In the attached video, I combine two basic karate technique in a manner markedly different from the traditional. You may have seen chudan gyaku zuki used to attack the assailant's elbow in a prior article and video. Here we expand on that.
The arm bar is used to break down the opponent's structure, rendering him in a vulnerable position- weight over the toes, head and shoulders down. With my opponent in a disadvantageous position, I am able to snake my arm below my opponent's and grip the back of his neck. Take note that in the video, I do not wind my opponent's arm to expose the crook of his elbow. This was done to keep my partner's shoulder intact and avoid a certain rotator cuff tear.
It may occur to some of you that this application of enkei gyaku zuki is similar to that of manji uke- arm bar and shoulder lock. I would encourage that kind of thinking. Practice along this line and you are well on your way to making yours a better karate.
Jargon is the specialized language of a given field. It is understandable to insiders, usually. In the case of Karate, the movements in kata are like a specialized language. Unlike jargon, there is little common understanding within the karate community! Case in point, the Shuto Uke that appear in the kata Kanku Dai (Shotokan) and the Shuto Mawashi Uke in the Kyokushin version of Kanku. My buddy Christian opined that the Kyokushin Mawashi Uke was just some uppity flourish. Ha!
Attached is a video I made with Domingo and Kaz of Sugawara Dojo in Ridgefield, NJ. Here I demonstrate some applications of the two"blocks." Actually, the shuto uke in the video is not so much a block, as a check of my opponent's arm so that I may take his back.
The application for shuto mawashi uke is control. It is the gateway to many of the advanced applications found within karate self-defense technique (neck cranks, joint destruction, chokes, etc.)- no wonder that is appears so frequently in kata. Look closely, and you might see moves to break my opponent's floating ribs, hyperextend his elbow, gouge his eye while applying an elbow to his temple, knee his ribs, lock his neck, and unbalance him. That is quite a list of tasks. Luckily, we now recognize all of it as shuto mawashi uke.
I have a few more videos to add. Hopefully they will improve our common understanding and make yours a better karate.
In order to understand kata and apply the principles contained therein, one ought to be able to identify what exactly is being depicted in the kata. Simple, provided you accept that everything in kata is about fighting an opponent within arm's length, and in this instance that an adversary's straight arm is an invitation to break it. The cup and saucer pose found throughout kata is a popular and recurring "image" of this principle.
Traditionally, the cup and saucer pose is referred to as a chambering, ostensibly for a backfist and sidekick. Domingo, my partner in the video below, assures me that if I were to break his nose with a backfist, it might end the fight. Domingo is too kind. I spar knockdown karate with Domingo regularly. He's got more muscle and bone mass, and heaps more motivation. A backfist, I'm afraid, would only stoke the hellfire sure to follow such a foolish move.
In the video, I demonstrate an elbow attack from a clinch, such as I might find myself in if Domingo lands a glancing blow and I grab and hold, and a situation where Domingo is raining down punches and I cover-up. Of course, a lapel grab might also be a situation where an elbow attack might be warranted. The art is not memorizing an application for every scenario, but being able to apply the principle to any scenario.
Note too that a full understanding of the straight arm attack principle is recognizing that anything can act as the fulcrum over which the elbow is destroyed. Future installments are planned to demonstrate this principle. Stay tuned and make yours, a better karate.
Some friends and I are practicing knife defenses, sweeps and joint manipulations of SSBD in the video above. It's a bit rough, admittedly, maybe even ugly, and that's the point. When you consider the never ending perfection that karateka seek when they practice kata, what is done in the "air," that is without an adversary except for the one in your mind, the practical takes a back seat to esthetics, and that can be detrimental to your health and safety.
The following is a list of karate technique you will see in the video: juji uke (knife pass and trap); chudan soto uke (arm bar); kake ashi dachi (foot sweep); zenkutsu dachi (foot sweep). In addition you will see a knife held in an ice pick grip used for capturing and controlling. If unarmed, kokken may be used to hook and control the opponent's offending limb. An expert might appreciate these things, but a beginner needs a partner (and a knowledgeable instructor).
As Uzi, Massimo and I practice the technique, note how we try to disrupt the adversary's balance before sweeping. Arm bars, stabbing, pushing and position are used to displace the opponent to the point that the sweep becomes effortless. Notice too how arm bars soften up the adversary for weapon disarms and chicken wings.
A word on transitions, kake ashi dachi (cross legged stance) and zenkutsu dachi (front leaning stance) I hope you appreciate, by now, are not intermediate steps to a final objective. If you have any practical fighting experience you understand that there is no tactical reason to ever cross legs (in the case of kake ashi dachi) when transiting sideways unless you wish to give your opponent an advantage. The stance represents a sweep. When Uzi executes a zenkutsu dachi, notice how he uses his torso as a fulcrum in an arm-bar to unbalance me for the sweep. The notion that stances are transitory phases of a body in motion should be put to rest. When combined with the images of what the adversary is experiencing contemporaneously, the dachi (stances) represent takedowns or some other technique of dominance or control. Kake ashi dachi- it only looks like you are crossing your legs, but remember that the other guy is falling. Zenkutsu dachi- it only looks like you've over committed to your lunge, but remember that the other guy has been unbalanced an is about to fall.
Finally, the video closes with a loop of Uzi repeating a key point for head control and the neck crank. Details, details. I hope you found this interesting and helpful in your quest for a better karate.
My thanks to Maul Mornie, and SSBD brothers Uzi and Massimo.
A seasoned karateka like you might dismiss the juji uke (or cross block) as one of those traditional karate artifacts you can't figure out: why go through the trouble of crossing your arms to block an attack when dodging or stepping away will do? You might even question committing both arms to a defense against what very likely would be a feint before the actual strike. If you are among the minority of seasoned skeptics, take heart, this video clip is for you.
The ju in juji-uke refers to the number 10, which is rendered as 十 in Japanese. You can see where this is going. The crossed arms in the "block" are represented rather conveniently by 十. Much confusion arises over how the block is applied. Tradition would have you cross the arms simultaneously as is done in kihon and kata. That tradition, I argue, would have you struck square in the face. A worthy opponent would fake and get you to commit everything, like the Maginot Line, to a defense that is easily circumvented.
Consider what the video clip above offers, a clever defense against a jab-cross combination, that utilizes position, control, and leverage to defeat the attacker. You are not merely waiting for the blows to rain down on you as you cover: you are setting up your opponent to walk into an ambush. If you are wondering where the crossed arms come in, the defender does cross arms, though not simultaneously. In the basic application, it's the attacker's arms that get crossed. That's art. That's a better juji -uke.
Maybe you've practiced karate for 30 years and teach your own classes, maybe you are an intermediate student already comfortable with low stances like kiba dachi from where you throw countless chudan tsuki. If you are only doing deep and low stances because they challenge your quadriceps, or because they "look" like proper karate, this will challenge your notion of karate. If you are content with your karate situation, click to another blog or watch one of those cute "crazy things that cats do" videos because what follows may disturb your equipoise.
Your balance and low and deep stances mean next to nothing unless your feet are deep into your opponent's personal space. Hold the foot fetish imagery for a second and consider the "why." Surely there must have been a reason for emphasizing deep stances and footwork, even if the old karate masters could not explain why?
In the attached video, chief SSBD instructor Maul Mornie demonstrates a thigh sweep, which might trigger an "a-ha!" moment. In order to perform this technique correctly you must step through your opponent side-on. As you do, your thigh, close to the inguinal crease, clips your opponent's leg and throws him off balance. Like anything, it takes practice.
Maul performs this throw (Simbur) effortlessly, which comes from walking through countless opponents. You cannot develop this skill with thousands of repetitions against your reflection in a mirror. As you watch the video, you might notice that the technique looks a bit like kiba dachi, and at other times, like zenkutsu dachi or kokotsu dachi. That's okay. Naming something is an act of taking possession, but if you do not understand what you are taking hold of, the name hardly matters. Forget the names for a moment and just do.
When you train with Maul, as I do, naturally you become more adept in the art of SSBD, as a side bonus for karateka, it makes your karate better.
Putar Kepala means to swivel or turn the head. In Silat, it refers a family of takedowns by turning your opponent's head. Representations of this technique can be found in karate (osae uke and mawashi uke). Now there are several versions of osae uke and mawashi uke floating around out there, so be forewarned. The two we are concerned with accomplish the same thing: to apply torsion to the spine of your opponent in order to breakdown his structure. The principle of the technique, like many others, is to bend and twist. In karate you will recognize the technique as up and down pressing blocks (osae uke), or the mawashi uke (with artfully curved pinky and ring fingers and ostentatious ibuki).
"Wait a minute, these are two totally different technique," you are thinking. Think again. With this application of Putar Kepala your opponent's head is down (torso bent at the waist) and one of his arms is up in the air. The curved little fingers of mawashi uke are a clue that you are grasping your opponent in some fashion. In fact, you are grasping him behind the neck and by the elbow. Using the principle of the force couple (equal and opposing forces on a parallel path) you cause your opponent to twist and thereby lose his balance. Osae uke is representative of the force couple principle. Mawashi uke is a descriptive representation of what is going on (rotation).
Take a look at Lorenzo Bagnai putting Putar Kepala in action. Notice the use of forearm strikes to the neck, elbow strikes to the face, and knee kicks to the body to get the opponent into position. By advancing, retreating, or moving to one side or the other, he is able to direct his opponent in a variety of directions.
