HOW TO FIGHT!

HOW TO FIGHT!

A simple self defence set taken from karate and kickboxing.


Yes, I know what you're thinking "What a pretentious title for a magazine article". Well, maybe. But maybe not. Stay with me a minute and I'll try and justify that.

Many people who come to a martial arts class are concerned with just that - How to Fight. And they want to know that the person teaching them knows, that they are learning how to fight from someone who can.

I have been in a few (some would say a few too many) situations myself, and know confidently, when it comes to fighting, that I can. When my students ask me, out of what I teach them, what will serve them in a real situation of danger, they know that I know what I'm talking about.

Hope that clears that up.

What I teach, however, is not fighting, it is karate, both traditional, and freestyle (kickboxing), which adds elements taken from boxing. However, with the correct application of the relevent knowledge it is entirely possible to fight or defend oneself using the techniques of karate and kickboxing.

Stance

Square stance. This is the wrong stance to be in. However this is where you will probably find yourself at the start of an encounter - off guard and in a neutral stance.

Bladed stance. This is the correct stance to be in. One foot in front of the other, similar to the boxing stance or karate's Jiyu dachi fighting stance. 45% angle.

In karate we always move forward into stance to show martial spirit. Kata begins with a bow followed by a move into a stance, along with a block. All kata begin this way to demonstrate the first two precepts of karate - 1. that karate begins and ends with courtesy and 2. in karate one never strikes first.

However, in kumite, after the bow, we move back into stance. This is to show courtesy for the training partner. However, kumite itself is a form and this action has combat applications. Caught in a neutral stance when facing an attacker, we need to foremost keep in mind that we are being attacked and are obliged by the attacker to defend ourselves, hence the purpose of the bow (obviously we do not bow literally in a real encounter, but the spirit of the rei is still there). We move from the neutral stance back into a bladed fighting stance. Why not forward? Because if you step forward towards an experienced street fighter the first thing he will do is kick you in the knee as soon as it comes into range, as soon as you are lining him up for the first shot.

It's what I would do. Think about it. This guy in front of you, talking to you, changes his position, his left leg comes forward, his right hand moves up from his side to somewhere around his stomach area. He is stepping into position and lining you up for that big right hand. Kick him in the knee cap of his lead leg as soon as he steps into range. This is taking the initiative. So when you want to step into bladed stance, move your rear leg back, not your lead leg forward. Keep this trick in mind, not just so you can use it, but so that you don't fall for it!

A quick note on Rei - the bow. The rei is more than just bending at the waist or making a simple nod of the head. At the surface, the rei is the Japanese equivalent of the Western handshake. The handshake has great significance in that you take your hand away from your sheathed sword to offer it in friendship. When Baden Powell founded his Scout movement, he made use of a left handed handshake, to signify the laying down of the shield as a symbol of trust, an initiative he thought up when facing tribal warriors who carried shields as a means of defence. (Bet you didn't think you'd be reading about the Boy Scouts when you started to read an article on karate titled "How To Fight"! And no, I was never a Scout myself. Not because it is a bad thing to do, but because Scout night fell on karate night and I was doing karate.)

A good description of karate I once heard is that it is part of Japanese culture, the same culture that produced the beauty of the tea ceremony and the ritual suicide of hara-kiri. The Rei is just as important a part of that culture. So, in kumite, we rei to each other as a mark of respect for having someone to train with. In kata, we rei at the start and finish of each form. This shows respect for the art, our teachers and our dojo. It shows respect for life! Right behaviour means right consciousness, and proper form in techniques develops right behaviour. The three elements of martial art are wasa-ki-shin: technique, energy, attitude of mind. Every gesture in life should contain wasa-ki-shin. We have to start somewhere, so we start with the rei. When a student asks me "What is the most important technique in karate" I tell them the rei. Yes, not the block, punch or jumping side kick, but the bow. Think about it.


Punch range.

This is the range where most fights take place. His hands are able to reach your body. But your hands are also able to reach his.

In karate we practice gyaku zuki, from the natural stance (hachiji dachi) and from the front stance (zenkutsu dachi). In front stance, we perform this with the left hand open and pull it back as we send out the rear hand. This is done at three height levels - jodan, chudan and gedan.

In a real situation, the lead hand is the fence and the rear hand is cocked. We stand in the natural position, rather than the deep front stance. Remember Shotokan precept 17 - kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai - "beginners must master low stance; natural body position for advanced". Remember, we are practicing the art of karate, and it's combat application. Those who excel at boxing may use the cross as opposed to the gyaku zuki, it's really the same punch, but the mechanics are a little different, especially the feet.

The fence. Gives you a perception of where he is. Touch the fence to the opponent's body before launching a cross is the same as hitting him with a jab first - it gives you the lineup. It seems non-aggressive, but it means you are in control. If he has come forward into punch range he is a danger. If he is trying to get past your fence, he is doing it for a reason, so this is your chance to launch your pre-emptive strike.

The Guard. Not the same as the guard in grappling. This is based on the boxer's guard, hands up, ready to launch your punches and cover your opponent's punches. If you put this up it means you are fighting, and your chance to take the opponent with a surprise pre-emptive strike is gone. He has the same chance as you do. He has started it, you must finish it. As it turns out, you now may need to block an attack of his.

The block. Similar to a karate lead hand block, this works if he launches a swinging attack, as it jams the punch he throws. You need to keep your head down. Similar to the boxer's jab and thrown out in the same manner, but with the intention of intercepting the incoming punch. Don't use it like a karateka in solid zenkutsu dachi, applying age uke as in one step sparring - that is a training exercise. Do it in boxing stance, throw the jab a few times to get the feel and then, instead of landing the jab with the fudoken, roll up the hammerfist. It works surprisingly well. With a partner, jab his right pec a couple of time, then get him to throw a rear hook and roll up the block, stepping back on the rear foot half a step as you do. Well, blow me down. Karate blocks work after all!

The cover. Taken from boxing, covers your head against the punch. This is when the attacker is right in close on top of you and has bridged the gap from punch range to in fighting range. Nice of him to do so, and once you have covered the hit successfully you can use the infighting techniques to deal with him. More on those later.

The punch. Off the back hand, goes in like a cross, off the front hand, goes in like a hook. The Jodan zuki translates as this, and the target is the jaw. The tip of the chin, preferably, but anywhere along the crescent of the jaw will stun the attacker.

Karateka will be familiar with the technique mikazuki geri, which means crescent kick. The name mikazuki refers to the jaw, the mandible, and is the Japanese name for this body part, also this target. So when we refer to mikazuki geri we are in fact refering to it as not just a crescent shaped motion, but as a kick to the mandible. This naming of techniques after the targets is quite common in karate. Another example is kasumi uchi, taken from Bojutsu - a strike to kasumi - the temple. (Bet you didn't know that!)

In case you are wondering, I do not recommend trying to kick the jaw in a real fight. As you will probably be at punch range anyway, stick to the hand techniques.

The palm heel strike. Basically, swap the fudoken - clenched fist - for an open taisho palm heel and keep the jaw (mikazuki) as the target. Those who are not sure of their fist, or are concerned with damaging the hand, will have no such problems using the palm heel.

The chudan gyaku zuki is a powerful shot to the solar plexus. If the opponent is concerned with dealing with an attack at the head, he can easily be fooled if you switch "downstairs". He can be easily be setup with a feint lead hand jab, which would cause him to divert his attention to protecting his face. Attack By Drawing and the use of feints are not always the best tactics for a street fight. But should you find yourself facing someone in stance, waiting to see what will happen (thinking "How the hell did get here?"!), your best option is to land one first and a chudan shot to the solar plexus is an option.

The gedan zuki is aimed at the groin, the pubic bone. If the opponent has been drinking, which is possible in a pub or nightclub where many such fights start, then hitting the bladder can have the desired effect. At any rate, he won't be prepared for you to drop low, and won't be prepared for the effects of the shot either! It will pretty much leave him helpless as you line him up for the finishing move.

In fighting.

This is where you are closer than hand range. This is the range where trapping and vertical grappling will occur. With respect to Wing Chun practitioners, trapping will not occur in a real fight the way it is shown in your kwoon unless you are someone like Derek Jones, Emin Boztepe or Rick Young.

There is this great scene in the film Internal Affairs where Richard Gere's Bad Cop attacks Andy Garcia's Good Cop by surpising him in a lift. Garcia is going upstairs in the lift. The lift stops and the doors open and Gere is standing there, which takes both the audience and Garcia by complete surprise. Gere drops a headbutt straight into Garcia's face and he falls into the lift and hits the back wall. The doors close. Gere closes the gap and hits Garcia with a couple of short uppercuts to the body, which completely immobilises Garcia, who is in agony. They are now face to face at trapping/vertical grappling/infighting range and Gere taunts the helpless Garcia for a few moments. He then lands a knee to Garcia's groin which drops him to the floor. Of all Hollywood fight scenes, this is probably the most realistic I have ever seen. Up close, taken by surprise, simple and painfull shots - no messing about. This is the way to deal with an opponent at close quarters. No spinning back kicks in sight.

So the headbutt for jodan, body shot with an uppercut for chudan, and knee to the groin for gedan are the moves mentioned and the moves recommended. To this I would add the stomp to the attacker's instep. Develop these first three shots up close on the big bag. A stamp to the foot is so obvious it should not need any impact drilling.

If you are outside his leg, use the knee strike to his outer thigh.
Then move round the back to apply the sleeper choke.
(see my previous article "What Really Happens")

The aim of infighting is to get him off you - send him down and don't go down with him. If you do, you are into groundfighting. And that is something else altogether.

Kick range

Kick range happens if you are conversing at that range or the opponent is yet to move into punch range or has moved out from it. The best kicks are the three primary karate kicks - front, side and round, adapted for efficiency. The back kick, ushiro geri, is also handy if someone is moving in from behind and you don't get the chance to turn round.

Front kick is low and to the opponent's shin or knee, either with the cap of the shoe, or the inside edge. A bit like when in football you side foot the ball - you are going to side foot his shin with the inside edge of your shoe.

Side kick is a low thrust kick, again to the shin or knee. A lot of people talk about kicking the side of the knee. All good in theory but it does do a lot of damage - are you prepared to go that far? Also, if he is coming straight towards you or standing facing you, it is the front of his leg you will be presented with, you won't actually be round the side. Think about that.

Round kick is the Thai style round kick to the thigh, rather than the mawashigeri style of round kick.

Back kick works when someone moves in beside you or if you are dealing with one person and a second moves in to assist him, on your blind side. There are many examples in karate kata where you stack your hands on your hip and kick in the other direction. Karate's detractors try to put the art down for these moves without ever understanding them. "Unrealistic" they say. This concept is more realistic than they realise. You have both your hands at your left side, holding (or hitting!) an attacker, when his mate moves in from the right/rear side. Keeping your hands where they are, kick sideways/backwards either to his approaching leg as he puts it into range (remember that trick?) or straight into his groin. Either way, it deals with him rather well. No, you won't have time to turn and face him. Use the back kick. It works.

I like to follow up the back kick with a side elbow strike (yoko empi), The kick landing will bring his head down and forward and augments the power of the subsequent elbow strike.

From behind

When surprised from behind I have found the elbow strike to be the only efficient technique. If you have not had time to kick, he will be right on top of you, so just plow that side elbow right into his face and drop him. Try it with a partner up close (line up, not landing the elbow), even grabbing you. Find out how to line up that side elbow and you'll believe in what an effective technique it is. The strike can also be applied to the solar plexus, and hammer fist can be applied to the groin. We have all seen that technique on TV shows, usually done really poorly (I remember Avon in Blakes 7 applying it to an attacking alien) where the hero hits his attacker with an elbow to the stomach and a backfist to the face. I think if he is standing right by you then the face and solar plexus are open gain for the elbow and the groin is waiting for the hammerfist. I personally would not use the fist for a face attack to the rear, but the side is a different matter.

On the side

Sometimes you will be side on to an attacker, or have used the ploy of turning away to take him off guard. You then want to turn back with a powerful hammerfist to the nose or side kick to his knee, depending on range. These initial techniques can be followed up with a powerful finishing technique. Some karateka may think of using the backfist, but the danger here is missing with the knuckles and hitting the back of the hand against the opponent's hard bony skull. At the best it is painfull, the worst it will break the hand. Use the meaty hammerfist as a better weapon. I have also found from impact training on the bag and pads that I can generate more power with the hand in the hammerfist position than the backfist. Probably something to do with the supinators and pronators in the forearm lining up better. Or maybe not. At any rate, it seems to be the case. Find out for yourself.

Often when an opponent recieves one of the lower strikes - leg, groin or body, he will bend forwards at the waist, presenting his back at a target for dropping techniques. Depending on which of the ranges you are in, or if the range changes, will change the target, but the nape of the neck, the kidneys and the spine are the ones to aim for.


Developing the techniques

By way of example we'll look at a method for developing and adapting the punch for combat. This can then be applied to all the techniques.

The basic kihon - gyaku zuki in natural stance and front stance. Time taken to develop the basic form of the punch will not be wasted. It takes 5000 repititions of an action to make it a natural reflex. Also, practice the oi zuki lunge punch 5000 times. Not a realistic punch? Well maybe not in actuality, but as a training exercise it fully utilises the fist, turn of shoulder and hip, and obviously takes the footwork to it's ultimate conclusion: a complete step. So, with 3 forms of the punch, left and right, 5000 times each, we are looking at 15,000 punches to learn the basic technique. So those of you who have been doing karate for a while now and think you have "got the hang" of punching, think again. Then go and do some more reps.

Makiwara. Not everyone has access to these, but remember that this was the tool designed for developing karate kihon. If you have access to a punchbag then use this, but remember that the punchbag is a tool for developing the punches of boxing, in this case the cross, so adapt your technique accordingly. I use makiwara and the heavy bag in my solo training, to perfect the form for gyaku zuki and the cross. My actual technique kind of meets in the middle. Find where yours is.

As for how to practice the technique, many people make the mistake of trying to hit hard. OK, we want to hit hard, but we want to do the technique properly and add power to it. Most beginners try to hit harder and do the technique different. Therefore wrong, therefore weaker. This is where all those many kihon, those reps grooving the technique into the muscle memory will serve you. My advice here is don't try and hit hard - just land the technique with good form - and power will come the more reps you do. By the time you have landed another 5,000 you will be doing the punch properly and they will be hard and fast.

Lineup the punch. Get to know the target, in this case the jaw (mikazuki, remember). With a partner, lineup the punch to the jaw several times. Do this from both the fence, and from the guard, until your punch will find that target anytime you need it to. How many reps? Another 5,000 should do it.

Focus pads. This is the best way to develop punches. Get your partner to hold them up and lineup the shots, this time with speed and power. This is as close as you can get to actual sparring and it's worth spending a lot of time doing padwork once you have developed your punches. Don't forget to keep correct body mechanics and good form in the techniques. Both feeder (pad holder) and you can move around as if sparring for real. As this drill comes from boxing, the best way to practice this is in the ring for three rounds of three minutes. If this is not possible, as long as you have the focus pads, you can do the drill at the dojo. Stay on the mat and keep punching for the duration of a three minute round, or as close to as possible.

Sparring. This is where everything is put to the test and you will find yourself at both kick, punch and infighting range, and you will have the ability to land all your techniques at all levels. Basically you want to get in there, land those punches to your partner's jaw while he is trying to defend himself and attack you back at the same time. Use your guard, block and cover, learn not to take shots yourself. If you have worked your defensive moves as kihon and against a set up shot 5,000 times each then they should happen automatically when your partner throws a shot at you in sparring.
As for the punch, as soon as the open line to the jaw is there, you will instantly react and the punch will find it's way to the target on it's own. At first you will both be surprised "where did that come from?" he will be thinking and so will you. Once it has happened continuously in sparring you will be used to your new skills and will start to trust and believe in them. At this point you will be very dangerous to anyone who decides that they will attack you.

A quick note on developing the other techniques. For the kicks - do the reps as kihon to get them right and then against the bag for impact to get the power. Line them up against a partner's leg. You can get him to wear a shin pad if you want to develop a bit of contact.

For the defence - practice the age uke and the cover as kihon to groove the techniques in. Then get your partner to throw a gyaku zuki at punch range and a cross at infighting range to your head and practice both blocks, as in kihon ippon kumite. Do 5,000 on each technique each side and the block will happen instinctively should someone throw a punch at your head for real. Wear boxing gloves and go for some contact, so if you miss the block and get hit, you'll have an appreciation of where you went wrong and learn from your mistakes. If you are going to make mistakes in your defence, do it in training, not when it goes live!

So the kihon to be practiced are as follows. Choku zuki - jodan, chudan and gedan. At Jodan - taisho (palm heel) thrust and round, toho (sword peak hand). Yoko at jodan - urakan. Yoko at gedan - shuto. At chudan - ura zuki and tate zuki. At gedan - teisho. Elbow techniques - yoko, ushiro and mae empi. Tenchi (downward) shuto and empi.
In zenkutsu dachi - gyaku zuki, hiza geri, mae geri, kekome, ushiro geri and mawashigeri.

These translate to the following. Punch range - punch to jaw, palm heel to jaw, arc hand to throat, power slap to side of jaw, elbow to jaw, body shot and groin shot. Kick range - front kick and side kick to shin or knee, round kick to outer thigh. Infighting range - headbutt to face, uppercut to body, knee to groin and stamp to instep. From the side - hammerfist and elbow to nose, elbow to body, hammerfist to groin, side kick to knee. From behind - back kick to knee or groin, elbow to face. Opponent bent over - hammerfist, shuto or elbow as drop weapons to the following targets - nape of neck, spine, kidneys.


Conclusion

Remember that the martial arts are the arts of war. They developed that way. Warriors went out to battle and fought the way they were trained. Techniques that were effective were brought back. Techniques that were ineffective died with their inventors. The martial arts distilled as they were at the start of this century are systems born out of warfare - effective and realistic. The wisdom of those masters is in these systems and has been handed down to us in the lessons that are the martial arts. All we have to do is pay attention.