The Way of Least Resistance

I have indicated before that it is dangerous to be obsessed with “power generation” in your martial art; there is so much more, particularly if your approach is oriented towards civilian defence . You don’t want to get hit, for starters. To do that you need not only evasion but “blocking” (deflection) . You need a good foundation in terms of grounding and movement – in particular movement that serves as a platform for your evasion and deflection. Of course, you also need skills relating to grappling – whether stand-up or on the ground. Even when you want to focus on hitting, it is important to remember that what people call “power generation” (ie. the ability to impart force) relies principally on the efficient transfer of momentum (as I’ve discussed in my article “ Hitting harder: physics made easy ”). The equation for momentum is simple: p = m x v If you want to hit harder, you have to move your mass faster. There are glosses on that (as I’ve detailed in my articles “ Kime: ...

Introduction I am about to reveal one of my personal " secret " martial art training methods. I would go so far as to say that it is the single most important way to learn how to apply civilian defence techniques in a dynamic environment. I am speaking, of course, of the sparring method we call randori . As I have explained previously, randori is a kind of sparring analogous to the "playfighting" of dogs; the movement is continuous and flowing, takes place entirely within what I call the melee range and features strikes/punches/kicks that are controlled (rather than made to miss - see my article " Control vs. missing "). I'm sure most of you have seen dogs engaging in their playfighting. It really is the only "preparation" dogs have for real fighting. Yet I don't think any of us would doubt the ability of a dog to fight on the basis of this preparation. In fact, those of you who have seen real, all-out dog fights (and I have seen ...

Recently the subject of what is often called "bouncy tag" has reared its head at the Traditional Fighting Arts Forum . In particular comment was made about the Youtube footage of George Alexander undertaking a 50 person kumite in celebration of his achievement of his judan (10th dan) grade. I have embedded the video below: George Alexander undertaking a 50 person kumite At the outset I'll say that I think Mr Alexander's demonstration was reasonably impressive for a man of his age. I am not going to comment on the issues pertaining to his grade (for me the rank "judan" would surely be an honourary grade more than anything - a kind of "lifetime achievement award"). Rather I will simply observe that he shows skill at what he does in that video. So what is he doing? Is it karate? Or is it something else? Many on the Traditional Fighting Arts Forum argue that it is not traditional karate , and I would respectfully agree with this posit...

People often query my use of the term " melee range". The counter this concept by saying that range is a simple proposition. A typical response is: "The 3 ranges of stand up combat are kicking range, punching range, and clinch range," 1 The fourth is obviously grappling. I'm told by my good friend Brad that Renzo Gracie considers that there are also 3 ranges of combat, except he expresses it as follows in his "Mastering Jujitsu", namely: (1) the "free movement" phase "because you are both free to move as you wish, and this would apply to armed attacks as well"; (2) the clinch range which "occurs when some sort of fixed contact is made with the opponent...whether it be a literal clinch, or something as simple as a wrist grab" and thus you are no longer both free to move about as you wish, and thus are no longer in the free movement phase"; and (3) "last but not least...is when you're on the ground". 2 ...

Introduction Readers of my blog will be familiar with my frequent reference to my "pet hate" - something I call "faux boxing". What is this? It is a method of sparring often employed by traditional martial artists but which is virtually devoid of traditional martial techniques . In their stead, practitioners will substitute moves that resemble boxing, even though the particular practitioners have no training or other experience in that sport. For example, instead of seeing a karateka use karate punches , kicks , evasions , blocks/deflections and stances (in a dynamic sense - not in static postures), one sees purported boxing punches, kickboxing style kicks, no blocks/deflections and, as I shall discuss, a facsimile of "flashy" boxing footwork. Ditto with taekwondo, kung-fu etc. I recall going to an "all-styles" tournament in the late '80s with my primary karate instructor Bob Davies. After watching for a while he lamented that ...

Brazilian jujutsu practitioners are fond of saying that most fights go to the ground, but as Chad Merriman (also a strong Judo player) likes to say, that's because most people don't know how to stop them from going to the ground. It is important to note that I think one should learn grappling skills regardless of one’s “stand-up” fighting ability. But there have been times where I have not wanted to go to ground for the simple reason that I know my opponent is better there. I have managed to stay on my feet quite successfully despite repeated attempts at "taking me down". How? The answer, I’ve found, is to get used to the "melee" range as I have discussed previously. Invariably the next question I’m asked is: “How do you keep someone at this range?” Yet this misconceives my point: While some schools teach specific “formulae” for keeping grapplers at bay, I’m afraid I can’t offer anything like this. For me the question: “How do you keep a grappler at ...

My article “ The melee: karate’s fighting range ” has elicited many responses since I posted it on the net – many favourable and encouraging, others not so. I have had cause to address some of the points raised in forums and on the net, so I thought I’d summarise those comments here: But your approach is too risky! One of the principal arguments I’ve encountered is that “giving opponent an opportunity to hit you doesn't make much sense”. Another way this has been put is: “standing toe to toe and attacking will leave you open to attack.” Superficially this argument might seem persuasive. However it relies on several flawed assumptions as to what I meant in my article about fighting in the “melee range” and about self-defence in general. As a starting point, it is worth noting my opinion that the melee is the fight . Everything else is “sport”. Fights aren't about squaring off in stances, donning pads and bouncing etc. The fight will begin and end in the melee. With that in ...