Use your body to strike

[Kung Fu Wang]

Unfortunately the clinch is one thing that's woefully underdeveloped at my school.

Will you consider the following as "clinch"?

- You have right leg forward. Your opponent has left leg forward.
- You use right hand to grab on his left elbow, left hand to grab on his left wrist and guide his left arm to your left (his right) to jam his own back right arm.

I find this "guide your opponent's leading arm to jam his own back arm" is a very useful strategy even in a pure striking arm system.

1/2 speed:

 

[Xue Sheng]

Use your body to strike
Yep. Major concept in every martial art I've trained.

Old CMA saying, your body is a fist

 

[skribs]

Will you consider the following as "clinch"?

- You have right leg forward. Your opponent has left leg forward.
- You use right hand to grab on his left elbow, left hand to grab on his left wrist and guide his left arm to your left (his right) to jam his own back right arm.

I find this "guide your opponent's leading arm to jam his own back arm" is a very useful strategy even in a pure striking arm system.

1/2 speed:

Specifically referring to the Taekwondo clinch (since I was responding to my conversation with Dirty Dog, which was about TKD sparring).

It's not what any other art would call a clinch.

 

[geezer]

Old CMA saying, your body is a fist

In our lineage of WC/WT we call it a "shoulder punch", and if you do it right, it isn't a shove, ...it is definitely a punch. It might not penetrate quite the way a fist does (the corner of the shoulder has a larger surface area) but it can really knock the wind out of you as well as knocking you back and creating space.

 

[Xue Sheng]

In our lineage of WC/WT we call it a "shoulder punch", and if you do it right, it isn't a shove, ...it is definitely a punch. It might not penetrate quite the way a fist does (the corner of the shoulder has a larger surface area) but it can really knock the wind out of you as well as knocking you back and creating space.

In Taijiquan it is one of the 8 gates of the 13 postures and is called Kao. Done right it can take someones root and knock them backwards quite a ways

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

In our lineage of WC/WT we call it a "shoulder punch", and if you do it right, it isn't a shove, ...it is definitely a punch. It might not penetrate quite the way a fist does (the corner of the shoulder has a larger surface area) but it can really knock the wind out of you as well as knocking you back and creating space.

If you put your elbow into your body strike, it will be the same as fist punch.

 

[Xue Sheng]

If you put your elbow into your body strike, it will be the same as fist punch.

Elbow strike, any elbow strike, in Taijiquan is also one of the eight gates of the thirteen postures and it is called Zhou...it can be an effective strike, it can also break an elbow of the person you are applying zhou too, or seriously damage it. And it can appear out of some of the other 8 gates if the opponent is not careful

 

[Gerry Seymour]

MA is much more than just

- throw a punch,
- pull punch back, and
- throw another punch.

Even when your arm is complete straight, as long as you

- bend your back leg,
- press on the ground,
- let the counter force to go through your back leg, your back, your shoulder, your arm, and reach to your hand, you can still generate power. Your arm is just part of your body that play no part of the power generation. Your power is generated by your back leg.

Here are examples of body hit body. Your whole body can be considered as a weapon. What's your opinion on this principle?

My students hate it. They don’t get close enough, so I show what happens when you “accidentally” get “too close”.

Sometimes when someone is too focused on what they want (see this quickly in restricted-arrack drills), slipping inside to run into them can be an effective move. It can break structure and change momentum, but may also put you in their clinch if they change modes at the same time.

To the original question, I’m usually not a fan of trying to transfer body impact through an extended arm. It will never be like a hand strike (body movement is too slow), and the arm douant have the rigidity to transfer all of that momentum. But in the right situation, it can catch someone in transition and ruin their balance badly, which is the point of some aiki techniques and exercises.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

If you put your elbow into your body strike, it will be the same as fist punch.

No, it will entirely lack the speed of a hand strike.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Or if you're bigger than them.

When my Dad is sparring the teenagers, they try and kick him, and he just closes the distance and lets his body push them back. It helps that he's about twice their weight.

It can work against larger opponents, though in more limited situations. Especially if contact is closer to the hip.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Is there a reason why you can't change that?

Teaching at someone else’s school, there’s sometimes a defined curriculum or defined limit of what’s taught. I had that situation at my primary instructor’s school. I teach significantly differently in my program than I did at his school.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

primary punchy bits

Best phrase of the week.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

No, it will entirely lack the speed of a hand strike.

I prefer to receive 10 punches than to receive 1 elbow strike. This is why elbow strike is illegal in Sanda tournament.

- Punch can hurt.
- Elbow can kill.

I was almost killed by an elbow strike on my heart area many years ago.

 

[Buka]

Old CMA saying, your body is a fist

Old American Karate saying, "Your body is the gun, your fist is the bullet, that chump is the X ring."

 

[skribs]

I prefer to receive 10 punches than to receive 1 elbow strike. This is why elbow strike is illegal in Sanda tournament.

- Punch can hurt.
- Elbow can kill.

I was almost killed by an elbow strike on my heart area many years ago.

A punch can kill. One of the deadliest sports is boxing.

 

[Buka]

A punch can kill. One of the deadliest sports is boxing.

To me, one of the greatest dangers in fighting is hitting your opponent, be it a punch, elbow or anything else - and having them drop and cracking their head on the pavement. Too many deaths happen that way. Scary stuff, that.

 

[drop bear]

A punch can kill. One of the deadliest sports is boxing.

Lawn bowls technically.