The Way of Least Resistance

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...

Introduction I have been asked recently by email what it is I have against "simultaneous initiative". For those who have come in late, "simultaneous initiative" is where you effect a simultaneous block/deflect and counter - or alternatively strike in a manner that negates the need for any block 1 or deflection. By contrast, "late initiative" is where you are forced to evade or block/deflect, then effect a counter. The common criticism is that this separates the defence and counter into two movements. Simultaneous initiative, by contrast, comprises just one movement. Now I must make this point: I have absolutely nothing against simultaneous initiative. I don’t prefer late initiative – in fact the reverse is true. I hold it to be self evident that one should never do two movements where one is possible. Correspondingly you should never "wait" for an attack where you can simply strike your attacker. I remember learning the latter lesso...

Introduction Following my previous article about late, simultaneous and pre-emptive initiative, I thought I'd examine a real-life civilian defence encounter caught on video between a person obviously trained in boxing facing multiple attackers. Given the argument that "late initiative isn't as effective/important as simultaneous or pre-emptive initiative", I thought I'd count the number of times the late, simultaneous and pre-emptive initiative were used and also note the circumstances in which the strategies were employed. If my theory is right, the initial part of an attack is going to occur in what I have called the melee range . It will initially feature late initiative because the defender will, to some extent, be surprised by, and responding to, the aggression (he won't be initiating the aggression). This will be despite the fact that the defender knows from an early stage that a fight is likely; not being the aggressor means he will not launch the fi...

Continued from Part 1 Introduction In my article " Why blocks DO work " I set out my arguments as to why traditional "blocks (better termed "parries", "interceptions" or "deflections") are indeed very effective. In that article I also discussed how the failure to understand and apply blocks correctly has led people to dismiss them as ineffective. This in turn has led some traditional martial artists to reinterpret blocks as strikes, locks or holds in order to justify their continued presence in the traditional curriculum. One of the more sophisticated revisions in modern karate is the reinterpretation of block/counter combinations . According to this theory, there are no such combinations in karate: rather, every block is itself a direct attack. The theory holds that there if you block, then punch, you cede the initiative to your opponent and give him or her the advantage. It is better to respond to every attack with your own attack - w...

Here is another title that is a misnomer: excluding "hard" blocks that hurt your opponent's attacking limb, there is no such thing as a simultaneous block and strike. Why? The answer is very simple; any block or deflection that you perform will always occur before you land your strike. Consider the following sequence of pictures of the haiwan nagashi uke together with a punch - usually regarded as one of the prime examples of a "simultaneous" block and counter. You will notice from the frames on the left that the block (a "steeple" block) intercepts and deflects the blow just before the punch lands. The same is true of any other type of 2-handed block and deflection as is illustrated in the video below. Many martial artists make a lot out of the fact that their art features such "simultaneous" movements, but as you will note, the only real difference is that they leave the blocking arm in place during the strike. In that way the blockin...