The Way of Least Resistance

"You can't block a jab - and that shows blocks don't work" I recently made a video on this topic and I'm surprised by the reactions - especially the private ones: my inbox this morning is full, mostly of some very strongly worded negativity towards what I thought was a fairly honest, unremarkable analysis of the possibilities and limitations of blocking jabs.  I guess people can't seem to understand that a video filmed in class doesn't provide a full analysis of a topic and relies on some background. I made the video recalling an event that occurred some 20 years ago.  I was training in a gym which had boxers training.  One young trainee there knew I did karate, so he came up and challenged me.  "Blocks don't work," he said.  Then he mimicked a jodan uke and a chudan uke, showing he'd done bit of cursory study in karate.  "You couldn't possibly use these to stop my jab ." I'm going to put aside the obvious absurdi...

My recent article on the overhand inverted punch covered the surprising utility of that technique. It's main use, as exemplified by Holly Holm in her fight against Ronda Rousey , is of course, as a punch - one that can come from an unexpected angle. In my article on the punch , I also added an extra video showing its use as a projection/throw. But something I neglected to discuss was actually one of the most important attributes of the punch: the fact that it can, while striking, also " simultaneously " intercept and deflect (what some people call "block") an incoming attack.  This should be apparent from the animated gif below: The key to understanding how it works lies in understanding one of the most basic techniques of traditional martial arts - and also helps explain the function of that technique.  I'm talking about the humble "rising block" (age or jodan uke).  I've previously dealt with this technique in " Back to bas...

Where angels fear to tread I did something the other day that I normally don't do: I was enticed to go onto one of the big forums where, it seems, they were discussing one of my articles. All I can say is, I realised after a few minutes why I don't frequent forums any more. Despite my own promises I couldn't resist replying to one train of thought by a certain "rne02" who raised that old chestnut: " There are no blocks! ".  I've dealt with that subject exhaustively and if you haven't read my article on the subject, then I encourage you to do so here . But another writer, "jwt", did go on to say some related things that demand separate analysis.  Here are a few quotes: I'm saying you're not really using the Uke. You are essentially just parrying with a tiny rotator cuff movement and body shift online and telling yourself that because you have done something that resembles the tail end of the Uke technique, you have...

As readers may or may not know, I've been engaged in a number of large projects this year, both martial and non-martial.  I'll detail these another time. For now, I'll restart my blogging here with "micro posts", featuring mostly videos and brief commentary.  In that spirit, here is the first of my entries on the subject of "palm blocks". It is important to note that the palm can be used to "block" an attack at its source (eg. by jamming the shoulder or hip or other part of the "core") but I haven't gone into this in the above video which is simply taken from class. For more on the topic of forearm vs palm blocks see:  "Why block with the forearm rather than the palm" . Copyright © 2014 Dejan Djurdjevic

Most martial artists - in fact most people - alive today know of Bruce Lee.  And many of will know what he called his personal martial arts system: Jeet Kune Do - the Way of the Intercepting Fist  Okay - so what did he mean by that?  Lee goes some small way to explaining his system in this (famous) episode of Longstreet (set to start at the correct point): But I suspect that you, like me, are left with a sense of dissatisfaction after watching this.  What does "interception" mean in this context?  Does he mean "stopping"? Or does he mean "preventing" by some other means?  And what exactly is he "intercepting"?  Is he intercepting a particular attack (ie. an aggressive movement)?  Is he intercepting some physical cue of the attacker's intention ?  Or is he intercepting the attacker generally  (assuming "interception" has any meaning in such a context)? All of this serves to present a kind of "apparent paradox...

The need for a summary A random snapshot of our sparring. I'm using a classic open hand rising block - even though it was totally unscripted.  Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will know that the assertion that "there are no blocks" is a major source of irritation to me.  It's another way of saying that the movements in karate etc. commonly called "blocks" are always  something else entirely. "They have to be, after all, because "blocks don't work" - everybody knows that!"  Those of us who don't agree are just kidding ourselves. Over the years I have attacked this assertion in a number of ways and from a number of different angles.  But this is not to say that each of my arguments is somehow separate and unconnected: rather they are all mutually consistent and supportive of each other, creating what I think is a compelling, indeed undeniable, picture of how blocks are a vital part of the traditi...