JimHawkins wrote:Bill Glasheen wrote:I am very clear in my approach to teaching martial techniques. Especially when it comes to martial movements in Sanchin kata, I am not interested in calling techniques as specific applications. An arm extension is just an arm extension. A circle is just a circle. A step is just a step. A turn is just a turn.
One word in particular I hate is the "b" word. Why? Because when doing a circle in kata, I see so many different applications. Others say "wauke block."
I don't do circle blocks. I do circles. To use a technical term, I am just practicing a "thingie" that happens to be a circle. I have many applications for those circles.
There's a lot going on there to respond to..
Is a circle just a circle?
No..
Just like a straight line isn't just a straight line or thrust...
They are specific actions designed to do something specific, which doesn't have to mean single application either... If you train "just a circle" instead of a particular motion, mechanic or action then you have moved away from training a specific tool, tactic or action.. At that point it's just training generic geometric shapes that are not specialized and therefore too general IMO....
We wan't to train correct mechanics NOT approximations of correct mechanics..
We also have circles in WCK.. There are different circles for different things and they are different, with different mechanics.. None of them have a singular application but they are specialized actions none the less... In order to use them and train them correctly they should be trained with not only the correct mechanics (kata) but with the correct stimulus and response (drilling)...
There Are No Blocks In Advanced Martial Arts
Of course there are.. This takes the extreme of the opposite view which holds these things as only blocks, where "block" is misrepresented as a passive solitary action...
In other words what are blocks?
Here we begin to move toward the truth:
The word for defensive technique in Japanese is instructive. Although it is often translated as “block” the word “uke” actually means “receive” as in how we move to effectively receive the combative energy (the attack) of the opponent.
Okay, now we are getting closer... But the crux of the problem still remains, the timing, the lack of time, the decision process, etc is all still there.... If blocks don't work because of timing problems then changing the meaning of the word doesn't eliminate these problems either... However making most actions just the same old attack on the center does simplify things greatly...
In close range CMA we have what is called bridging, it means contact between the tools or limbs of the combatants.... It's the bridge that we want, the contact, the connection....and some of these things are intended to do just that--make a connection and along the way deal with energy... Once there is a connection all these other rules of timing and hand eye coordination go out the window because now you are working with contact, feeling and alive energy interactions... A different ball game and one that many CMA specialize in.
We also must realize that there are low % moves and higher % moves... Yes, we prefer the latter but we don't throw out the former because they are lower %... Why? Because they may be the best option in the moment...
Misunderstanding number one: “a block is a shielding action.” In boxing the fighters do shield their face and torso from incoming attacks by covering up with their forearms. This is partly where the misunderstanding comes from. We have all seen boxers defend like this. However, if you are doing barehanded fighting, with no gloves to cushion and disperse the energy from the incoming attack, then the blunt force trauma of the attack to the forearms will quickly – after just a few hard blows from a strong attacker – damage them beyond use.
Agreed... Passive covering ain't so hot...
The second misunderstanding about blocks – and the more common one – is that blocks are interceptions. That is “blocks are like anti-missile techniques.”
Disagree here...
Intercepting is the name of the game...it's what receiving is all about.. It's all in how you do it...
Again these things/tools or actions we use from outside are intended to serve as bridging tools, and along the way they are also used to jam, control, steal balance, issue energy, protect and gain position...
They are not isolated and not intended to be used as a single move all purpose guaranteed fight ender..
Rather they are intended to help us move to the operating range of our tool box where we can then finish the job..
It is as if people who teach defending this way actually believe that you can perceive the incoming technique, process the information and respond decisively and accurately to it. You can’t.
Wrong.. The correct answer is you can't ALWAYS do that..
If there was no hope in responding decisively to an attack we would have to eliminate half of the KOs we've seen in fighting.... There are all kinds of ways to respond to attacks and the best of those ways will shut them down before they develop their attack... There is more to this stuff than a simple "you can't stop their attack" there are shades of gray... There is intercepting their intent, intercepting their attack--on the preparation, midway through the attack, and on completion of the attack... There is attacking the attack and on and on...
Many of these intercepts will use the very elements this author espouses later on.....
No matter how good you are if you are reacting to the opponent’s decision making, if you allow your opponent the initiative in the fight, however briefly, they will quickly outpace your ability to keep responding.
Yes if by intercepting you mean waiting for them--however it does not...
The reactive reflex arch is too long. You can pull this off in choreographed or predictable technique exchanges; and you may be able to do it where attack zones are limited (in sport matches where no attacks are allowed below the belt or to the back does set up a situation in which you have a highly predictable and relatively easily defendable target region.)
We can't always be the attacker... Meaning we can't always be the one making the first move.... It's that simple really.. So part of what this stuff is about is recapturing the offensive timing and that is what attacking the attack is all about, AND there are all kinds of ways to do that...
Using your arms as “anti-missile” interceptors can work under these limited conditions but it is far inferior to genuine defensive technique as embodied in kata and taught in actual combative arts. And which is required in self-defense action.
The arms have to do something when we intercept or when we are working to convert to offense.. One of the most effective ways to do this is to attack or displace the weapons that are coming into your space.. Either way we want to bridge or receive the energy in order to close range where connected combative tools come into their own..
And again there are many ways to do this all of which involves or should involve total body movement...
Still waiting for this guy to unveil the holy grail btw... Yawn..
Certainly it is essential to gain the initiative in the interaction immediately or at least as rapidly as possible. If we move properly in response to incoming force it is possible to simultaneously (in a single movement)
1. Reroute the incoming energy past our target region,
2. Reposition our body just outside the range of attack,
3. Off balance the opponent,
4. Damage the opponent’s attacking personal weapon (limb), and
5. Execute a counter and/or set up a counter attack that is launched without any extra motion of your body.
To do this we have to understand the use of the full body in movement.
And low and behold our hero finally addresses what you should do.. Let's note that most of the above is what intercepting is all about...
And so "blocking is too hard to do" but this isn't???
Half of this stuff is what those "blocks" were supposed to do in the first place.. Again it seems we are victims of semantics....
And we discover that it's the same stuff he says can't work... Again it's all in the execution..
All of the above was intended to do these exact things... It's all a matter of phrasing here or in training for the dojo...
CMA tools and tactics are about bridging for these very reasons, because close range CMA are about energy issuing, tactile sensitivity and balance stealing and using attached methods for
these very purposes...
Oh and lest I be remiss... Not all SD is about defense to striking which this seems to focus on entirely....
Careful not to let your dog pee in your jars. 
