Hot answers tagged technique
18
The shouting, called kiai, has multiple purported purposes. I would note that I'm posting these not out of a necessary belief in them, but out of explanation as they were taught to me:
The forced and trained rapid exhalation of breath. This can be used as both focus (by focusing on breath, one is less inclined to focus on the fear of failure when faced ...
14
Kicking has four parts to it: flexibility, technique, focus and ab's.
For the flexibility, I have found PNF stretching to be quite beneficial. This is a form of stretching that uses periodic resistence/contraction followed by relaxation to achieve a deeper strectch and excellent long term results (here is a reasonable Youtube example). Of course flexibility ...
11
I feel there's a core issue here being neglected:
When I throw a punch, SOMETIMES MY WRIST DOESN'T STAY STRAIGHT and I run the risk of spraining it.
If I could highlight, underline, and make it flash, I would. Your issue here is not simply wrist strength (which, by the way, is not going to be corrected by simple strength training alone), but rather ...
10
Generally (though this is often mis-taught), any sort of fingertip striking is done to the soft tissues of the body, a notable exception being thumb tip striking which may attack bone. You'll notice the way the body must be positioned in each regard to the twisting of the hand to strike palm up, palm down, or palm perpendicular, which hints at positioning ...
10
I'm going to be very precise with my answer here. Your technique will remain the same, your kicks and punches should still be the same as when you practice them. What does change though is your approach to your opponent so that you can deliver that technique.
Because your opponent is taller, you will have more issues than it just being harder to reach their ...
9
Depends on the style, but for the purposes of most Japanese martial arts, the "shouts" are Kiai and serve a couple different purposes:
Contracts the diaphragm and chest which can allow you to take a hit better.
Puts extra "energy" behind the strike as it causes you to focus on the moment of impact.
Shows "spirit" when in competition.
Shows where strong ...
9
Thanks to Dave L. for alerting me to this very erudite discussion!
Re. marketing material; there is no strong evidence that any of the "set play" sequences demonstrated by Barton-Wright and Pierre Vigny for B-W's Pearson's Magazine article were performed verbatim during training at the original Bartitsu Club in London. On that basis, it's arguable that ...
9
Head shots - knock out
Impact to the head can cause actual loss of consciousness, by brain trauma.
Liver shots - knock down
Hitting the liver can be devastating, but does not cause loss of consciousness. As shown here in the Hatton/Castillo fight, or here, with de la Hoya getting hit by Bernard Hopkins, liver strikes can be so incredibly painful that ...
9
This is a fairly common problem on both sides of the equation. We have to continually emphasize the importance of breathing during the techniques with newer students… and the importance of breathing out when having a technique performed on you. So step 1 is to trust that everyone in the room you are practicing has probably had this problem before, either ...
8
My answer is not exactly on the question "Rising on the ball or staying flat", but rather tries to make clear the reason why exactly you might prefer to stay flat, and not even pivot away. The underlying reasoning can be transferred to your question, since standing up will diminish power and snap according to the views below. Of course, all of the following ...
8
Personally when I am performing ikkyo from something like kata dori (tori) I am just gingerly holding the wrist, with the emphasis on the other hand articulating the elbow. When I am performing nikyo from the same attack I am gripping the wrist in such a was to actually be applying nikyo. Some people may not make this distinction, and it could be they ...
8
Try pivoting on the heel, before you shift your weight onto the foot, as opposed to pivoting on the ball after the weight is already on it.
I had an interesting experience regarding this question when I switched from traditional Tae Kwon Do to Shaolin Kung Fu years ago:
In TKD, there was a very intense focus on all the little details of how exactly to ...
8
[NB: It is entirely likely that you will have no idea what I'm talking about here. Unless you have training in Bujinkan Ninpo Taijutsu, this will all be foreign to you, and this is purposely so. This is based on content from my own training manual, and is meant to aid students in their continued study of taijutsu and is not for everyone.]
From the ...
7
As Trevoke said, there are no shortcuts, no fast-and-easy way to know you are relaxed. This is a very deep subject.
Relaxing the body is much easier than relaxing the mind. There are biofeedback methods you can use to relax your body. Relaxing the mind gets into meditation. However, as long as your mind searches out for an objective -- or a shortcut like ...
6
I have always approached (and been taught) ikkyo as a martial exercise, rather than technique.
Rather than being a strong technique, static ikkyo practice teaches:
Moving in and off the line of attack,
Footwork and movement,
Posture and breathing,
And other very basic concepts (hara, centeredness, maai, etc)
Nikyo (as well as Sankyo, Yonkyo, ...
6
Yes and no. The techniques you use while standing have to be modified to work from the ground. If the art you are studying does not have a ground combat set of techniques, you need to get back to a stance where your art works. You have a different set of vulnerabilities and tactical advantages than you may be used to.
Some things don't change:
Power ...
5
Slugster's great post forgot to mention relaxation.
Conditioning to build strength and improve flexibility is very important.
However, fast, fluid motion also requires you to be relaxed and it's harder to achieve relaxation of the large leg muscles than it is of the arms.
One drill I give people is to get a pile of cushions at a height they can ...
5
In my experience they are both a reverse punch, or gyaku zuki, which is done on the same side as the rearward leg and is one of the most basic foundation techniques taught in traditional karate styles. You should practice it stepping forwards and backwards, you never know when you are going to need it. In terms of co-ordination it is certainly harder to ...
4
There is no "fast and simple technique to relax", except maybe a hypnose-induced trigger, and I expect it would have to be carefully composed.
This is done like everything else - piecemeal. And when you get familiar with meditation, it becomes something you carry around with you.
The other solution is to start paying a lot of attention to your body, so you ...
4
I'm taking just this piece as the real question:
In martial practice, how can the ankles be used to maximize benefit?
Flexible ankles can significantly lower your stance (just bending them) in a much more natural way than trying to flex just your knees.
To lower my stance I prefer to just focus on flexing my ankles and forget about the knees.
When ...
4
I'm a first dan black belt, and on the taller side. What really is effective on me is getting close, in other words, get past my legs so I can't kick. The problem is, if your tall opponent is fast, getting past is hard. I'd suggest (after having people do this to me numerous times) is let the tall person kick first, then 빠른 발, a kick that (I don't know the ...
4
Kihap is basically a battle cry, carried over into modern times. But there are actually some very positive benefits.
It strengthens your core by tightening your abdominal mussels. This translates into more power in your motion and increased defense. The Kinetic Chain, also called Kinetic Linking, is the way your legs can pass their power through your torso ...
4
Here's the main problem:
Efficient, deadly moves are not pretty. They're mostly invisible.
Pretty, showy, artistic, theatrical moves are not efficient, or deadly. And they're very visible.
Now, from there, take an efficient, deadly, invisible move and make it pretty, show, artistic and theatrical. There's your recipe.
I'll throw you a bone: The punch ...
4
Berin Loritsch has a good answer, but I wanted to add something here as well, as one who primarily has trained in standup martial arts, but also had spent some time training Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu in an MMA gym as well.
If you are on the ground and primarily train an art that emphasizes standing techniques, and are engaged against someone whose art has them ...
4
This is an interesting question and I'd like to hear other's views on this.
I once read an article about diabetic foot ulcers. The articles explained that some diabetic lose sensation of pain from their feet. Your feet will automatically adjust weight distribution based on biofeedback. This happens subconsciously. However, since some diabetics don't feel ...
4
Absolutely. Actually, one of the schools in the Bujinkan (Gikan-ryu) was reportedly heavily influenced by the inclusion of a one-armed soke.
There is, of course, a strong natural disadvantage (all else being equal) to having only one arm available (for example, the opponent knows your high attacks will largely come from that side, you are not naturally ...
4
You'll notice a difference between the images in the book and the way Tony Wolf performs it (I suspect, and I say this out of speculation based on a childhood of slipping on dance floors in dress shoes at cotillion, that this has a great deal to do with foot wear and surfaces). When Mr. Wolf is performing the technique, he's deep under the armpit, and the ...
4
Someone who is "rooted" to the ground is difficult to move or control and can use this property to move and control others more easily. It's all about body structure. Here is a video of a short demonstration of being rooted.
Uprooting someone is when you break their connection to the ground or the structure that connects them to the ground so that they ...
4
I think I've been doing aikido for 12 or 15 years now. I'm still waiting for that habit to go away on its own. I still catch myself holding my breath.
Things that work for me:
Kiai - (Not all the time, but there are techniques where it helps. On the other hand, you get some funny looks) (I'm mostly not serious about this one)
Hiss - Particularly when ...
4
Start paying attention to your breath more in your everyday life. You'll find yourself holding your breath in very small fashions - when you wait for a thought to begin, or complete. When you're watching someone's movement and you're not sure.
When you're typing at the keyboard. All those micro-moments when you're holding your breath. Start working on ...
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