 5, 2009 - Class Supplement
As soon as you sense the possibility of an attack, you must react immediately with your own attack to kill the enemy or you will give him the chance to regather himself and come at you again. - Musashi, The Book of Five Rings
I wanted to take this weeks article and explain the theory, not so much the moves. My reason for this? The moves that we did were all covered in previous blogs for the most part. What we worked on in class was the transition from victim, to vicious attacker. This is something that everyone who doesn't want to get beat up needs to know how to do.
One of the things we worked on was transitioning from getting hit, to hitting them. Is hitting them enough? Is grabbing them enough? Is throwing them enough? Of course these are hypothetical questions, but until you are safe, the answer is no. You must keep driving until your attacker no longer can consider attacking you.
In the early 1930's Mao Tse-tung and his communist pals decided that they were going to make China a Communist state. Easier said than done... Mao was constantly dealing with internal strife within the ranks of the Communist party. Mean while the Nationalists lead by Chiang Kai-shek were planning an offensive to stomp out the newly formed communist rebels. Chiang and his Nationalist army had support of the Germans and much better weaponry. Everything was going great for the Nationalist army. Chaing managed to knock the rebel force down to only about 100,000 soldiers, and surrounded. The Nationalists considered this a victory. Mao managed to maneuver his army out of the encirclement, and escape. It was at this time that Mao and his minions started questioning the tactics that his Bolsheviks masters were telling him. His force, whittled down to only 6,000 troops, managed to fight their way back and drive the Nationalists out of China and onto a little nearby island, Taiwan.
Now, by telling this story, am I supporting Communism? Not in the least. In fact, for the record, I hate Communists! However, if you study combat at all, you have to tip your hat to their aggressive tactics and virus like survivability.
What can we take away from this? Simple. Never give up. Once someone has identified themselves as a threat to you, Minnesota nice has to die right there. You must become a viper. Strike at your enemy and make sure that his threat is down to 0. From striking to grappling, victory must be there.
Drill your techniques CONSTANTLY! Kick trees, punch walls, whatever! Figure out a way to drill your skills and sharpen your blades. Find out what your good with, and make your self an expert. Find out what you are not so good at and make yourself proficient. Practice your verbal commands, your situational awareness, and your basic off line foot work in normal everyday encounters.
You must be slow in deliberation, and swift in action.
-Napoleon Bonaparte
I wanted to take this weeks article and explain the theory, not so much the moves. My reason for this? The moves that we did were all covered in previous blogs for the most part. What we worked on in class was the transition from victim, to vicious attacker. This is something that everyone who doesn't want to get beat up needs to know how to do.
One of the things we worked on was transitioning from getting hit, to hitting them. Is hitting them enough? Is grabbing them enough? Is throwing them enough? Of course these are hypothetical questions, but until you are safe, the answer is no. You must keep driving until your attacker no longer can consider attacking you.
In the early 1930's Mao Tse-tung and his communist pals decided that they were going to make China a Communist state. Easier said than done... Mao was constantly dealing with internal strife within the ranks of the Communist party. Mean while the Nationalists lead by Chiang Kai-shek were planning an offensive to stomp out the newly formed communist rebels. Chiang and his Nationalist army had support of the Germans and much better weaponry. Everything was going great for the Nationalist army. Chaing managed to knock the rebel force down to only about 100,000 soldiers, and surrounded. The Nationalists considered this a victory. Mao managed to maneuver his army out of the encirclement, and escape. It was at this time that Mao and his minions started questioning the tactics that his Bolsheviks masters were telling him. His force, whittled down to only 6,000 troops, managed to fight their way back and drive the Nationalists out of China and onto a little nearby island, Taiwan.
Now, by telling this story, am I supporting Communism? Not in the least. In fact, for the record, I hate Communists! However, if you study combat at all, you have to tip your hat to their aggressive tactics and virus like survivability.
What can we take away from this? Simple. Never give up. Once someone has identified themselves as a threat to you, Minnesota nice has to die right there. You must become a viper. Strike at your enemy and make sure that his threat is down to 0. From striking to grappling, victory must be there.
Drill your techniques CONSTANTLY! Kick trees, punch walls, whatever! Figure out a way to drill your skills and sharpen your blades. Find out what your good with, and make your self an expert. Find out what you are not so good at and make yourself proficient. Practice your verbal commands, your situational awareness, and your basic off line foot work in normal everyday encounters.
You must be slow in deliberation, and swift in action.
-Napoleon Bonaparte
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