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There’s a special kind of paranoia that often accompanies a serious practitioner of martial arts. Upon entering a room, we begin assessing possible threats and analyzing escape routes, like Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. I usually pick out the biggest, meanest looking guy and imagine ways that I might take him out. It’s only natural to want to use a skill you’ve worked so hard to acquire. But, it’s scary too, because you just never know….
I approach the bar to get a drink and accidentally bump into the guy, or step on his foot. Maybe, he catches me checking out his girlfriend, and I can’t “smooth talk” my way out of it. He’s determined to teach me a lesson. I begin to go to that place inside myself, where it seems like my life is happening to someone else, like I’m watching it all on TV, or something. I stay calm enough to avoid a premature adrenaline dump. But, it’s coming on, as I feel my heart rate increase and senses begin to heighten. We’re facing each other, and, after a few choice words, he takes a swing at me.
It’s a big overhand right. I instinctively duck under, to the outside, and explode into his liver with a left shovel hook. An uppercut, with the same hand, lifts his chin, and I immediately punch through his jaw all the way to the back of his head with a right cross. Of course, my hand is broken, but he drops and doesn’t get up. All those hours on the heavy bag finally paid off.
But, maybe, he’s too fast for me to duck, and I just barely manage to cover my head. When I feel the impact of his punch, I instinctively wrap the same arm I just used to cover with over the top of his punching arm and manage to get a dominant overhook, or whizzer. Then, I make a base by lowering my center of gravity and widening my stance. He is swinging at me with his other arm, so I place my free hand in the crook of his elbow and prevent him from punching me. While controlling that arm, I manage to twist his shoulders out of alignment with his hips and begin to pull him forward at the angle perpendicular to an imaginary line between his feet. In one fluid motion, I step in front to block his legs and drive him into the ground, landing on him with everything I’ve got. That took the fight out of him. He may even have a couple of broken ribs.
But, maybe, he used to be a football player. So he rushes in to tackle me, right after throwing the big right hand. I couldn’t get control of his arm, becasue he lowered his level too fast. But, as he drives into me, I’m able to throw my feet back and drop all of my weight onto his shoulder. Somehow, one of my arms ends up across his neck, and I establish a front headlock. If he has an arm in, I gator roll to an arm-triangle type choke. That would be way cool. Otherwise, I jump guard and do the classic guillotine. Either way, he’s not breathing too good, anymore.
But, maybe, he’s too fast and too powerful. I’m stunned by the punch, even though I was covering my head. So, he just drives right through me with the tackle, and I’m underneath him on the ground. Luckily, I ended up with one leg on the outside, so I’m in half-guard. I work to get control of an arm and pull his head to my chest, not letting him posture up. I need a few seconds to recover. As soon as I can, I make my move. I slide my hips out to the side, while pressing on his thigh with my forearm. Hopefully, there’s enough space to pull my leg through and establish full guard. From there, I place my shin across his hip, like I’m going to do a scissors sweep, and push myself away making space to kick him in the face with my other leg. If it works, I’ll be able to stand up…and then we’ll see.
Of course, there are a million possible scenarios that could play out. I guess, there’s really no such thing as a perfect fight. Plus, I’ve been thinking like this for over twenty years, and nothing ever happens. I always manage to stay out of trouble…and that’s good. But, sometimes, it sure is fun to fantasize about.
I’m a big fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I can’t help myself. I love watching those guys destroy each other. The top fighters exhibit explosive athleticism and devastating technique. There’s a big difference between training to fight in a cage and doing martial arts as a hobby. But, there’s a lot we should have in common, too.
The most important thing is mindset. If you learn all the best techniques out there but don’t have the will to fight, nothing else matters. The aggressive attitude of cage fighters often seems ego-driven and arrogant…and it is. But, when the time comes to defend yourself or your loved ones, you will have to “turn off” your conscience. It’s either you, or the other guy, that’s going to get hurt. Make sure it’s the other guy.
The importance of physical conditioning cannot be overemphasized. When fighters know all the same techniques, strength, agility, and endurance make the difference. It’s like football. Nobody thinks any other team has better blocking or tackling technique. They just have better athletes. Besides, it should be obvious that we use our bodies to perform every move. The better condition we’re in, the better our karate will be.
Many people credit Bruce Lee with initiating the mixed-martial-arts revolution. His Jeet Kune Do was an amalgamation of techniques from different styles organized around the concept of the “stop hit” from Western fencing. Also, he believed in live sparring as the true test of a technique’s effectiveness. But, he was not the first.
Mixing martial arts is nothing new. Throughout history, people who actually fought have always wanted to learn anything that would help them survive. For instance, caravan guards of nineteenth-century China often combined Xing Yi’s powerful linear striking methods with the circular throws and evasive footwork of Ba Gua.
I would argue that an effective self-defense method could be created by combining only the primary techniques of a few different styles:
Boxing – Nobody punches better than boxers. That’s all they do. The straight-lead, or jab, is a great way to gauge distance and create a reaction in your opponent. I like the method described in Jack Dempsey’s book, Championship Fighting. According to him, the “stepping straight-jolt” is the most important punch.
Muay Thai – The signature technique of Thai boxing is a round kick with the shin. It’s absolutely devastating, but I don’t like it. I could probably do some damage, but my shins aren’t conditioned to handle the impact. However, I can throw knee strikes, while controlling the opponent’s head in the clinch, without hurting myself. That’s good stuff.
Freestyle Wrestling - The single and double-leg take downs are simple and effective. Either one is a good way to put an opponent on the ground in a hurry. Plus, the ability to change levels and penetrate quickly are invaluable skills for closing the distance.
Greco-Roman Wrestling – Because holds below the waist are illegal, Greco-Roman wrestlers are the best at clinch fighting. Learning to pummel for under-hook control might be enough to fight off an untrained person. If you can duck under or arm drag to a rear clinch, that’s even better.
Judo – In general, I don’t like turning my back to the opponent, and techniques need to be learned without a gi. But, Judo’s basic hip and shoulder throws are hard to beat. Learning to back step well is a good skill to have.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu – The Gracie revolution demonstrated to everyone the importance of grappling methods. Even though the art has it’s roots in the ne waza of Judo, BJJ evolved on it’s own into a subtle and profound art. The most distinguishing characteristic is extensive use of the guard position and an ability to fight on your back. Submissions are not as easy as they look. I’m most concerned with just controlling an opponent and trying to sweep or stand up.
The attitude of the Okinawan originators of karate would have been to use whatever worked for them. There was a predisposition to believe that anything Chinese was better, and the Fujien province was most accessible to them. They did the best they could with the knowledge they had. Shouldn’t we do the same?
The way our bodies move is the basis of all karate technique. Our training should include methods to correct postural imbalances, which inevitably inhibit movement. Too many older martial artists cripple around from years of abusing their bodies and just “pushing through” the pain. That’s not fighting spirit, it’s just stupid.
Correct alignment, or being “stacked,” is the beginning of efficient body use. We have to learn the feeling of being truly balanced. I used to think having good balance was a technique, like juggling. If only I practiced enough, I would get it. That’s not the case.
Everything about our posture and movement has to do with muscle conditioning. Without using muscle, we would just be a pile of bones on the floor. Our bodies are designed to function a certain way. If muscles are too tight, they can limit our range of motion. Also, we get in the habit of using the wrong muscles for a particular movement, because the right ones aren’t strong enough. The more we move that way, the worse the problem gets. It’s a vicious cycle.
Irregular movement patterns, or “compensations,” are signs of dysfunction. I’ve been working with Bob to correct the problem of my right foot turning out. This occurs primarily because I’m using my hip flexors, instead of glutes and hamstrings to stabilize. So, we begin with SMR (Self-Myofascial Release) using the foam roller and stretching to “turn down” those hip flexors. Then, we do specific exercises to strengthen the “underactive” glutes and hamstrings, like Romanian deadlifts.
My balance has improved, and I feel less strain in my knees and hips. Ironically, as my muscles become more conditioned, I experience fewer “feelings” of muscular strength. When things are working the way they’re supposed to, I’m just moving around fluidly and not really feeling where my power comes from.
Unfortunately, this condition is not permanent. We must continually maintain proper function and work to correct any irregularities that arise. Fighting is tough. If we train realistically at all, our bodies will have to endure a certain amount of punishment. And, we are likely to develop some new bad habits down the road. It’s an ongoing process.
Why does anybody do anything? I don’t know. We recently had a conversation about how to “sell” karate to newcomers. I couldn’t come up with a good reason to do karate, instead of some other martial art. I couldn’t even come up with a good reason to practice martial arts in the first place! I’m almost forty, and I’ve never been in a fight. Plus, if my life was really on the line, I’d want a gun.
I think anyone who’s interested in fighting is probably afraid of getting beat up. We don’t talk about it, but that’s the truth. It begins with fear. In a recent documentary film about Mike Tyson’s life, he describes being bullied as a youth and never wanting to be humiliated that way again. He actually begins to cry as he talks about the confidence that came from boxing, saying that he knew nobody was going to f**k with him again.
Of course, nobody’s invincible. After years of trying to learn the secret “death touch” stuff, I’ve accepted that there will always be people who can beat me up. So, what’s next? Well, I want to be healthy and have a hobby I can continue to practice into old age. I like to call it “karate for life,” and Bob is the perfect coach for me.
Most people you meet spend a lot of time trying to convince you how great they are, telling you about all the things they’ve done. Bob doesn’t promote himself. “What you see is what you get,” and he sincerely wants his students to be better than him. Teaching karate is his passion, and he’s good at it.
There’s a whole bunch of martial arts schools that cater to kids by giving out all the colored belts and trophies for doing nothing. To me, that’s just “glorified babysitting.” On the other end of the spectrum are the MMA schools that have become popular recently, emphasizing VERY hard training for fighting in a cage. I’m glad somebody out there is doing that, because we’ve learned a lot about the shortcomings of “traditional” martial arts. But, it’s not for me.
Training with Bob is somewhere in-between. He’s firmly rooted in the “classical” styles of karate, but his approach is extremely practical. He’s very open about not being able to make some of the techniques work the way he learned them. Nowadays, his teaching method is based on ideas that come from an intensive study of fields seemingly unrelated to martial arts, like psychology and teaching. And, he places a great deal of emphasis on making sure our bodies are able to perform the movements without getting hurt.
His pedagogy is unique. I can’t explain exactly what Bob does, because I don’t know enough about the method. But, it’s obvious to me that he has a specific goal in mind with each class. We usually start out with stretches to “turn down” muscles we don’t want to use. Then, we do a few exercises designed to activate and “warm-up” the major muscles needed for whatever technique we’ll be working that day. Bob’s been watching people’s bodies move for so long that he can see dysfunction right away. Sometimes, when it seems like he wasn’t even looking at you, he will tell you about some minor adjustment you can make to get the most out of an exercise.
But, he’s not “hung up” on details. He introduces new skills in a very general way and let’s us work out the details on our own. Then, he builds on top of that experience, gradually, with more specific applications. Nothing is ever “set in stone.” If we do something spontaneously and it feels good, Bob encourages us to explore our own way of fighting. Of course, he makes suggestions and keeps things grounded.
When it comes to analyzing the applications of classical kata, nobody is better than Bob. Sometimes, I can’t believe it. But, the stuff really works…and it’s way cool.
Even if my interest in martial arts began with feelings of insecurity, now it’s just what I do. Bob treats me with respect I haven’t earned and gives me the tools I need to constantly get better. He is my sensei. But, more than that, he’s a true friend. Thanks for always being there, Bob. You’re the best.
No one can tell you how it feels, when you perform a technique the right way. A good instructor can make suggestions, but only you know whether you really “get it” or not. And, being able to hit hard, or control an opponent, can’t be found in a book. It won’t come from learning the Japanese word for a technique or knowing a bunch of dead guys’ stories. The various “styles” of martial art are nothing more than different ways of showing us how to discover something for ourselves. Real fighting ability only exists in YOU…or else, it doesn’t. The techniques always have to manifest themselves through the experience of an individual, just like the popular Zen idea of “mind-to-mind transmission.” And, whatever style of martial art you practice is only “a finger pointing to the moon.”
Don’t expect someone else to give you anything. It’s up to you to discover how to make your body do the things you want it to do. A good instructor can only provide some guideposts along the way. Ultimately, we each have our own unique experience of karate. When you’re fighting, no one else can be inside your body with you. You are alone…that’s the bottom line.
Through solo practice, we develop our kinesthetic sense, or “body feel.” We learn to coordinate hand techniques and footwork with compression and rotation. This “timing” is the basis of power in technique. The formal kata of karate represent a series of techniques linked together in a particular pattern. After learning the techniques involved, kata can be useful as a sort of mnemonic device to help us remember what we learned. Also, they can be studied as examples of which techniques combined together well for the originators of the kata. However, the kata are too complex for beginners to realistically use as a learning tool. Also, they do not allow for experimentation. By definition, the patterns of movement have been formalized.
Something analogous to the practice of “shadowboxing” is more appropriate for beginners, because you can practice only the movements you’ve already learned. At first, single techniques should be practiced on both sides of the body, until the left and right sides feel the same. Then, we can experiment with combinations to see which techniques “flow” together well. It takes a long time to develop the kind of body control needed to perform karate techniques in a spontaneous situation. According to the written transmissions of Xing Yi:
For those practicing martial arts, eighty percent of the time is spent in solo practice, twenty percent of the time is spent with others. Therefore, it is said, “The time strengthening the body is long, the time defeating opponents is short.”
We’ve all been impressed by people who seem to have extraordinary body control: dancers, gymnasts, figure skaters, and good fighters all have one thing in common, the third general principle of body use.
3. Move Rhythmically
Rhythm has to do with timing. For someone to “have rhythm,” in everyday language, usually means they can move in time with the beat of music on the dance floor. In martial arts, we learn to time our movements with the various methods of power generation, so we can take maximum advantage of our momentum. In a fight, we must also consider the opponent’s momentum and how we are moving with the opponent, or the momentum of “the system.” But, that is beyond the scope of this article.
Because, we are always under the influence of gravity, our movements must conform to the speed of gravity. This does not mean that all parts of the body move at the same speed. Even a skydiver can change the speed at which any given body part moves by changing the angle and direction of his body. And, a slow rotation of the center will result in more rapid rotation of outer parts of the body. But, if we attempt to force the speed of our movements, excess muscular tension can result in a loss of power.
Also, we must coordinate all movements through the center. The Asian martial arts place a great deal of emphasis on the dan tian as the physical and energetic center of our bodies. When standing erect, our center of gravity falls somewhere in the vicinity of the pelvis. Also, the major muscles of the body all connect to the pelvis. So, it makes sense to emphasize the hips in training. These powerful muscles must engage properly to transfer ground reaction force up through the arms. The smaller muscles of the arms are only used to “guide” the power.
It takes a tremendous amount of focused concentration to become truly aware of your body. I find this difficult to accomplish in a group setting. We derive other benefits from attending karate classes, but it is your solo practice time that determines whether you are doing a martial “art” or just learning how to beat someone up. The ultimate goal should be continuous self-improvement.
My future articles will expand on the ideas contained in this four-part series by introducing some basic power training exercises and examining how they relate to specific fighting techniques.
Acknowledgement: I put as much of myself into these articles as possible. But, it’s inevitable that I used the language of my teachers. The core concepts came from Tim Cartmell and are described more completely in his book, Effortless Combat Throws. Other sports-related terminology, and further deepening of my understanding, I owe to Robert Miller.
A properly stacked body’s inherent elasticity will absorb and rebound the force of striking an opponent most effectively in a certain direction. This is called the body’s power line. The goal of learning to be stacked and developing our kinesthetic sense is to maximize our ability to generate power in technique and be able to maintain this power line in relation to our opponent at all times.
In addition, we can use ground reaction force to “bounce” out of our frame. When we compress our weight into the ground, it exerts an equal and opposite force against us, which stretches the muscle-tendon complexes. This “loading,” as it is called, causes a storage of potential energy. That energy enables us to spring forward into the opponent as the muscles shorten, or contract, during the “unloading” phase. Developing this elastic strength is the goal of modern plyometric training.
These are all aspects of compression. But, it’s important to always remember that alignment comes first. Compressing a body that is not properly aligned can lead to injury. Often, we need to prepare our bodies for more stressful activities through physical therapy or corrective exercises. Don’t be in a hurry to do the rough stuff. Your body will thank you, later.
Rotation, or swinging the body around an axis, generates angular momentum. Some form of compression always initiates the rotation of the body. And, we rarely use pure angular momentum. Practical applications will usually combine rotation with body shifting.
Body shifting is the primary method of generating linear momentum and always involves some sort of footwork, either a specific stepping method or, at least, a change in stance. We use footwork to generate momentum by putting the entire body mass in motion. The best example of this is Jack Dempsey’s “falling step.”
In the 1950 classic book, Championship Fighting, Dempsey gives a detailed description of punching mechanics. He divides a punch into two parts: (a) setting the weight in motion, and (b) relaying the moving weight to a desired point on an opponent with a stepped-up impact or explosion.
Dempsey uses two examples to illustrate the force of gravity. First, he asks the reader to imagine what would happen if a baby fell from a fourth-floor window and struck a truck driver in the head, standing on the sidewalk below. Obviously, we would predict serious injury to the man on the sidewalk. As Dempsey wrote, “Even an innocent little baby can become a dangerous missile WHEN ITS BODY-WEIGHT IS SET INTO FAST MOTION.”
In the second example, we picture a boy sledding down a snowy hill. The slope of the hill prevents him from falling straight down, but it is still the force of gravity that propels him. At the bottom of the hill, the boy will continue sledding at a right angle to the straight-down pull of gravity for a while. This demonstrates that weight-in-motion can be deflected away from the perpendicular.
Dempsey goes on to describe how these principles apply to the performance of his falling step. When standing with his weight on the front leg, he causes himself to fall by stepping without shifting the weight to his back leg first. This allows the force of gravity to set his body weight in motion. He then redirects that motion forward by pushing off the rear foot.
This motion will be conveyed to the opponent as we literally “catch” ourselves by planting our fist in him. If the momentum is transferred correctly through our power line, we will be able to explode into the opponent with our stacked frame. This can be considered the “follow-through” part of the technique and has to do with proper timing and distancing. These we practice by hitting the makiwara or heavy bag…and karate people love to hit stuff, right?!?
My next article will discuss moving rhythmically as a coherent unit centered in the hips to conclude this series on the basic principles of body use.
It’s important to realize the essence of any art is contained in the basics. For example, very accomplished musicians will continue to practice scales, even after years of performing at the highest level. In karate, we use our bodies to express power through various techniques. The most fundamental thing is being “stacked” at all times, which is a continuous process of refinement and maintenance. A highly developed awareness of that feeling, or kinesthetic sense, is what separates the masters from everyone else. My previous article discussed the following principles of body use:
- Align with Gravity – bilateral symmetry, integrity of spine and lower leg
- Avoid Excess Muscular Tension – using the right muscles for the job
For the purpose of future articles, I will assume familiarity with the feeling of being stacked. But, it’s easy to become distracted from what really matters by trying to learn too many different things. Progress in martial arts should be measured on a personal level. No matter what technique you learn, it’s still just YOU moving your arms around…or legs, or whatever. And, correct alignment is always the first priority.
All martial arts techniques are examples of using momentum to disrupt the function of an opponent’s body. Momentum is the force generated by the tendency of your body to remain in motion, because its mass is moving in a certain direction at a certain speed. In general, there are three ways for a properly stacked body to generate momentum:
- Compression
- Rotation
- Body Shifting
There is always compression in a properly aligned body, due to gravity. The inherent elasticity of our muscles and connective tissue produces a sort of “springiness” in the body. So, incoming force resulting from contact with an opponent should move through our frame effortlessly into the ground and rebound, creating a ripple effect. We’ve all experienced this, at some point in our lives. When pushing a car, for example, we intuitively lock our arms, bend from the hip, and push with our legs. There is a slight delay, between compressing our weight into the ground and feeling the force of our hands pushing on the car. Correctly timing our techniques to coincide with that “wave of momentum” is the key to whole-body power. The concept of kinetic chain, or correct body segment activation, is the same in principle.
Using the right muscles for the job means having the stabilizing muscles, or synergists, conditioned to maintain proper alignment. Then, only activating the prime movers required for the specific movement. Additional muscular tension only inhibits the flow of momentum, decreasing the amount of force transferred through our body. Like a wave trying to pass through frozen water, it just doesn’t work.
In application, compression will usually be combined with rotation and shifting the body weight. Rotation primarily involves “swinging” the limbs and torso around the joints. Because of our body’s inherent springiness, the joints have the natural tendency to always return to a neutral position. If we stretch the muscles and connective tissue by moving a joint toward the limit of its range of motion, we can then use the momentum generated as it “snaps back.” For example, when practicing our beloved gyaku-zuki, or reverse punch, we begin by turning our hip as far as it will go in one direction. Then, we compress our weight into that leg, causing the torso to rapidly turn, as our hip joint moves back toward a neutral position and swings the arm forward to “throw” the punch.
The same sort of thing happens, when we walk. There is a natural swinging of the legs and arms as we alternately compress our weight into one leg or the other. If you pay attention to proper alignment and relaxation, you will be practicing martial arts with every step you take…just like Funakoshi, back in the day!
My next article will continue to explore the principles of body use, by discussing the basic methods of shifting our body weight to generate additional momentum.
Robert Miller CPT CES
Gillian Russell
Randy Simpson
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Steve
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