It was at a Ramon Martinez Bowie Seminar that I attended in September of 2016. During a brief lull while drilling a movement to jam your opponents knife hand I got a chance to talk to my training partner. I brought up the issue of common movements for multiple types of strikes. I was taken aback by the fact that my training partner had never considered that one basic physical movement, specifically a pushing/shoving move, could be so versatile.
I got into how if someone grabbed you with one hand to set you up for a punch or stab with his other you had the option of just shooting out the hand of your free (non-grabbed) side and doing a shoulder stop, or striking your attackers face with a Tiger Claw, a Face Palm, a simple punch if that's your style, or even a Chin Jab if you're close enough. You could also use a Web Hand strike to the throat, a Finger Jab, or an old fashioned Karate Half Fist to the throat.
Whatever floats your boat.
By using your non-striking hand to keep his grabbing hand tied to your collar or lapel (whatever he grabbed to start the show in the first place) you can combine/chain several strikes to the shoulder, face and throat and then close it up a bit to slam your knee into what Craig Gemeiner of Savate Australia calls the guys 'wedding tackle'.
OUCH!
My training partner looked at me like he had never thought about it that way. One of the big problems with martial arts in general is over-complicating things. As My old Instructor Carl Cestari and his senior guys Ralph and Clint used to put it, “It ain't rocket science”.
You could just go to your BOB or Heavy-bag and get more practical use just from quickly and powerfully throwing your arm out into it rather than worrying so much about what the actual strike or target is. Once you have the gross motor movement down with speed and power, then you can work on targeting or finding which specific strike you feel is the one that you're most comfortable with. As my Combatives Instructors were always saying, learn to make it YOUR Close Combat.
Because when things go bad, you'll revert not just to your training, but to the techniques/strikes that you're most instinctively comfortable with.
Yes, one basic movement, 7 or 8 different strikes. That's what you call getting a good bang for your buck. Unless you live a life where violence is a constant fact, which allows you to respond better due to familiarity, gross motor movement, coupled with a small group of responses delivered with vehemence, is the best bet for the average citizen.
Moving next to what has sometimes been referred to as the “Meat and Potatoes” strike of the Combatives style of self defense. It has many names, Edge of Hand, Axe Hand, Karate chop, Judo chop, Shuto, call it what you will. I'm not going to get into the whole open hand vs closed fist issue. That's not the point of this article.
You can deliver this strike horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Throat, side or back of the neck, the kidneys, the biceps, the forearms/wrists, inside of the thigh (preferably just above the knee). Hand conditioning is required to a degree but you don't have to get crazy about it (unless you want to). But let's say you're not comfortable with the EOH, the simple option is the Hammer-Fist (Oh look, we do have a Closed fist strike, imagine that). Not as effective for a strike to the throat (unless your attacker has one hell of a long neck and likes to keep his head tilted back) but still effective. It’s even popular with MMA proponents.
And the important part, as regards the point of this article, is that the body mechanics are the same as the EOH.
The only real time there's a difference is if you're doing a 'Long Axe Hand' with your arm more fully extended if the distance dictates it. In that case it's more a rotational movement of the body using the arm in a whip-like motion unlike the short chopping motion using your body weight to put power into the strike for close up and personal work.
Are there any other carry-overs you ask?
Why, weapons of course.
The most obvious being a Palm Stick type weapon. A purpose made Yawara, a small wooden dowel, a flashlight of 5" to 6" or so length, or my personal favorite for the last few years, the Sharpie Chisel tip marker with the elliptical shaped body. Then there are knives.
Now if you carry a larger knife a standard edge-forward grip would be the best. But if you live somewhere that has blade size restrictions and you choose to stay within the legal guidelines you could wind up carrying something in the 3"+/- range. Usually once you're down to the size of blade, the handle is correspondingly small as well. Most likely with no guard to speak of. That's when going to reverse grip is a safer choice for you since it allows you to thumb-cap the handle.
Note: I am not advocating a reverse grip for a knife to knife encounter. In those cases even the extra couple or so inches of the edge-forward grip might the better bet. Especially if your assailant is using his knife in the conventional point forward grip.
So, you're in reverse grip and again, the basic motions of the EOH, or the Hammer-Fist come back into play with a little extra oomph thrown in as regards now, a Hammer-fist with even 2" of sharp metal projecting out from it can do some extra damage. Especially if you can get in a shot to the face or neck area. Even if all you have is a Bic pen, or ideally a good solid steel pen, you can up the damage to your assailant by the proper application of a chopping/hacking movement of your arm with the weight of your whole body behind it.
A horizontal strike (using your right hand) delivered to the right side of your assailant, either to his head, flank or thigh if he's coming at you from your right side would be just as effective as a vertical or diagonal strike. Think of doing a karate backfist, but with the bottom of your hand rather than your knuckles.
As for using a Palm stick for a vertical strike primarily, I think it would be better that way, however a horizontal strike would be just fine to the side of the head, the neck, and even to the chest depending on where you were in relation to your assailant. A good diagonal strike to the inside or outside of the thigh just above the knee would be pretty good at screwing up his ability to maneuver.
As far as regular pens vs 'tactical' pen, the problem is that the 'tactical' ones look like what they are and will draw attention. I also resent the price that most places charge for them.
In any event, the versatility of these two basic, gross body movements allowing for the application of close to a dozen varying strikes with or without weapons, against multiple targets, is just one of numerous reasons for training in WW2 style Close Combat for self defense.
I hope I’ve managed to make my point about how practicing just a few simple movements can translate into a number of practical, effective striking options. A lot of people who are not dedicated Martial Artists are looking for efficient ways of learning to some basic self defense techniques that don’t require a lot of athletic ability, or a commitment to a complicated course of instruction.
Do not however think that I have written this article to lead yo to believe that learning to defend yourself can be done in 3 easy lessons, and will turn you into an uber-fighter with little or n training. Too many instructors, especially in the Combatives field, promote that belief to bring in students. You still have to have the desire and put in the time and effort to become proficient in the use of the techniques.
There are no secrets, and there are no shortcuts.
Addendum: It's been 10 years and this is my 600th Blogpost. I just want to give a quick thanks to those of you who follow my Blog.
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