Saturday, June 22, 2013

Front Kicks and Fore-hand techniques

This Saturday I focused on sparring for adults and focused on techniques that may work for those with limited flexibility.  In sparring, we want to try and not expose our center-line to our opponent to avoid becoming an easy mark for them.  #2 kicks and reverse hand techniques should be used with great care.  Today I focused on making use of front kicks in sparring.  In general, it makes sense to use techniques with the hands and feet you have closest to your targets.

Front-Kicks in Sparring

When I started at ATA many years ago, I was instructed not to use front kicks in sparring because of center-line exposure.  This is true if we are talking about a back-leg #2 kick.  However, if we make use of a #1 front kick with limited center-line exposure, we may discover a alternative tool for adults that have limited lateral flexibility to reach head-high for round kicks, hook kicks, or side kicks.  Some key targets that are good for front kicks are:

  • Under the forehand guard of your opponent
  • The torso, if you can "V" out and deliver the kick
  • The head too if you can "V" out and deliver.
I found that the during the exercise, the students had started to gravitate toward a more exposed posture to deliver the kick more easily.  I then highlighted how to quickly turn the hips toward the target, kick, and then retreat.  Following this, I had them try an inner-crescent kick and then use that momentum inward to help them retreat into a defensive posture away from their opponent. 

Forehand Techniques in Sparring

I was taught long ago that hand techniques score points and that you must use combinations.  Kicks in my mind are a means to an end and you are lucky if you can score with the kick.  To score with hand techniques, you have to have fast hands.  To deliver fast hand techniques, you have to understand the bio-mechanics of your body's weapons.  To deliver a fast hand technique, such as a backfist, you must remain relaxed until ready to strike and rely on twitch muscle fibers to help you accelerate the hand to its target.  To illustrate, I broke down the back fist into its sub-components.  The mechanics of a backfist from a resting position are as follows:
  1. Forehand is relaxed at the fighter's side while he/she is in a sparring stance facing their opponent
  2. The arm must be lifted such that the elbow is pointing at the opponent and the forearm is parallel to the floor
  3. The arm must be extended outward sharply to strike the target
  4. The arm must be quickly retracted and then dropped to its relaxed position
Executing steps 2 and 3 must be done as quickly as possible and rely heavily on the twitch muscle fibers for speed.  Today, we practiced the above using kick pad targets (pork-chop pads).  Because ATA forbids throwing hand techniques to the head, backfists are only useful as a fore-hand technique when you and your opponent stand in an open stance against each other (i.e. your belt knots are pointing in the same direction).  Aim for the upper or lower torso for scoring.

The second drill I covered was the fore-hand hook punch.  The mechanics are similar to that of the backfist but differ in the striking direction:

  1. Forehand is relaxed at the fighter's side while he/she is in a sparring stance facing their opponent
  2. The arm must be lifted such that the elbow is pointing at the target and the forearm is parallel to the floor
  3. The arm must be driven in  a hook motion around your opponent's guard into a spot on the upper or lower torso
  4. The arm must be quickly retracted and then dropped to its relaxed position
This technique is best used when you and your opponent are in a closed stance against each other (i.e. belt knots are pointing in opposite directions)

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