More heavy bag work and then tree hitting.

[Ironbear24]

As usual be mean, be brutal and more importantly be constructive, I feel like I have gotten better as of late and a big part of that is because of the constructive criticism I get from this place.

WIP2.avi

 

[Dirty Dog]

I'll try not to be mean, and hopefully constructive. As always, bear in mind that all replies will be biased towards the way the respondent does a particular technique, which may well vary from what you're being taught.
That said...

The idea of a spinning kick is to use the spin to generate momentum, AKA power, for the kick. You're spinning, stopping, and then kicking, which both slows the kick and loses all the power a spin can generate. You're also telegraphing the kick with the little stutter step thing it looks like you're doing. As far as the kick itself goes, I'd say you're turning too far for a back kick, not far enough for a side kick. Your hand position during the kick is pretty good.

Your roundhouse kick is also telegraphed, though not as badly. It's lacking power, though, and although I cannot see your feet, I suspect it's because you're not pivoting the supporting foot. Nor are you kicking through the target (you cannot, without pivoting, because the knee of your supporting leg doesn't work that way...). I'd also suggest flexing the knee more while bringing your leg up. You're raising your hands a lot during the kick, exposing yourself to some painful counters. Again, not being able to see your feet makes it difficult to assess, but it looks as if you might be doing this to help you bounce up on your toes or something to kick higher. Your flexibility seems to have improved from my memory of your prior videos.

Keep it up...

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I have no comment on the spin kicks, as I struggle with those as well so can't give the best advice. Your punches are also different than mine, but fairly certain that is due to stylistic differences more than anything so no comment there. However, for your roundhouse like Dirty Dog said you need to make sure you pivot, and watch what you do with your hands, especially on the first two roundhouses that you show. Might be useful to practice your kicks on someone, and have the through light jabs as you land your kick to make you more aware of when you do or don't have your hands protecting you while you kick.

 

[Ironbear24]

I am pivoting, but from the sounds of it I have to put more emphasis on the pivoting. Maybe I am not pivoting enough and I don't realize it? But I will work on my hand placement for sure and keep training hard. Thanks for the tips.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I saw your first video and I can see some improvement. I wish I could give you some tips on the techniques but we don't train the same fighting system. The best that I can do is give you my perspective as a Kung Fu practitioner. So here goes

The roundhouse kick looks like it's giving your some problem. My first thoughts about it is that you may be kicking a littler higher than what is comfortable for you (usually due to kicking outside of your range of flexibility). It's either that or you are just too upright when you throw the round house. The other problem, I'm certain of is that drop your leg down after the round house kick. Dropping the leg like that would make it easier for me to catch that leg. There are times when you can drop the leg after the kick but it's usually done as a bait to occupy the hands, so that you can punch the person. The difference is that the bait isn't a committed kick.

The thrust punch (at 0:50) requires that you step first and then punch. You are stepping and punching at the same time which makes the punch weaker. In Jow Ga I would take a step first and I would punch as soon as my stepping foot roots. From the outside it seems like it's all one movement but it isn't. If you watch your video you will see that you actually hit the bag before your stepping foot roots.

As for the tree, I couldn't tell what your goal was. It looked as if you were hitting it a little hard. If you scraped your knuckles then it means you were hitting with incorrect technique, meaning that your fist wasn't moving straight in and returning straight back.

You are big guy, so I don't know if that's why you have "chicken wings" (punching with elbows out). Punching in general no matter the system, you want to start your punch with elbows pointing down. Even when I do hooks, I start with my elbows pointing down. There are some punches where the elbows will be out, but for jabs you want those things in as much as possible. It could be that your body build is what makes your elbows turn out like they do. If you stand with the side of your body next to a wall with your punching arm between your body and the wall. You should be able to throw a punch without your elbow hitting the wall.
You want to stand next to the wall like this girl in the video. But you want your shoulder to touch the wall. From that position you should still be able to throw a punch without your elbow hitting the wall. If your elbow is hitting the wall then it means your elbow is turning outwards as you punch. You want to minimize that as much as possible. Let me know if my description isn't clear and I'll post a picture or video showing exactly what I'm talking about.

If you are punching the tree to work on your punching technique, then I can make a video showing you how to do that. If you are working on trying to punch the tree to build up your knuckles then there are probably some better ways accomplish that without destroying your knuckles.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I am pivoting, but from the sounds of it I have to put more emphasis on the pivoting. Maybe I am not pivoting enough and I don't realize it? But I will work on my hand placement for sure and keep training hard. Thanks for the tips.

It's possible that it's something else since we can't see your feet. Focus on your pivot when you throw the roundhouse, but also check with your sifu to see if he thinks you're not pivoting enough (you should be doing that anyway with most of the advice you get here, but make sure you do for that in particular)

 

[Dinkydoo]

Just to add on what's already been said - and not wanting to give duplicate advice - I'd say:

You need to stay 'in character' more after you've finished a combo. Keep focussed on the bag, do not use your hands to stop it but rather footwork to move around the target and let the bag bounce off your guard, if you must. You should be training good habits here, the bag can't hit back, but an opponent will.

You seem to be rushing your combos, which may be impacting on your roundhouse kick. For the jab-cross-roundhouse you'll get much better power if you focus on it like 'one-two-reset-kick' - and this allows you to break it down and get your technique down. A club I used to train at did those jab-cross-roundhouse combos and honestly, I don't like them at all. You simply cannot get much power in a kick that you're throwing like that once the hip is already turned at the end of a good cross. It can be quick and good for point sparring, but during a continuous format someone will definitely just shrug that off and keep coming at you .

Combos of punches, your hands are too low. Each punch should more or less return to guard. Lots of fighters - mma in particular - keep their hands low, but that is partially due to takedown defense and because their style uses very high level footwork and head movement to keep distance control - try blocking with those tiny gloves and you'll realise just how stressful it is trying to take lots of shots on your guard. Anyway, at this level - and my own - having a good guard is important. If you try to fire out a 4/5 combo with loose hands like that against anyone with a tight guard themselves then you're going to eat some punches by the time you even get to punch number 3 or 4 in the combo.

Keep at it man.

 

[Jaeimseu]

As I think Dirtydog said, you need to decide if you want to do a back kick or "spinning" side kick. But either way, you need to lift your knee more (imo) so that your kick is moving into the target and not moving upward as much.

Your roundhouse kick, as also mentioned, seems to lack some power. To me, it looks like you're kicking with your leg and not engaging your hips. This could be caused by an insufficient pivot.

It's great that you have the guts to put yourself out there. Keep at it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Buka]

Stay at it, bro, keep up the good work.

As for the tree, we do it differently in American Karate.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I think others have already made the points I wanted to make, but I'll mention them again to emphasize their importance.

Get your elbows down by your ribs. The way you have them chicken-winged out now exposes your ribs, telegraphs your punches, and costs you power.

Pivot more on that roundhouse kick.

As Dinkydoo mentioned, "stay in character" after a combination. (I like that phrase.) Don't throw a combination and then immediately reach out to catch and reset the bag. Keep your guard up, move off at an angle, if you need to stop the bag you can hit it with another strike as it swings back.

The fact that the bag is swinging away so much shows that you are still pushing too much with your punches. Remember that you only need a split-second to transfer the energy from your punch into your target. Everything after that is just pushing. The ideal would be to feel the bag folding around your punch, not swinging away.

I'm not sure what the point is of the tree punching. You can't develop proper technique that way. If you're working on hand conditioning, I would recommend more of a progressive build up.

The good news is that I can see noticeable improvement since your last video. Your elbows are tighter in than they were. Your balance is better. You aren't looking at the camera so much. Keep working at it.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Good on you for continuing to work on it, and for posting your video. Very brave, and commendable.

That said, what everyone else said, and when punching, quit pushing the bag! You're a big guy like me, you can generate tons of power if you relax and use your core to power your punch instead of your arms and shoulders.

 

[JR 137]

As has been said so many times (and should kept being said), I don't know your system, so what I'm going to say may be contradictory. Always take your teacher's word over ours. That being said...

Punching -
As been said, your elbows shouldn't be up and pointing out to the sides. Forget about protecting yourself for a minute; with your elbows up and out, you can't generate much more power than you currently do. It also shortens your reach. The way you're punching, you're only hitting with your hands, shoulders, and a little bit of your chest. You're not throwing any weight behind your punches because there's no rotation of your spine, hips, and push from your legs and feet. You're turning the upper 1/3 of your back at most, and there's very little turning of that 1/3. You can't get any snap to your punches that way. I'm not talking about a quick snap without any real power behind it, I'm talking about snap like Mike Tyson. Maybe pop is a better word.

Keeping your elbows down and in by your side, you'll be able to hit with your entire body. Driving off the back foot and torquing your hips will cause your waist and trunk to follow, and the shoulder and arm will already have a ton of momentum behind them before they even really start moving.

There's a reason why TMA practice punches with the fist chambered at the waist or at the armpit. While no one (or at least no one should) fights this way, when taught properly it teaches proper mechanics. From the chambered position, bring the fist up near shoulder level, and the elbow out a few inches, keeping everything relaxed. Fine then be it to your natural position within a few inches forward from you, closer to you, up, down, etc. Practice throwing punches out of that position and see how it feels. Don't go all out, just get a feel for it. As it gets more comfortable, increase speed and power.

Roundhouse kick -
I can't see if you're pivoting or not. What I immediately see is your leg is straight and all your power is coming from your hip. As you bring your leg out to the side, bend your knee. Think of throwing a knee kick from the outside in, and then straightening your knee out, hitting with the shin. Same principle as in punching, the momentum from your bent leg coming around is going to give that knee extension the power.

Perhaps a better way of explaining it is the roundhouse should be very similar to a front kick. Front kick gets its power when you lift the knee then kick forward by straightening the knee after its at its high point. Do the same thing with roundhouse, only the the knee is coming out from the side instead of straight in front of you.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Dirty Dog]

There's a reason why TMA practice punches with the fist chambered at the waist or at the armpit. While no one (or at least no one should) fights this way, when taught properly it teaches proper mechanics.

Meh.... I don't think this is entirely correct. While your hands are not chambered in the guard, there are certainly plenty of examples of professional fighters throwing punches from the traditional high or low chambered position.

While throwing the left hand, the right hand is pulled back to what is pretty clearly recognizable as the traditional high chamber.

Here the right hand is extending, while the left is being pulled back to the traditional low chamber position.

Not every combination will be thrown from the traditional chambers, but it's obvious that when maximum power is desired, the strike will be thrown from deep chamber.
And yes, it's true that the hand positions in forms are somewhat stylized and exaggerated when compared to actual fighting.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I think the point being made is that when a person takes the time to learn the body mechanics behind throwing a proper punch, they can throw a reasonably powerful punch from nearly any position. But parking the fists on the hips in the beginning is conducive to learning that kind of power generation. That's my take on it, anyway.

 

[JR 137]

I think the point being made is that when a person takes the time to learn the body mechanics behind throwing a proper punch, they can throw a reasonably powerful punch from nearly any position. But parking the fists on the hips in the beginning is conducive to learning that kind of power generation. That's my take on it, anyway.

That was a exactly my point.

Meh.... I don't think this is entirely correct. While your hands are not chambered in the guard, there are certainly plenty of examples of professional fighters throwing punches from the traditional high or low chambered position.

While throwing the left hand, the right hand is pulled back to what is pretty clearly recognizable as the traditional high chamber.

Here the right hand is extending, while the left is being pulled back to the traditional low chamber position.

Not every combination will be thrown from the traditional chambers, but it's obvious that when maximum power is desired, the strike will be thrown from deep chamber.
And yes, it's true that the hand positions in forms are somewhat stylized and exaggerated when compared to actual fighting.

I meant that people shouldn't have their hand chambered in a fighting stance/guard. I'm referring to the point fighters walking around in a deep forward leaning stance with their back hand chambered.

The hand can and usually should chamber JUST before throwing a punch, especially a power punch. Your post is absolutely correct IMO, I was just referring to when someone is "squared off," not during an actual exchange.

 

[MAfreak]

when i stop a heavy bag when it swings back to me, i do it with a block, i mean a raised knee and both forearms before my tucked in face. i would recommend that for you too. from there you can also strike it again instead of making the short break to hold the bag.

 

[Dirty Dog]

when i stop a heavy bag when it swings back to me, i do it with a block, i mean a raised knee and both forearms before my tucked in face. i would recommend that for you too. from there you can also strike it again instead of making the short break to hold the bag.

I agree. Treat it like an opponent. Dodge it. Stop it with a strike. Block it.

 

[drop bear]

Meh.... I don't think this is entirely correct. While your hands are not chambered in the guard, there are certainly plenty of examples of professional fighters throwing punches from the traditional high or low chambered position.

While throwing the left hand, the right hand is pulled back to what is pretty clearly recognizable as the traditional high chamber.

Here the right hand is extending, while the left is being pulled back to the traditional low chamber position.

Not every combination will be thrown from the traditional chambers, but it's obvious that when maximum power is desired, the strike will be thrown from deep chamber.
And yes, it's true that the hand positions in forms are somewhat stylized and exaggerated when compared to actual fighting.

The fist is most natural resting at about shoulder level. So they tend to set back there.

The issue is it then does not do much to stop you being punched in the face.

PAC man has hands all over the shop.

 

[drop bear]

when i stop a heavy bag when it swings back to me, i do it with a block, i mean a raised knee and both forearms before my tucked in face. i would recommend that for you too. from there you can also strike it again instead of making the short break to hold the bag.

That bag really doesn't help things either. It was way too swingy.

 

[drop bear]

Your spinning kick should not end in that side kick shape. It needs to be more tucked and more of a back kick.