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what I don't understand is that you want to learn Wing-Chun, this is an almost completly fist orientated style

and what is worse the bottom two knuckles are used to strike, which is where the breaks usually occur

imagine fighting someone who is going to bob and weave...do you honestly believe that you will land the perfect palm heel

(a technique which lacks the speed and targeting of a punch).

One point, and a good one, brought up by Gem sensei, is that training a two men drill, using open hands, can be dangerous [sprained wrists, bent or broken fingers_ we have had many ugly injuries over the years, resulting in deformed fingers caught in kicks] _

What is your take and advice on this?

Face it : It is interesting to talk about and experiment with deadly techniques, but few people will actually do it for more than a short time.

Why ? Probably because we don't see the benefits doing the "deadly" vs doing it the way we enjoy doing it!

The problem with injuries, I have always found with the giving people space and backing away, or even to the side.

I used to watch 'advanced' people spend almost their entire match running around like ducks in a shooting gallery giving the TKD person the chance to work just about every possible combo in their arsenal and landing many hard blows - it's tough to attack when you're running around and getting nailed for two minutes.

I don't agree with this….What's difficult about doing slow-speed sparring drills allowing for striking through the target at slow speed.

Occasionally, I've sparred with partners where we work the ridge hands and a few open-hand slaps from Seisan. Again, as long as it's done in the proper training spirit, you're as safe as you'd be with any seiken technique, again, provided you use padded gear if you want to up the speed and power.

A lot of injuries I've seen from people blocking kicks from blocking with their hands is, well, because they're blocking with the hands and don't understand or haven't been taught and practiced enough the proper "shaving" done with the forearm, not the hand or wrist, in the downward wing block.

I started my training in Uechi-Ryu back in 1968, at the Mattson Academy of Karate. Located in Boston Ma. I remember back in the very early 70's, we had a weekly sparring class, held on Thursday evenings.

The instructors of that class, are names many people in and out of the Uechi-Ryu world will recognize. Names such as: Robert Campbell, Arthur Rabesa, Van Canna, Jimmy Maloney, Clearance Von Wilder, Ed Huff. The class was by today's standards, "A TOTAL BLOOD BATH."

We at the Mattson Academy in Boston were doing full contact karate, before it became fashionable. If it were done today, the court system would be full of martial art related lawsuits. Many nights I would walk out of the dojo with, black eyes, bloody noise, banged up ribs, and once a dislocated shoulder.


PLEASE, do not get me wrong; I do not advocate this type of training any longer. At the time it was the standard way of doing things. But above all, I learned how to defend myself.


At first I tried using techniques direct from my katas (Dojo Karate), as well as my two person sets.

It did not take long for me to find myself, flat on my ass, on the VERY HARD wooden floor. That is when I first started to analyze and develop self-defense strategies (Street Karate) that I could use, to SURVIVE THE CLASS.


This type of class was as close to a real attack on the street, as one could get. We wore no protective equipment (Not Invented Yet). There was only one speed, FULL CONTACT.

For example, Sensei himself, Bob Campbell is 6' 4" tall, with great reach. He also was a (Super Smart Fighter). For matter of fact, Bob Campbell is the finest fighter I have ever seen in all my 29 years of training.

Then we had Jimmy Maloney, and Arthur Rabesa. These men are very deceiving, they may be of average height, but they are built like refrigerators, and they are that strong.

And to make matters worse, all the instructors were fearless. They had no fear of being hit. Jim Maloney and Arthur Rabesa are both Very Strong and Aggressive Fighters.

Van Canna, and Ed Huff were not only strong and aggressive, they were also thinking fighters. They looked for any weakness they could find.

The only way you will survive a real and serious street confrontation is to understand the following. Karate alone will not give you the tools you will need to survive the attack. Successful fighting skills require that you not only have a good fighting sense, but also the ability to be, effective in the delivery of your techniques.

This angle and structure dynamic seems very similar to what these guys are doing:

However, punching like these old bare knuckle Marquis Du Queensbury boxers did is not what I would want to learn for self defense - unless I knew it was one on one and I would be allowed to go 53 rounds before the guy would pull his knife. Otherwise I want techniques that will finish the fight much much sooner....like maybe within 52 rounds.