Thanks for the answer!
Just trying to get a feel for your system which is hard to do by just watching video clips.
Brian,
You are right. It is very hard to get it from watching. You have to feel it...
and someone has to point out to you "what to look for".
When I was first exposed to kali, all I could tell "from the action" was that the people were moving in circles and waving sticks. It was difficult for me, because of the old beliefs I had formed earlier as a "karate black belt". Old habits die hard. But, I wanted to learn what these guys were doing.
Certainly, my first kali teacher, was not as good as his teacher (Ben Largusa). Most students never become as good as a "true master". I asked him questions about the "fastness of the jab" and I was told that kali's "parry, check, killing blow" concept would be able to defend against it.
To test the assertion, my first teacher put his best student against me to defend against my "boxing jab". When I was finished... "the best student" was cowering with his hands over head. The "parry check, killing blow" concept did not work for him. My first teacher, got angry and yelled at me as he defended his beliefs, "it will work...you just have to practice it". (I being an outsider...thought to myself..."I'll learn your sticks and keep practicising my own "hands")
A few years later, I asked the same questions of the great Ben Largusa, "does the parry check, killiing blow work against the individual jab done as a multiple?" He told me the truth, "No...it won't work!"...
"Instead, you must defend against multiple jabs, as "one entire motion", he continued. Ahhh...now that made sense.
So yes, we must always determine if the technique is "combat efficient". So, your question and opinion is quite valid..."why do you turn your back...and why should that work?"
I tell you this story, because the parry check killing blow did not work for "student" but, with the insight of the Master...it is and can be a tool of destruction. Again, I emphasize that styles such as bagua regularly turn their backs while stepping inside and around to attack the backsides of their opponents. And certainly when you turn back fist or turn back kick you are turning your back. (Interestingly, when I first started martial arts, no one in America had ever seen a turn back spinning hook kick...or a cresant kick...today young people accept those techniques without a second thought).
Lastly, I used to watch a single tape of my teacher, Ben Largusa over and over for years and years. In the beginning, I just couldn't understand what he was doing. Over the years, it started to make sense. The more I could do the technique, the more I understood what he was doing and how I could attain his ability. Today, young people are interested in the "big techniques". They all want to be masters by 25. In fact, they call themselves masters. Instead, they should take the time to analyze, to view the tapes over and over, to see the fine points, 1) sensitivity 2) focus on target 3) ability to blend, absorb and manipulate 4) and if delivered with the full power and speed of the heavy stick/axe handle...the ability to devastate.
Best wishes,
Tuhan Joseph T. Oliva Arriola
