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Tag: martial arts

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Phillosoph

Fighting Knives in a Modern Context

The other day, I found myself thinking about the variety of weapons taught by many martial arts.
When these arts were created, most of these weapons were relatively common place.
The battlefield, and the street, have changed since those times.
You are unlikely to fight with a sword, a knife or machete being more probable.
The entrenching tool is more likely to be to hand than an axe or mace.
Your spear or staff will seldom have to deal with a horseman, and is much handier if its length is less than your height.
The stick remains a useful weapon, but nowadays will often be wielded with the intention of not seriously injuring a foe.
Those of you that wisely have invested in a copy of “Crash Combat” will recognize the above as the arsenal of modern weapons included in the course.
The above reflection melded with a question my subconscious had recently posed to me: “Does one need a combat knife?”
Some authors use the term “combat knife” or “tactical knife” to mean a variety of multi-purpose knife.
In this blog, I am talking about specialist designs that have the primary role of use against two-legged predators.
Certainly, it is prudent to have a knife that one can fight with, but what are the merits of spending good money on a knife that is primarily designed as a weapon?
And what form should such a knife take?
There is a baffling variety of supposed combat or fighting knives.

Context

To answer that last point, we must return to the theme noted in the first paragraph.
We cannot really consider a fighting knife without also considering context. The requirements of a fighting knife have changed as the nature of combat has changed.
In the Middle Ages, for example, it was desirable that a blade be stout enough to deal with body armour, yet narrow enough to slip between plates or through a visor.
Jump forward to the age of the rapier, and a dagger might be required to serve as a main gauche.
The Bowie knife provides us with another illustration. The Bowie blade shape is commonly used for survival knives, which tends to make us forget the original Bowie knives were primarily fighting weapons.
The Bowie came into fashion in an era when pistols were generally single-shot. The Bowie was a handy alternative to a sabre or smallsword.
The fighting Bowie was at least eight inches long, with examples longer than twelve inches by no means unusual. A blade might be a quarter of an inch thick and broad enough to look like a pointed cleaver, which essentially was what it was.
A Bowie might be used against other knives, or longer edged weapons.
The usefulness of the Bowie waned with the increasing availability of mass-produced revolvers. Apparently many volunteers in the War Between the States invested in impressive Bowies, only to discard them once the wisdom of a lighter marching load became apparent.
There seems little point nowadays in carrying a large fighting knife such as a Bowie or smatchet.
Many large utility knives, billhooks and machetes can defend our person equally well and prove far more useful for other, more likely tasks.
You probably also own entrenching tools, hatchets and tomahawks that would also be superior weapons.

The Modern Fighting Knife

Let us assume that you want a fighting/combat/tactical knife, on the basis that you may one day perhaps need it.
The fighting knife will be carried in addition to more general-purpose blades, so cannot be too large or heavy.
If a fighting knife has a place in our arsenal, then logically it must be because it can meet a requirement or scenario better than our large survival knives and other tools.
Large knives are not particularly concealable.
While it is possible to thrust effectively with a machete or kukri, it is not the ideal shape for use against thick clothing and a hypothetical “take out the sentry” application.
These criteria narrow down the form that a modern fighting/tactical knife should take, and what we should be looking for when making our selection.
This is best illustrated with some examples.

Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife

No discussion of modern fighting knives would be complete without mention of the Fairbairn-Sykes knife, aka “The Commando Knife” or F-S.
If fighting knives are mentioned, this is most likely the image that popped into your head.
At the start of his book “Combat Use of the Double Edged Fighting Knife”, Rex Applegate gives a nice summary of desirable features for a modern fighting knife:
“The heart of the fighting knife is its blade. It should be 5 to 7 inches in length, double-edged, and wide enough to be razor sharp on both sides all the way back to the cross guard. The point must be sharp enough to penetrate and thick and tough enough to withstand side pressure.
The blade should provide slashing, ripping, and thrusting capabilities. Stainless type steel, correctly tempered, with a dull finish is preferable. The blade should be tempered to hold an edge as well as being easily sharpened and, at the same time, not brittle.
The oval-shape handle should fit the palm of the hand and be designed so that the edges of the blade can be immediately, and automatically, located in dark or light conditions. A nonslip surface is another feature that should be incorporated. The handle should not turn in the hand (sweaty palms, etc.) when the blade strikes resistance. The knife should be handle heavy with relation to balance. Nothing in the design should limit its possibilities for use as a weapon from any position or either hand. The overall length should be approximately 10 to 11 inches; anything longer makes it too unwieldy and cumbersome to carry. The weight should be in the 1/2 to 3/4 pound range.”
Applegate’s earlier work, “Kill or Get Kill”, has a similar description, although includes the suggestion that the blade be no more than an inch across at the guard, and that the handle have its largest diameter at the centre and taper towards both the guard as well as the butt.
Contrary to what you may often see claimed, the F-S is not the “Ultimate Fighting Knife” [ignoring that this is not what “ultimate” actually means!].
Comparison to Applegate’s description quickly illustrates why.
The grip of the F-S is round in section, rather oval. Being of cast metal, the grip is difficult to modify or replace.
While the balance point is in the grip, the cast grip possibly contributes some unnecessary weight.
Oddly, my F-S seems heavier than my M3, but is actually half an ounce lighter.
If you own an F-S, you will know that it is very difficult to get a sharp edge on it.
Common advice on the net is to regard the F-S as a thrusting weapon only, and steel the edge at an angle of about 40 degrees. Personally, I think a sharp blade will create more of a wound if uses as described in my books. Steeling the F-S at 20 degrees seems better.
The “razor-sharp commando knife” is, however, a poetic licence of the novelist who has never owned one!
Some of these features seem to have been the result of wartime mass-production, which have persisted.
The F-S gets a lot right too! My step-son, on first holding an F-S declared:
“Woah! I feel like it wants me to do something, but I am not sure what!”
Fairbairn’s writings on how to use the F-S knife include illustrations of cuts and slashes directed to the forearm and inside of the elbow, although how practical this would have been against a woollen greatcoat or tunic is debatable.
Incidentally, the ancestors of the FS were the Shanghai Fighting Knives, which were made from obsolete double-edged Lee Metford 1888 bayonets. In Fairbairn's own words:
In choosing a knife there are two important factors to bear in mind: balance and keenness. The hilt should fit easily in your hand, and the blade should not be so heavy that it tends to drag the hilt from your fingers in a loose grip. It is essential that the blade have a sharp stabbing point and good cutting edges, because an artery torn through (as against a clean cut) tends to contract and stop the bleeding.

Boker Applegate-Fairbairn

Following World War Two, Applegate collaborated with Boker to produce a knife that met his requirements, called the Applegate-Fairbairn.
I have no personal experience of these, and they are likely to always be beyond my price range.

Gerber Mk II

The Gerber Mk II answers many of the complaints that can be made about the F-S.
While it is called the “Mk II Survival”, this is primarily a fighting knife.
Mine has taken a fairly respectable edge.
The bad news is that the Mk II tends to have a higher price tag than one might wish for a knife that will not be your primary survival tool.
It is rather baffling that copies or replicas of the Gerber Mk II are not commonplace!

M3 Trench Knife

Shown with my F-S and Gerber is my M3 Trench Knife.
The M3 was also produced in German as the “NATO Combat Knife”. This blade configuration has also been used for a variety of bayonets.
A nice design feature of the M3 is the asymmetrical guard, allowing the user to find the orientation of the main edge even in the dark.
While the M3 was designed as a utility knife, its configuration makes it a pretty good choice for a fighting knife. It compares very favourably to the Gerber Mk II in general size and features.
Personally, I do not mind that the M3 is not double-edged. The false edge comes already sharpened, and the balance of the knife is about an inch behind the guard, just where you would want it.
If you shop around, you can find reproduction M3s for a reasonable price.
Try websites that cater for WW2 re-enactors. Take a look at German trench knives while you are there.
In “Kill or Get Killed”, Applegate suggests “utility knives” can be reground into fighting knives, and shows a knife so converted. Presumably he means the M3, although he at one point claims that the utility knife has its weight too far forward in the blade.
The M3 as it comes is a pretty good fighting knife, with the option of serving in utility roles in an emergency.
Ideally, a fighting knife should only be used for its intended role, to keep it sharp.
Price of a reproduction M3 makes it a good basis for a custom project.
Blade blanks for M3s or the related bayonet models, may also be found.
As Applegate suggests, the top edge can be extended, and if you have a belt-grinder adding a hollow grind is relatively simple. Tapering the blade may be more challenging. Personally, I would not consider this necessary.
Adding a fuller to the unsharpened section might be considered.
The grip of leather washers is probably simple to reshape or remove. Grip tape may prove useful here.
The large metal butt-plate may be more problematic for a customisation project, A narrow pommel of similar configuration to that of the F-S or Mk II might be preferred.

The V42

The V42 is another wartime design of fighting knife.
The skull-crusher pommel is a nice feature, although probably larger than needed.
The leather padding applied to the upper side of the quillon is a nice feature.
I have seen claims the pommel on the originals had a tendency to catch on and damage equipment. I suspect the versions on replicas such as mine have been made blunter.
My main complaint about this knife is the guard could be narrower and the blade somewhat broader.

Smaller Fighting Knives

As implied above, your fighting knife should be chosen so that it can be carried in situations you cannot carry a larger survival knife.
With this in mind, I will present two smaller examples of what can be considered fighting/tactical knives.
The larger knife is a Smith and Wesson 820.
The false edge is not sharpened, but the main edge has sharpened up to a very sharp edge.
This style resembles the M3. I prefer this configuration since it offers a little more utility, facilitating practices such as batoning.
Very impressive, and a very reasonably priced knife with most of the features you might wish for.
The smaller knife is a CRKT version of the AG Russell Sting (as favoured by a well-known literary figure!).
Small, but very solid and sharp.
Note that both knives have lanyard holes, a feature that would be welcome on the larger knives.
Adding wrist loops is on my to-do list.
Such knives are (hopefully) often carried and seldom used. Comfort and concealability are therefore priorities. A version of 820 with a flatter grip and reduced quillions, or a Sting with the option of a longer and possibly M3-style blade would be welcome.
These are some of your off-the-shelf options, illustrated with examples I have to hand.
Later blogs will cover other options.
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Phillosoph

Breakfalls: The Lateral Roll

Close combat has been described as the art of knocking someone down and kicking them while they are down. In this light, it is perhaps surprising that breakfalls are a rather neglected skill in many martial arts and self-defence courses.
The book Arwrology recounts and incident where a serviceman uses a breakfall to avoid injury when he is thrown to the ground during a bombing raid. Breakfall techniques can be incorporated into the warm-up for a training session in any martial style. In an ideal society, children would be taught breakfalls in kindergarten, learning a useful skill to save them from possible injuries in later life.
It will come as no surprise that Crash Combat and Attack, Avoid, Survive both contain sections on breakfalls. Breakfalls can be classed as “rolls”, “slaps” and “non-traditional”. A roll is self-explanatory. Slaps use the impact of the forearms and palms on the ground to brake the fall. In my books, the non-traditional techniques are represented by the cartwheel and the parachute landing fall. Once, on an isolated mountain path I missed my footing. Executing a parachute landing fall saved me from injury in a remote location, even though I was wearing a heavy pack.
In my books I also describe the forward roll, and slap techniques to the front, side and rear. Today I will look at two additional techniques.

The Rear Roll

The first is the rear roll. This resembles the rear slapping technique, but without using the forearms to brake you. The starting posture for learning resembles that used to learn the rear slapping roll. Instead of using your arms you continue to roll backwards, across your back and shoulders. It may be necessary to roll several times. Ideally you finish on your feet, ready to stand up from the squat position.

The Lateral Roll

The second technique is the “lateral roll” (yokonagare). The starting position for learning this resembles that used for the sideways slap breakfall. These photo sequences from books by Stephen Hayes illustrate the principle better than my text does:
The extended leg provides balance, and should be extended straight so that the bottom of the thigh absorbs the impact with the ground. The supporting leg is allowed to fold as much as practical to reduce drop distance. In the first sequence the roll seems to be to the rear quarter rather than to the side. The same starting position and core technique can be used to make a roll to the rear.
The lateral roll has a number of other applications. As well as being a breakfall, the technique can be used to drop below and away from an attack. It can also be used to drop and roll behind cover if spotted or fired upon. Possibly the move could be incorporated into certain sacrifice throws.
This is a move that can be initiated from any stance where the weight can be easily transferred to the rear leg. My Capoeira background notes that the actual roll action is preceded by a posture similar to negativa. It also resembles the semi-squat position often seen with some Chinese martial arts. For negativa and other breakfalls, see my books.

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Phillosoph

Wind and White Crane: Hidden Hand Attacks

I have used lockdown as a chance to complete a number of projects. I have also done a lot of reading on a wide variety of topics.
This reading included finishing some books I had stalled on, and looking at some others I had just never got around to giving my full attention to.
In the latter category were a number of books on Ninjitsu, including some by Stephen Hayes. Books on this topic often have a lot of chaff in with the wheat, although to be fair, that is true of many martial arts books written in the 80s, if not in general!

The Wind Posture

One of the sections that interested me was that on stances, the stance associated with the element “wind” in particular.
As I have discussed in my own books, I feel “stance” and most of its English alternatives is an unsatisfactory term.
A stance is a transitional rather than stationary configuration. Hayes likens them to snapshots or frames from a film rather than being stationary.
Most of us, even many high-grade martial artists, have a relatively shallow immersion in the art.
Stances are an important training aid but it is easy to become diverted by the details rather than passing through to master the underlying concepts. Interestingly the Japanese term “kamae” translates as “pose” or “posture”, but also as “base”. Stances are often the foundation for learning.
From Stephen Hayes Ninja Vol.1:
“The wind level of consciousness is characterized by the receiving posture, or hira no kamae. The receiving posture couples a freely moving base and the power to harmonize the body with the intentions of an attacker. The feet are placed hip-width apart and carry the body weight evenly. The knees are flexed slightly more than in the natural posture, creating a feeling of balance in the hips similar to that experienced just before sitting down on a chair. The back is straight, in a natural manner, and the shoulders are relaxed. The arms extend outstretched to the sides with the hands open, and the eyes gaze forward in soft focus, taking in the whole picture without limiting the concentration to one single point.
The body should have an extremely light, almost floating feel to it. Epitomizing some concepts that are the opposite of those embodied in the shizen earth pose, the wind-level hira no kamae prepares the fighter for adapting to and going with the attacking moves of the enemy. This adaptive sensitivity is centered in the chest behind the breastbone. The evenly distributed balance facilitates quick and easy movement in any direction in response to the attacker’s intentions. The outstretched arms have the potential of becoming tools to carry out punches, strikes, deflections, blocks, throws and locks, as well as acting as distractions and calming techniques.
In self-protection situations, the hira posture is used to handle attackers in a way that subdues them without injury, if possible. The pose itself is nonthreatening, and it appears to be an attempt to fend off an attack or to reassure an adversary that there is no hostile intention, as upraised open hands traditionally symbolize surrender or benediction. From the hira no kamae, footwork proceeds with circular or straight- line movements, as appropriate for the specific circumstances. The arms are used to entangle the adversary with spiraling actions or intercept the adversary with direct advances.”
Another book on Taijutsu (by Charles Daniels, taught by the same sensei as Hayes, Masaaki Hatsumi) shows a posture it calls “hoe no kamae”. While this uses an L stance and raised forearms, I suspect the application is similar.
Those of you wise enough to have invested in a copy of Crash Combat or Attack, Avoid, Survive (thank you!) will know I place considerable emphasis on evasion rather than parrying or blocking.
The basis of this is the ginga movement from Capoeira.
Could the wind kamae be an alternative or complimentary evasion technique to ginga?
Sadly, I do not currently have much room to dance around, so I cannot experiment much with movement and evasive moves in hira no kamae.
Some observations:
On its own, hira no kamae and hoe no kamae look like the fighter is just standing there saying “Go on dude, hit me!”.
This is one of the symptoms of regarding a stance as static, amplified by still photography.
In practice, this posture will be used to allow fast body turns.
The outstretched arms contribute to maintaining balance.
Study the body twist used in the photos below. Hira no kamae is not used, but it could have been passed through if the defender had thrown up his arms for stability.
Both of my martial arts titles explain how to use quick evasive turns similar to that shown. You will find these in the bayonet and knife sections, as well as elsewhere in the text.

White Crane

Hira no kamae may have reminded some of you of the white crane-inspired movements used in some styles of kung fu and karate.
Not surprisingly, white crane styles often put a considerable emphasis on evasion.
The extended lead arm can be used to parry attacks that cannot be fully avoided.
Brought up under the attacker’s armpit, and we have the tai chi technique of “diagonal flying”.
This is effectively the same principle as using a straight-arm karate parry against a foe’s torso and breaking their balance.
Hayes’ books often show defensive strikes made against the attacking limb, including from hira no kamae. This is also a tactic favoured by many white crane styles.
The wind posture is likely to place a defender side-on to an attacker.
As described above, the lead hand may be used for an assortment of parries and strikes.
The latter include finger jabs to the face and clawing actions.
The rear hand has the advantage that is has a considerable distance in which to generate power, and that it is effectively hidden from the attacker’s view.
This is the equivalent of the “tail” position used with swords and other weapons.
The foe has no idea from what direction a rear hand attack may come, and the rotation of the waist can create power and velocity.
One option is to adopt a side-on horse stance as the forward arm parries.
The rear hand then executes a classic reverse punch, the hips twisting through ninety degrees to transition into forward stance.
Hook punches are another useful technique for an enemy you are side-on to.

Kup and Pow

In Complete Wing Chun (Vol.2), the author discusses Pak Hok Pai, a white crane style with several techniques suited to attacking an opponent to the side.
In best Batman tradition, two of these are called “pow” and “kup”.
Pow chui has been described as a straight uppercut employed with a semicircular body motion. I like to think of it as a “long uppercut”, although technically it is more of a long shovel-hook.
Targets for pow chui include the testicles, kidneys or throat.
Kup/cup chui is a downwards, overhead strike that can be targeted at the soft muscles of a kicking leg, or the forearm, biceps or triceps of an attacking or guarding arm.
The temple, nose or top of the head can also be targeted with kup.
Like the corkscrew hook described in Attack, Avoid, Survive, a kup can be used to reach over and around a guard. The difference is that the kup typically comes from the rear hand while the corkscrew starts as a lead jab.
Choy Lay Fut is also notable for use of large arc swinging strikes.
A more horizontal motion, intermediate between pow and kup, can be used to throw a lateral, circular strike (a “roundhouse punch”, perhaps?), that is more open and straighter-armed than a hook.
While this has elements of being a “haymaker”, many of the standard objections against a haymaker do not apply if correct tactics and a hidden hand posture is used.
The back and kidneys or below the guard are the favoured target areas.
An upward angled or horizontal strike can be applied to the area of the sixth to tenth ribs: above the floating ribs and below the level of the lower tip of the sternum. This is likely to affect the lungs.
All these punches are powered by waist/hip rotation and are most effective with a relaxed, easily accelerated arm.
Kup and pow are both performed using the second knuckle of the fingers as the striking surface. These are the knuckles that would make contact if you were knocking on a door. Some styles call this a “leopard fist”.
Attack, Avoid, Survive showed a related technique, the half-fist, used to attack soft, narrow targets such as between the ribs. The thumb is often pressed against the side of the fingers, rather than being clamped across them as with a conventional fist.
Rear hand attacks can also utilize palm-strikes, chops and hammer-fist strikes.
Recently, my girlfriend described how her mother had often fought men who had turned up with the intent of raping her sister.
Many a bully and would-be rapist who dismissed the mother as a “mere-woman” got a percussive readjustment.
Her mother's technique of choice was a powerful overhand or underarm punch.
My girlfriend learnt the same techniques and has used them to defend herself on numerous occasions.

Tai Chi

In “How To Use Tai Chi as a Fighting Art” Erle Montaigue describes the “Stork Spreads Wings Punch”, another potential rear hand attack.
The “Stork Spreads Wings” posture is often translated as “white crane…”:
“This punch is one of the most powerful punches from any martial art. It is totally centrifugal and quite fast considering its distance…This is one of only three punches in T’ai Chi that uses the first two knuckles, in T’ai Chi we use the knuckles that most suit the position of the palm upon impact otherwise we use extra muscles to hold the palm into position and there-by lessen its impact…If you block with the right fist across to the left against a left face attack with the left palm underneath it, … the left palm then takes over the block while the right fist is thrown out at the target with the turning of the waist…Your left palm looks after the left fist while your right fist circles back up in a centrifugal punch to his left temple”
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Phillosoph

Striking with Both Hands

Today I thought I would look at several techniques where both hands apparently strike at the same time.
The targets and techniques given in this article are potentially lethal. They are only to be used in life-or-death situations.
The first technique will be familiar from my book.
It is “arn” from tai chi. “Arn” means “press” but is often translated as “push”. Indeed, it does look like you are trying to push something.
One of the maxims of tai chi is that you should never be “double weighted”. You should never have your weight equally distributed between your feet and your hands should never be equally yin or yang.
Arn seems to violate this principle. The common explanation is that arn is in reality two palm-strikes arriving in quick succession. The hands are hitting rather than pressing or pushing, and one strikes just before another.

Arn can be a powerful attacking technique. In a frontal attack the hands strike the dim-mak points around the pectoral muscles or use the springiness of the foe’s own ribs to bounce him away.
As I have said before, this is a fighting technique that is overlooked by many other styles.
A number of combat styles do not share tai chi’s aversion to being double-weighted and include simultaneous striking techniques
Another thing to remember when interpreting forms is that if two hands are doing the same thing in a form that is not necessarily how they are intended to be used in combat.
A form may have, say, double spear-hands but in reality one spear-hand would be a feint while the other hand was used to parry or readied for a more powerful follow-up.
The second technique we will look at comes from chuka, phoenix-eye fist.
Both hands are held palm upward in phoenix-eye configuration. The wrists or forearms are crossed, the lead hand being underneath. Both hands punch at once, the hands rotating palm down. The lead hand strikes low, the rear hand high.
I regard phoenix-eye and one-knuckle fist as soft-tissue weapons so primary targets will be above the suprasternal notch and below the xiphoid process.
The xiphoid/ solar plexus region (CV 14) and a palm-width below the navel (CV 4) is another pairing.
A similar simultaneous attack is the double-dragon palms, sometimes called butterfly-palms.
This is a double-palm strike with one hand above the other.
The upper hand has its fingers up, the lower hand fingers down.
This can be used on the same targets as double phoenix-eye punches.
Palm strikes are a weapon for both hard or soft body areas so this technique can also be used directly against points on the sternum such as between the nipples or the sternal angle.

If you are using both hands to attack, it implies that you have less need to parry or control. Sometimes the technique will be pushing a foe's attack or guard to one side or down.
Such attacks are therefore a more likely option when on the outside gate. So far we have considered frontal attacks. How might the above techniques be targeted if to the side of an enemy?
Double palm strike (po pai and other spelling variations) is used several times in wing chun’s advanced-level wooden man form. Palm striking is rather common in this form, in contrast to the snap punches used in earlier forms.
Wing chun students may like to ponder why this is so.

The last technique returns us to tai chi. It is shown in “How to use Tai Chi as a Fighting Art” by Erle Montaigue and is used as a counter to double dragon-palms.
One hand is held above the other, palms flat and fingers towards the enemy. The hands come in from the side to push the dragon palms off course.
The finger tips then thrust forwards to attack the body beyond.
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Phillosoph

Dream Martial Art

I had a very interesting dream the other night. Some of it is still with me.
The inspiration for this train of dreaming was probably that I was reading about pak hok chuan.
In its early form, pak hok had eight punch techniques, eight kicks, eight finger techniques and so on. Eight was doubtless chosen because of a connection with the I-Ching.
In my dream, I was considering a fighting style.
It would have numerous offensive techniques and very few defensive ones.
Another key point in the dream was a stance with the palm held out. My dreaming mind told me this was in fact four related stances and that they were somehow connected with crescent kicks.
A Great Variety of Attacks
This part is fairly easy to interpret.
Readers of this blog and my books will know I consider the palm-heel and the hammer-fist as primary strikes. Some targets and some techniques work better with other body weapons, however.
The knife-hand is ideal for striking the crease of the elbow. Some punches work better with a one-knuckle or phoenix-eye fist than a palm-heel or conventional fist.
Likewise, I can think of at least half a dozen families of kicks, and each has a particular application or something to teach.
A fighting style needs a whole kit of body weapons it can select from.
Few Defensive Techniques
This bit is also quite logical.
It is better to have just a few defensive techniques that can deal with a great variety of situations.
This cuts down on decision time, hesitation and makes a defence more reflexive.
If you are holding a quarterstaff there are only really two defensive techniques.
If an attack comes from one side you parry it inward, if from the other side parry it outward. Readers of my first book will know that I suggest something similar for unarmed defence using a p’eng hinge/ SPBK posture.
I think this is where the bit about the four stances with the palm forward fits in too.
Bagua/Pa-kua and some other styles try to do most of the parrying with the forward palm. That palm would have to move to defend four different quadrants: high outside, high inside, low outside and low inside.
A crescent kick hits with the inside or outside edge of the foot. A defending palm would make some of its parries with the knife-edge or ridge-hand edge of the hand.
That is my best theory so far as to why that bit was considered so important, but it was a dream, so logic may not be relevant.
Manoeuver
Evasion is more important than parrying, so the dream had something about ginga, Pa-kua stepping and other movement techniques.
Jumping was flagged as an ability. I’d been reading some stuff on how jumping and landing from jumps was a very useful exercise.
Clapping
Clapping, as a method of rapid hand movement, was also present in my garbled thoughts.
The martial applications of this is something I have been meaning to write more on.
This dream is not a Xanadu moment.
A new fighting style has not suddenly sprung fully formed from my subconscious. The dream has, however, drawn my attention down some interesting routes.
I hope it does something similar for you.
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Phillosoph

Hammer-Fist and Single Whip

Sometimes you search for something only to discover it was close by all along.
A case in point:
In my recent book, Crash Combat, I reflect that the hammer-fist is a somewhat underappreciated weapon in martial arts. I may have made this assertion in my previous book too.
Reading Joseph Wayne Smith’s book on Wing Chun, he makes a similar statement.
Hammer-fist can substitute for the chop, back-fist and even some closed-fist punches. It is much less likely to result in self-injury than some of these techniques.
Hammer-fist is easy to perform correctly and can deliver powerful blows to both hard and soft targets. Along with the palm-heel, it is probably one of the best hand strikes that we have.
Naturally enough, I was experimenting with some hammer-fist attacks the other day.
I’d been looking at the rapid 270-360° turn that is possible by using the “closed step” of Pa-kua/Bagua. (See my book for details).
This could be used to power a spinning back-fist to strike a foe in the outside gate. But a true back-fist can be fiddly, requiring a terminal flick of the wrist and impact with the first two knuckles.
A spinning hammer-fist is more logical and for most fighters more powerful.
I notice that if I bend my wrist inward a fraction my hammer-fist seems a little stronger or more stable at the moment of impact.
I also note that this mode favours a sort of “snap”.
I can throw the technique with a relaxed arm and hand and snap into a clenched hand just before impact.
This, of course, lets the arm and hand acquire more initial speed and produces a more powerful attack with less muscular effort.
From a variety of positions, I can just flick my arm and have it land in a hammer-fist. This curve of the wrist seems a technique worth cultivating.
And then it dawns on me!
This is the hand form of horse-foot palm from tai chi’s single whip.
I have written about this as a parrying technique and even as a form of punch. I have probably even written about hammer-fist-like strikes with this hand form.
But I had not grasped one of the other important things that posture was trying to teach: that a relaxed, slightly bent wrist gives you a very efficient hammer-fist.
As always, experiment for yourselves.
Can you use hammer-fist instead of your other strikes?
Can you relax more to make it faster and more powerful?
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Phillosoph

Complete Wing Chun

           One surprise about writing this blog is that I have written many less book reviews that I expected.
A few weeks back I did come across an interesting trilogy of books on Wing Chun by Joseph Wayne Smith.
Many martial arts have a degree of secrecy, mystery and mythos. Historically there was sometimes good reason for information control. In the modern world, however, such practices can be counterproductive.
Smith is very interested in the biomechanics of Wing Chun, and why somethings may work better than others.
Those of you that have read my first book will know that I endeavoured to explain the mechanics behind a number of martial arts and self-defence techniques.
There was not room to teach every Judo throw so instead I taught the concepts that are common to the majority of such throws.
Smith’s books concentrate on wing chun and are aimed more at the student who has some familiarity with the basics. It is not a “how to do it” book, more a “why this works” book
The three volumes give a detailed analysis of the various forms including those for the weapons of wing chun.
There are sections on such techniques as pushing hands and sticky leg.
The second volume has an interesting discussion of how the techniques of wing chun might be complimented by those of muay thai and white crane (pak hok pai) kung fu.
I hope to expand a little on some of these concepts in later blogs.
Word to the wise:
The three volumes are collected together as “Wing Chun Kung Fu a Complete Guide”.
Naturally, I did not notice this until I had brought all three volumes separately.
Buying the collected version will save you a few pennies so you can buy one of my books as well.
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Phillosoph

More Applications of Single Whip

Today's blog continues on the topic of applications of tai chi's single whip movement. Be sure to read the previous blog on this subject.
As the left foot steps forward and out, there is a moment when there is no weight placed on it.
Anytime that your foot is in this state it may be used to kick.
Kicks from the single whip movement will often be forward or horizontal snap kicks.
Since tai chi fighting tends to be at relatively short ranges, it is prudent to use your opponent for additional support.
For example, an opponent swings a club at you with his right hand. You use your left palm to parry his forearm and momentarily take hold.
Your left leg springs upward and throws a roundhouse kick, contacting with the shin, instep or toe as appropriate for the range.
A likely target is the Liv 13 point on the side of the body where the torso is narrowest. This point allows you to attack the kidneys with a strike to the side of the body.
The hold on the opponent’s arm gives you support but also allows you to sense any following movement he makes.
If you have the window of opportunity a snap kick to the groin may be possible instead. You can follow this with the hooked palm making a strike to the Liv 14 area as described in the previous blog.
The next technique is an extension of something I described in my book in the section on the outward karate parry.
In that technique, you parried across the foe’s chest and a slight turn outward and body movement forward unbalanced them.
In our single whip example, the foe’s right hand is first parried by our right, so we are on their outside gate.
You step towards your foe, your left foot advancing behind them.
This movement may allow you to make a strike under their arm with your left shoulder.
Your left arm swings up under their right arm and extends forwards across their chest. Done correctly, this will nudge the opponent off-balance and the placement of your left leg will prevent him stepping back to regain it.
The next example uses an earlier part of the single whip movement.
As an enemy punches at you with their right, you use your right arm and the hooked palm to parry it outward to your right.
The fingers of your left hand point towards your right elbow so your left arm forms a shield across your body.
Keeping your arms in the same relative positions, you step forward and use your hooked right palm to strike forward and down at the area beneath the foe’s right armpit.
This punch with the hooked palm and some of its targets were described in the previous blog on single whip.
In a variation of the above, you again parry with your hooked palm but your right hand finishes in a position where it is not on a direct line to the armpit. In this case you step forward and use your left to palm strike the foe’s body.
I mentioned single whip being used to initiate locks in the previous blog. Today I will describe some of the possible techniques in a little more detail.
Suppose we are on the outside gate and acting on the foe’s right arm. Your right arm has either hooked over or grabbed his wrist area.
One of the simplest moves from here is for the left palm to come up and strike the elbow. Since the other hand is pulling the arm in the opposite direction such an attack to the joint can be very damaging.
If the application of force is less acute, then a straight arm lock can be applied. Pull his hand back and to your right and apply your weight to his elbow.
If your left palm is applied to the lower side of his elbow, you can move the elbow up and pull his hand down to set up a bent arm lock such as a hammerlock. This can be used in various ways, including to pull him off balance.
For our third variation of lock, the left hand goes under the elbow and makes contact with the inner side of the elbow.
Readers of my book will know there are some strike points on the inside of the elbow and that the edge of the hand can be applied to these as this lock is made.
The intention here is to fold the elbow joint, raising the hand up.
You can then use the forearm as a lever to twist the upper arm and shoulder joint. Force the hand up and back and also push the upper arm backwards to unbalance the foe.
Sometimes the foe will not unbalance, orat least not enough to fall.
If this happens, release the hand and use your right to move in a fast semi-circle to hammer-fist him below the pectoral in the area detailed in the previous blog.
Bounce you right hand up again and use it to palm strike on the chest or face. Then try something else.
You can also apply locks from the inside gate, although this is a bit more dicey since you can be hit by his other hand.
In these examples the hooked palm right hand engages his left wrist area. As you step forward your left hand makes an edge-of-the-hand-strike on the crease of his elbow.
This is the same sort of lock as described in the previous section.
You fold his elbow joint and take his hand up and back, moving to his outside gate. As you stepped in, you probably placed your feet between his so this move can be turned into a thigh or knee strike to the groin.
Another technique for the inside gate is the variant of the karate outside parry. Engage the left wrist with your right hand and then step in, passing your left arm under his and extending it across his back. Turn your hips to the left to unbalance him.
In the previous blog on single whip I mentioned breaking wrist grabs.
My book contains a variety of methods for doing this, my favourite being the “underneath and outside” movement.
The video below shows a number of applications of single whip, including a method for breaking wrist grabs.
Note that as the hooked palm turns over it effectively passes underneath and to the outside of the grabbing arm.
The left hand coming over has a number of applications, one of which is to shield the body should the grab be turned into a strike or should the other hand or head be used to strike.
I hope this brief look at the applications of single whip have been of some interest.
For much more information on self-defence and the principles upon which some of these applications are based please buy a copy of my book.
 
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Phillosoph

Single Whip and Horse Foot Palm

One of the advantages of writing this blog is that I can often cover topics that there was not room for in either of my books.
Today I am going to write a little about the “hooked fist”, which in turn leads to some discussion of tai chi’s single whip movement.
Single whip has a number of variations, and this is worth bearing in mind when you view videos of the movement.
Some are variations between different styles of tai chi, while others are different interpretations.
While tai chi is a potent martial art, many of its practitioners only study it for health or meditative purposes and this should be kept in mind when viewing movements.
For purposes of today’s discussion, the “whip” part of the movement will be considered to be with the right hand and the movement has three components I will discuss.

The first “component” is the right hand which comes up to chest level and moves outward, the wrist bending so that the closed hand hangs down. The arm looks a little like you are whipping the rump of a donkey with a riding crop or switch, hence the name of the position.
The shape the hand makes has a number of names. It is sometimes called “Hooked Palm” while the name “Turtle Head” is probably the most descriptive. Some instructors liken it to the “Crane Beak” hand form.
Given the equestrian aspect of the single whip position, the “Horse Foot Palm” name is perhaps most apt.
After the right hand has assumed position, the body turns to the left and the left hand comes up in an open palm. On some variants this is a simple semi-circular movement, while other variants cause the hand to roll over or spiral.
At the same time that the left hand moves the left foot steps forward and outward slightly. I used to find the turn and step unusually difficult until Erle Montaigue told me that you should keep your left elbow above your left knee when making that part.
In English, we tend to call single whip a posture or position, but it is actually a sequence of movements.
When movements from a kata or form are used in combat it is unlikely the whole thing would be used, and used exactly as you would perform it during a kata.
Elements of a kata or form are rather like clay from which you build the thing you need at the moment that you need it. They are not rigid geometric or mathematical constructions, or at least, they are not once your use of them matures.
Most tai chi moves are multifunctional. One instructor may tell you the combat application is one thing, another that it is something else. In reality there may be many more applications.
With that in mind, let us investigate some of the combat applications of the components of single whip.
Single whip is very much the signature move of tai chi.
In movies such as The Matrix you will see single whip used as an opening posture. In reality, it is better reserved until range has been closed with an opponent.
The left palm’s most obvious application is that it is a palm-strike. It is in a good position to hit the chest region or the chin, and the accompanying step forward adds power.
The open palm can also be used to parry, either with the palm or either edge of the hand. The spiralling motions used for the left hand in some varieties of single whip can be used to neutralize a wrist grab.
The horse foot palm is probably most widely understood as a parrying hand form.
It can hook over an enemy’s arm and pull it out or down.
It can parry to either side or upwards.
In his book “Knives, Knife Fighting and Related Hassles: How to Survive a Real Knife Fight” Marc MacYoung describes a tai chi-inspired “Whip Parry” as a defence against knife attack. Since the arm is semi-relaxed, the parry has a very short response time. Marc recommends that you move the wrist and let the hand go along.

Horse foot palm can also be used offensively in a number of ways.

The most obvious is to use it as a hammer-fist strike against targets such as under the arm or the temple.
The hand can also be used as a reverse hammer-fist: swing inward to hit targets such as the back of the head or the shoulder blade.
The hand can also be used to execute a downward glancing punch against certain bony areas of the body. For example, the hand hits under the armpit and the knuckles scrape downwards across the points below.
The hand posture is such that the force of hitting a bony area is dissipated along the arm.
Targets often used for such attacks include the GB 22 point about 3" under the armpit and the area just below the pectoral muscle.
The latter are Liv 14 and GB 24, on the mammary/mid-clavicle line, a couple of ribs down from the muscle in the sixth and seventh intercostal spaces.
These are all potent and potentially very harmful targets which can also be attacked by a hammer-fist from a horse foot palm. Horse foot palm can also suddenly be flipped over to make a back-fist strike to the enemy’s nose!

Both hands can of course be used together. Either hand can parry while the other counter-attacks.
If one hand grabs the wrist, the other can contact the elbow in various ways and apply various varieties of lock. This is another possible application for the spiralling movement of the left hand. Armlocks can be used to unbalance a foe.
The step forward with the left foot also has martial applications. In high level tai chi it is supposed to strike the KD 5 point on the enemy’s foot and drain their qi.
For the less advanced of us, the foot can be positioned to stop an enemy stepping back to regain their balance when the balance is disrupted by hand techniques.
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Phillosoph

Horizontal Throwing

Throwing objects in self-defence is a legitimate tactic if your life is in danger.
Some missiles may be capable of injuring an attacker, but a more likely consequence is that you will distract them long enough to press home a counter-attack or affect an escape.
In my book I describe a number of throwing techniques, some of them not that well known.
In this post we will look at an addition technique, that of horizontal or side-arm throws.
Horizontal throwing is harder to master than vertical throwing and generally has less range and power. On the other hand, it has several features that make it more applicable for self-defence.
One of these is that horizontal throws are less telegraphic than most vertical techniques, which increases the surprise element and distracting ability of a missile attack.
Another element is that a horizontal throw can be combined with drawing a missile from a place of concealment.
If a supply of projectiles are held in the other hand a number can be launched in a short period of time, the action of moving the throwing hand back to take another missile naturally setting up for another horizontal throw.
To throw an object such as a pencil, nail or knife, it is held in the palm, parallel to the fingers, as is described in the book for push-throwing.
Bend the elbow so your hand is near the opposite shoulder or hip, palm downwards. The action you are going to make is rather like a horizontal karate-chop.
Your arm should be relaxed during the motion and you should avoid the temptation to hurry the movement.
Lock your gaze on your intended target.
Smoothly let your arm swing straight and let the missile leave your hand when your fingers are nearly towards the target.
At the same time, sway your body towards the target to add momentum.
If you are throwing consecutive missiles you will rock back and forth as you throw and “reload”. Some sources talk of the missile being “pressed” towards the target and this is probably a better description of the release you are aiming for rather than thinking of this as a throw.
Unlike some of the other throws described in the book, this technique adds very little stabilization to the missile so is more suited to “nose heavy” objects.

To throw missiles such as coins or washers, the same basic action is used but the missile is head slightly differently.
The object is held horizontally between the thumb and second finger, with the forefinger on the edge to apply a little drag and induce some reverse spin.
Lock your eyes on the target and in a smooth, relaxed and unhurried manner swing your arm out straight so your thumb points towards the target.
If the missile you are using has a sharp edge, you may need to hold it between thumb and first finger and adding some spin-stabilization may require a little bit of a snapping action on release.

You will need to practice this to get the correct feeling and timing. Generally the missile is released just before or as your hand reaches the same vertical plane as your target.

Depending on distance you may have to aim above your intended target rather than pointing your hand right at it.