Post by pathwinder14 on May 10, 2013 7:36:30 GMT -7
Self Defense primer 3: Strikes
This is part 3 of my small series. Here we will discuss strikes. This will include punches, kicks, elbows, knees, and head-butting.
Striking is a major tenet of most close combat/self-defense systems with few exceptions. Through striking you can injure, debilitate, cripple, or kill your opponent. Obviously, the more you hit someone the more damage it will cause. Striking is about more than piling up hits though.
Safety caveat: Do not try wihtout proper instruction. Serious injury or death can occur!
Targeting:
Targeting is very important when striking an opponent. Where are you hitting them? How much damage do you want to cause? In the blur of the fight how clearly can you think? You cannot plan your strikes out too much. As Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.” He may be no philosopher but that truism is gold.
Hard targets get soft weapons. Some understand while some say, “huh?” If you want to strike your opponent in the face you don’t want to use your closed fist. You will be hitting hard bones (cheek, nose, jaw, and forehead) with hard bones (fingers in a closed fist). You run a great risk of breaking your own fingers. Instead, you want to hit the face with the palm of your hand or bottom of the fist as the pads in the lower hand absorb some of the impact and protect the bones underneath. This is why boxers wear gloves. Bare knuckle boxing is actually much safer than modern boxing because bare knuckle boxers don’t strike as hard in order to protect their hands.
Soft targets get hard weapons. The inverse of the above is true as well. If you go to strike your opponent in the stomach to “wind” them you don’t want to use a soft weapon like the palm of your hand as the very same pads that protected it above will displace energy against the muscles and fat on the opponent’s abdomen. To strike them in the stomach, you want to use a hard weapon like your fist. With no bone-on-bone contact your fist is much better protected. This also forces more kinetic energy in the direction of travel instead of resulting in “bleed off”.
There are many weak points all people have no matter their level of health or shape. Kicking someone in the font of the knee for example can drop even the biggest person (and, in point of fact, works better against big people). Punching someone just below the sternum (Solar Plexus) can “wind” them or cause even greater damage. The temples, back of the skull, eyes, nose, neck, throat, ribs, kidneys, knees, shins and instep are all vulnerabilities everyone has no matter their physical condition. Some people have conditioned these to be tougher, but they are still weaknesses over all. We’ll talk about conditioning in a later article. Moving on…
The anatomy of a punch:
A punch is a coordinated movement of the muscles in the arm in an attempt to strike an opponent in various places. It involves many muscle groups in the arm and well as others in the torso. A bad punch is thrown with all the strength someone can muster. It is lumbering and all the muscles are tightly strained, telegraphing it. It lacks good targeting and strength. A good punch is thrown loosely to maximize speed and targeting. At the end of the swing it is then clenched tightly to connect with all the power that speed can deliver.
Fist:
There are many ways to make a fist. The traditional fist people make is basically balling up the fingers to make a hard mass of striking surface along all the knuckles. This is an inefficient fist. An even worse fist is made with the thumb tucked inside. This fist will result in a broken thumb. A fist made in Karate balls up the fingers but it curls the ring and pinky fingers inward tighter and only strikes with one square inch of the first two knuckles. This maximizes PSI thus hitting harder and causing more damage. Gung Fu makes their punch in a similar fashion but strikes with it turned upright and hits with the ring and pinky fingers for more speed in a rabbit punch fashion. These are very effective and deadly fast.
There are many other parts of the hand you can strike with. You can hit with the pinky side of the hand. This is called a knife hand or Shuto strike. You can strike with the thumb side of the hand (with the thumb tucked under). This is called a ridge hand strike. Finger tips can be used on soft sensitive targets like eyes in a spear hand strike. Gung Fu often employs interesting strikes such as clawing like a tiger. There are many, many ways to form the hand in a punch or strike. Feel free to research those if you wish.
Hooks:
A hook, as in boxing, is a punch that comes around the outside to catch someone in their blind spot. However it takes longer to land as it has a greater distance of travel. It also bleeds off energy in the arc.
Straight:
Straight punches or jabs travel in a straight line maximizing speed and power, but the opponent can see them coming.
Power:
The power in a good punch is generated below the arm. In Karate and Gung Fu the power is generated in the hips. The faster you turn and pull the opposite hand back to the body, the faster (and more powerful) the punch. Boxers however generate the most power by starting from the ground up. They actually use their same side foot as the punch. They push on the ground with the foot, turn the hips, and then throw the punch. It makes for a very strong but somewhat slower punch.
The anatomy of a kick:
A kick (like a punch) is a coordinated movement of the muscles in an attempt to strike an opponent in various places. It simply uses the foot instead of the hand. It involves many muscle groups in the leg. A bad kick is thrown slowly and is poorly balanced. The leg is poorly coordinated and the foot/shin is “swung” instead of directed with the muscle groups. A good kick has good balance, power, speed, and coordination. It is directed or pushed and rarely “swung”. It is chambered to maximize diversity of kick type, speed, and to maintain balance.
Balance:
Unlike a punch, throwing a kick requires you to stand on one leg sacrificing some balance in the process. You have to maintain balance in the process whilst standing on one leg. This takes proper instruction and lots of practice. You begin by placing the standing leg under your center of gravity to make up for the temporary absence of the kicking leg. After executing the kick you obviously replace the kicking leg to the ground. A good kick will not over throw your center of gravity. You should not “fall” back into your standing position after a kick. You should be able to execute the kick, wait a second, and then gently place your foot back on the floor. This will tell you if you have good balance or not.
Chambering:
Chambering is a method of kicking that breaks the kick into its smaller movements in order to maintain balance while adding diversity. Simply put, you raise the kicking leg up while the lower half still hangs down. This allows you to use the lower leg muscles to generate many types of kick from that one position. It is very common in kicking-heavy styles like Tae Kwon Do.
Foot:
There are many parts of the foot you can kick with. The parts used are the top of the foot, the balls of the toes, the outside side (or blade) of the foot, the inside (or arch), and the heel.
There are many types of kicks you can utilize. Pushing or stomping with the heel is a front kick, using the inside or outside of the kick in a sweeping motion like Billy Jack is a crescent kick, using the blade of the foot sideways is a side kick. There are many, many others. Feel free to research those if you wish.
Elbows and knees:
There are many times, when really close to your opponent, you may want to use your elbows or knees. These are very powerful as they have a small surface area thus generate greater PSI upon impact. However there are many nerves running along the knee and elbow. You will need to practice striking with them to know just how and when to use them. After breaking boards over my knee repeatedly I quickly learned that misplacement of the knee or board resulted in hitting either one of the nerves running down the side of my knee. Think “funny bone”, but in your leg.
Head-butting:
This is a long forgotten self-defense technique that has seen reemergence in UFC, MMA, and ground fighting. The frontal bone of your head is one of the strongest parts of the body. It’s forward arch shape makes it very, very strong. It is one of the only bones (hard weapons) you want to strike an opponent’s face with. A common tactic is to use it to strike the bridge of the nose blinding the opponent with tears and possibly blood. It can backfire though. If the opponent sees it coming they can quickly duck their head in hopes you strike your own nose against the back of their head accidentally. Poorly executed head- butts involve swinging the head like a bat. A good head-butt generates power at the waist by swing the entire upper body towards the opponent with the chin tucked downwards so the forehead strikes correctly.
This is part 3 of my small series. Here we will discuss strikes. This will include punches, kicks, elbows, knees, and head-butting.
Striking is a major tenet of most close combat/self-defense systems with few exceptions. Through striking you can injure, debilitate, cripple, or kill your opponent. Obviously, the more you hit someone the more damage it will cause. Striking is about more than piling up hits though.
Safety caveat: Do not try wihtout proper instruction. Serious injury or death can occur!
Targeting:
Targeting is very important when striking an opponent. Where are you hitting them? How much damage do you want to cause? In the blur of the fight how clearly can you think? You cannot plan your strikes out too much. As Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.” He may be no philosopher but that truism is gold.
Hard targets get soft weapons. Some understand while some say, “huh?” If you want to strike your opponent in the face you don’t want to use your closed fist. You will be hitting hard bones (cheek, nose, jaw, and forehead) with hard bones (fingers in a closed fist). You run a great risk of breaking your own fingers. Instead, you want to hit the face with the palm of your hand or bottom of the fist as the pads in the lower hand absorb some of the impact and protect the bones underneath. This is why boxers wear gloves. Bare knuckle boxing is actually much safer than modern boxing because bare knuckle boxers don’t strike as hard in order to protect their hands.
Soft targets get hard weapons. The inverse of the above is true as well. If you go to strike your opponent in the stomach to “wind” them you don’t want to use a soft weapon like the palm of your hand as the very same pads that protected it above will displace energy against the muscles and fat on the opponent’s abdomen. To strike them in the stomach, you want to use a hard weapon like your fist. With no bone-on-bone contact your fist is much better protected. This also forces more kinetic energy in the direction of travel instead of resulting in “bleed off”.
There are many weak points all people have no matter their level of health or shape. Kicking someone in the font of the knee for example can drop even the biggest person (and, in point of fact, works better against big people). Punching someone just below the sternum (Solar Plexus) can “wind” them or cause even greater damage. The temples, back of the skull, eyes, nose, neck, throat, ribs, kidneys, knees, shins and instep are all vulnerabilities everyone has no matter their physical condition. Some people have conditioned these to be tougher, but they are still weaknesses over all. We’ll talk about conditioning in a later article. Moving on…
The anatomy of a punch:
A punch is a coordinated movement of the muscles in the arm in an attempt to strike an opponent in various places. It involves many muscle groups in the arm and well as others in the torso. A bad punch is thrown with all the strength someone can muster. It is lumbering and all the muscles are tightly strained, telegraphing it. It lacks good targeting and strength. A good punch is thrown loosely to maximize speed and targeting. At the end of the swing it is then clenched tightly to connect with all the power that speed can deliver.
Fist:
There are many ways to make a fist. The traditional fist people make is basically balling up the fingers to make a hard mass of striking surface along all the knuckles. This is an inefficient fist. An even worse fist is made with the thumb tucked inside. This fist will result in a broken thumb. A fist made in Karate balls up the fingers but it curls the ring and pinky fingers inward tighter and only strikes with one square inch of the first two knuckles. This maximizes PSI thus hitting harder and causing more damage. Gung Fu makes their punch in a similar fashion but strikes with it turned upright and hits with the ring and pinky fingers for more speed in a rabbit punch fashion. These are very effective and deadly fast.
There are many other parts of the hand you can strike with. You can hit with the pinky side of the hand. This is called a knife hand or Shuto strike. You can strike with the thumb side of the hand (with the thumb tucked under). This is called a ridge hand strike. Finger tips can be used on soft sensitive targets like eyes in a spear hand strike. Gung Fu often employs interesting strikes such as clawing like a tiger. There are many, many ways to form the hand in a punch or strike. Feel free to research those if you wish.
Hooks:
A hook, as in boxing, is a punch that comes around the outside to catch someone in their blind spot. However it takes longer to land as it has a greater distance of travel. It also bleeds off energy in the arc.
Straight:
Straight punches or jabs travel in a straight line maximizing speed and power, but the opponent can see them coming.
Power:
The power in a good punch is generated below the arm. In Karate and Gung Fu the power is generated in the hips. The faster you turn and pull the opposite hand back to the body, the faster (and more powerful) the punch. Boxers however generate the most power by starting from the ground up. They actually use their same side foot as the punch. They push on the ground with the foot, turn the hips, and then throw the punch. It makes for a very strong but somewhat slower punch.
The anatomy of a kick:
A kick (like a punch) is a coordinated movement of the muscles in an attempt to strike an opponent in various places. It simply uses the foot instead of the hand. It involves many muscle groups in the leg. A bad kick is thrown slowly and is poorly balanced. The leg is poorly coordinated and the foot/shin is “swung” instead of directed with the muscle groups. A good kick has good balance, power, speed, and coordination. It is directed or pushed and rarely “swung”. It is chambered to maximize diversity of kick type, speed, and to maintain balance.
Balance:
Unlike a punch, throwing a kick requires you to stand on one leg sacrificing some balance in the process. You have to maintain balance in the process whilst standing on one leg. This takes proper instruction and lots of practice. You begin by placing the standing leg under your center of gravity to make up for the temporary absence of the kicking leg. After executing the kick you obviously replace the kicking leg to the ground. A good kick will not over throw your center of gravity. You should not “fall” back into your standing position after a kick. You should be able to execute the kick, wait a second, and then gently place your foot back on the floor. This will tell you if you have good balance or not.
Chambering:
Chambering is a method of kicking that breaks the kick into its smaller movements in order to maintain balance while adding diversity. Simply put, you raise the kicking leg up while the lower half still hangs down. This allows you to use the lower leg muscles to generate many types of kick from that one position. It is very common in kicking-heavy styles like Tae Kwon Do.
Foot:
There are many parts of the foot you can kick with. The parts used are the top of the foot, the balls of the toes, the outside side (or blade) of the foot, the inside (or arch), and the heel.
There are many types of kicks you can utilize. Pushing or stomping with the heel is a front kick, using the inside or outside of the kick in a sweeping motion like Billy Jack is a crescent kick, using the blade of the foot sideways is a side kick. There are many, many others. Feel free to research those if you wish.
Elbows and knees:
There are many times, when really close to your opponent, you may want to use your elbows or knees. These are very powerful as they have a small surface area thus generate greater PSI upon impact. However there are many nerves running along the knee and elbow. You will need to practice striking with them to know just how and when to use them. After breaking boards over my knee repeatedly I quickly learned that misplacement of the knee or board resulted in hitting either one of the nerves running down the side of my knee. Think “funny bone”, but in your leg.
Head-butting:
This is a long forgotten self-defense technique that has seen reemergence in UFC, MMA, and ground fighting. The frontal bone of your head is one of the strongest parts of the body. It’s forward arch shape makes it very, very strong. It is one of the only bones (hard weapons) you want to strike an opponent’s face with. A common tactic is to use it to strike the bridge of the nose blinding the opponent with tears and possibly blood. It can backfire though. If the opponent sees it coming they can quickly duck their head in hopes you strike your own nose against the back of their head accidentally. Poorly executed head- butts involve swinging the head like a bat. A good head-butt generates power at the waist by swing the entire upper body towards the opponent with the chin tucked downwards so the forehead strikes correctly.