BS or Not?

[Kung Fu Wang]

But a too wide stance on an opponent makes it really easy to flick the front leg out and unbalance them.

It's easier to pick up your opponent's leading leg if he has "too wide" stance. As long as you can't reach to his back leg, he can still play the "sticky" game with you - glue his leading leg between your legs".

 

[pdg]

It's easier to pick up your opponent's leading leg if he has "too wide" stance. As long as you can't reach to his back leg, he can still play the "sticky" game with you - glue his leading leg between your legs".

You'd have to come and demonstrate that - I pick up your front leg, you're down

Unless you hit me, or tickle me - then all bets are off.

 

[JowGaWolf]

To step your foot between your opponent's leg is called "enter horse" in CMA.

Thanks. I learned something new today. I didn't know there was an actual term for it.

I don't use it often but from how you describe it, it sounds like something that I would enjoy exploring and getting good at it.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I pick up your front leg, you're down

Here is the "leg sticky" game that I'm talking about.

As long as you can

- control your opponent's shoulders.
- don't allow his hand to reach to your standing leg,

when you put leg into his groin, he can't take you down because your body and his body "glue" together. Your opponent has to pull your leg out from between his legs. When he does that, if he move his

- right leg, you attack his left leg.
- left leg, you attack his right leg.

This kind of "leg sticky" game has been played in Chinese wrestling for over 1000 years.

 

[pdg]

Here is the "leg sticky" game that I'm talking about.

As long as you can

- control your opponent's shoulders.
- don't allow his hand to reach to your standing leg,

when you put leg into his groin, he can't take you down because your body and his body "glue" together. Your opponent has to pull your leg out from between his legs. When he does that, if he move his

- right leg, you attack his left leg.
- left leg, you attack his right leg.

This kind of "leg sticky" game has been played in Chinese wrestling for over 1000 years.

A good punch would sort that out, or take it to the ground anyway.

But that would be outside the rules of engagement for that situation.

 

[dvcochran]

I just read a martial arts book in which the author states that one should always use their best hand as their forward hand and their rear hand for power punches. Basically do the opposite of what your normal punching stance would be. Their reasoning was that you need the hand with more coordination to be your primary defense/jab hand.

What is everyones thoughts on this idea?

I think books are for reading and you will not know what works best until you practice, preferably in a formal setting with good instruction.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I think books are for reading and you will not know what works best until you practice, preferably in a formal setting with good instruction.

Especially true with Martial Arts book. You also make a good point about reading. A person can read that same sentence that the OP mentioned and not understand the context in which it made. Is it true for all styles of fighting or is it only true for one system, or certain systems. What true for one martial arts system is not always true for another when it puts it into context.

Some defensive technique may require a stronger hand out front.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Some defensive technique may require a stronger hand out front.

When a punch comes toward your face, you want to stop it away from your face instead of to stop it close to your face. If your 1st defense fail, your 2nd defense may also fail.

 

[frank raud]

My Kenjutsu instructor who trained some in Japan said the same thing. The old school Japanese systems/instructors don't usually accommodate for the left-handed.

I had a friend that grew up in Europe and she was forced to write right-handed even though she was left handed. She said her school teachers saw left-handedness to be a sign of the devil.

My father's hand was tied behind his back to force him to become right handed. Myself and one of my sisters are left handed, when we went to school, dad made it clear we were left handed and would stay that way.

 

[Mark Lynn]

I'm sure someone with more expertise will correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that in Koryu systems, all swords are held right handed. If you're left handed, too bad. I believe that, historically, western swordsmanship also required everybody to fight right handed.

From my understanding you are correct about the Koryu systems, or at least swordsman ship. Once during class I was corrected during a drill with the Jo (4ft staff) by my instructor who told me "you wouldn't do that, because in Japan all sword is taught from the right hand. There are no left handed swordsman." We were doing a Jo vs Jo drill simulating a defense against a downward strike. I had adapted the drill to train my other side. Passing or parrying it the way I was doing left me open to potentially getting cut from the sword, but I still could defeat the other Jo

Same here. I've never heard of wielding the weapon in the non-dominant hand.

Speaking of wielding the weapon in the non dominant hand and FMAs GM Remy Presas was left handed. As a boy I believe he was taught the family style by his grandfather to fight left handed, years later he was taught Balintawak by another instructor who was left handed, they took him on because of his fighting skill and spirit. According to story he told us at a camp; at a much later time he use to try and teach everyone to fight left handed because that's what he was good at. However people couldn't adapt and some demanded their money back (sometimes people paid with livestock that had already been eaten) so he adapted to using his right hand as his teaching hand. Which is what he is primarily filmed/photographed as using, but he was better with his left.

In the 90's when I started in Modern Arnis we did a lot of left to right stick sparring type drills which included may tie ups, locks traps etc. etc. We were also taught/encouraged to do things both with the left and the right hand. In a sense were we taught to be balanced per say, not one side dominant. I believe this was due to his philosophy that Modern Arnis was a SD system first and stick fighting system second. Which is different from a stick or blade dueling system.

My background is in FMA as well and I've never seen rear hand as the default posture taught at any seminars, schools or visiting instructors. Not saying it's "wrong", just I haven't seen it a lot.

Yeah I wasn't saying it was wrong, but it was different. When we were working on the Tapi Tapi drills (L vs R mentioned earlier) with another school, they had different set ups (and different results from the set ups) with the stick being in the rear. Likewise our counters then had to be changed as well to deal with that change. Whether or not that was intentional (i.e. we doing this to mess with the people that go stick side forward) on their part I don't know. It gave us (my students) good classroom material to work on after the get together workout to discover new counters.

My Kenjutsu instructor who trained some in Japan said the same thing. The old school Japanese systems/instructors don't usually accommodate for the left-handed.

I had a friend that grew up in Europe and she was forced to write right-handed even though she was left handed. She said her school teachers saw left-handedness to be a sign of the devil.

I have heard the same thing from a Hispanic student of mine from Mexico. He looked into it (I think after I told him the story of being corrected by my sensei with the Jo) and he told me that in some culture they would tie the hand of the person to their body to force them to use the right hand, because being left handed was from the devil.

 

[Dirty Dog]

From my understanding you are correct about the Koryu systems, or at least swordsman ship. Once during class I was corrected during a drill with the Jo (4ft staff) by my instructor who told me "you wouldn't do that, because in Japan all sword is taught from the right hand. There are no left handed swordsman." We were doing a Jo vs Jo drill simulating a defense against a downward strike. I had adapted the drill to train my other side. Passing or parrying it the way I was doing left me open to potentially getting cut from the sword, but I still could defeat the other Jo

It actually makes perfect sense to train groups this way. For one thing, if we're all lined up doing drills, and I cut to the right while you cut to the left, Bad Things could happen.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

If a wrestler puts his strong arm forward while a striker puts his weak arm forward, who will have advantage?

 

[Anarax]

Speaking of wielding the weapon in the non dominant hand and FMAs GM Remy Presas was left handed. As a boy I believe he was taught the family style by his grandfather to fight left handed, years later he was taught Balintawak by another instructor who was left handed, they took him on because of his fighting skill and spirit. According to story he told us at a camp; at a much later time he use to try and teach everyone to fight left handed because that's what he was good at. However people couldn't adapt and some demanded their money back (sometimes people paid with livestock that had already been eaten) so he adapted to using his right hand as his teaching hand. Which is what he is primarily filmed/photographed as using, but he was better with his left.

In the 90's when I started in Modern Arnis we did a lot of left to right stick sparring type drills which included may tie ups, locks traps etc. etc. We were also taught/encouraged to do things both with the left and the right hand. In a sense were we taught to be balanced per say, not one side dominant. I believe this was due to his philosophy that Modern Arnis was a SD system first and stick fighting system second. Which is different from a stick or blade dueling system.

Very interesting, I didn't know Presas was left-handed. I agree that training both sides is important with weapons and empty-handed.

Yeah I wasn't saying it was wrong, but it was different. When we were working on the Tapi Tapi drills (L vs R mentioned earlier) with another school, they had different set ups (and different results from the set ups) with the stick being in the rear. Likewise our counters then had to be changed as well to deal with that change. Whether or not that was intentional (i.e. we doing this to mess with the people that go stick side forward) on their part I don't know. It gave us (my students) good classroom material to work on after the get together workout to discover new counters.

We have something similar to the Tapi Tapi drill and we also incorporate hand switches to work both sides. I agree it helps to get the mind thinking about new possibilities.