FIGHTING STANCE ??

[Art Rabesa]

First ---Please go over my post on "Hair Trigger". Most of that post has a lot to do with this topic. The general point here is to be able to fire fast - hard - strikes from any position you happen to be in. You will be able to do this once you have established your power base. If that power base is not set, you will just be waving your arm weakly. The real world - outside the dojo- will not allow you to get into a "Fighting Stance". We all know that. SO!!! we must react from where we are. That first sudden reaction by you must be explosive. Do you want to get into a fight, or simply take him out and get out of there? I think I know your answer. Your hands must speak fast and hard, with leg thrusts also talking. OK - this is a section of your class that will help you with this. Practice striking the bag from all positions. Standing still, moving around the bag, backing into the bag, bag on all four sides of your body, etc. All your strikes have one common denominator. They all fire from the power base. The hands pass through this base on their way to the target. The leg thrusts as well. I really like hitting with my hands at my side. I feel I'm picking up extra power as my hands come up and go through the sanchin power base. When you realize that you are always in a fighting stance, your Hair Trigger has been set. You are able to explode from any position you are in. Once again ---check the web site on striking and leg thrusts for reference. --------Happy Trails -----Art

[Art Rabesa]

Sometimes there are topics that need a little more fuel. This is one of them. When we discuss any realistic encounter, we all agree on one thing. It's not like in the dojo. REALLY? There's not one martial artist that would not agree with that. We can go over do's and don'ts in defending ourselves until we just run out of things to say. Keeping in mind, that everything being discussed is valid. It's kind of like learning to play golf. There are so many different methods of hitting that damn little ball, that you just want to put your clubs in a yard sale. Ones training is going to up your odds in defending yourself. That's it. Since many situations come out of the blue, there is no time to get yourself set. So what might you want to practice? Maybe you should practice going off from any body position. Just a thought. Getting your feet and hands moving in a snap from anywhere. That sudden explosive first response. Because-- that might be all you have time to do. Your not fighting -- your defending yourself. Big difference my friend. Walked around the heavy bag this morning just putting out an assortment of things. Different strikes from different positions. Placed a chair next to the heavy bag. Different strikes from the sitting position. I want that fast explosive first hit from where ever I am. Hopefully, that will give me a larger window of awareness. I practice this stuff in my basement when my wife is not home. That way she won't call the mental hospital to come and take me away. Don't know if my stuff should be practiced in the dojo. Nice to be able to react from anywhere. I think it's a good thing. --------Happy Trails-----Art

[Art Rabesa]

I've decided that my stuff should be tried in the dojo. I will experiment with my small number of students. Keeping in mind, that the key to exploding from any position is passing through the sanchin power base. I'll begin there. I do not think I have to explain the sanchin power base again. Hands will probably be the fastest thing to get off first. I'll see what happens when I take them through some normal body positions before the attack.I want to see their reaction, and what happens to their mechanics when the attack occurs. I'm going to keep it simple at first. I just want them to react and strike in one piece. That's actually not that easy. Hands firing from what ever position they find themselves in. Working the angles taught in Uech Ryu training. My class goes 2 hours or more. I'll have time to slip this in. I'll let you know how it's developing. Another experiment. Not all of my training experiments turn out well. The majority do however, and I have a good feeling about this one. Wish me luck.-----Happy Trails-----Art

[Art Rabesa]

Okay--it's been about 5 weeks since the last post on this topic. Since then, I've looked at various strikes from various positions and circumstances. All strikes involving the hands are obviously the easiest. Working them to release their strikes through the power base can sometimes be a challenge. To get the hands moving from where ever they are is not the difficult part. Getting them to hit very hard from various positions is. In order to strike with power, their hands must explode from close to the body. I find that the hands will take different pathways when the attack comes while walking. At times the arms tend to fly away from the body as they're walking. The almost natural arm swing while walking, at times, tends to launch the arms outward when startled. I have almost no arm movement when I walk. I've been told that many times. Most people have an arm swing while walking. Having them become aware of their hands, and not their arms, seems to be the key. The arms will go where the hands go. Funny how that works. When they snap their hands to their body and release a strike, it hits quicker and harder. When startled, funny things happen to your entire body. Feet tend to lock and arms fly outward. Not in all cases, but most. Practice is needed to keep the feet moving in small crescent movements while the hands snap to the chest. I practice striking from anywhere my hands happen to be. This is something that I'll introduce, but it'll take time. I'm not making a big deal of this in class, but I'm watching the progress carefully. As we do our striking on the pads and heavy bag, I'll ask them to fire that strike as their arms hang at their side. They understand that they must be able to strike without setting up in a stance. Progress is being made. Like anything else in the training ----baby steps.-------Happy Trails----Art

[Art Rabesa]

I believe a video lesson is coming here. I'll see if I can get one done at my next class. It will not be very long. There are only a few things to put together in performing strikes from where ever you happen to be. The main effort in doing this is to move in ONE PIECE. You've heard me speak of this many times. This "Fighting Stance" topic will go right along with the video lesson. Please remember one very important element here. You're always in a fighting stance. ----Happy Trails-----Art