Tag: boxing

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Brazilian jujutsu practitioners are fond of saying that most fights go to the ground, but as Chad Merriman (also a strong Judo player) likes to say, that's because most people don't know how to stop them from going to the ground.

It is important to note that I think one should learn grappling skills regardless of one’s “stand-up” fighting ability. But there have been times where I have not wanted to go to ground for the simple reason that I know my opponent is better there. I have... Read More

My article “The melee: karate’s fighting range” has elicited many responses since I posted it on the net – many favourable and encouraging, others not so. I have had cause to address some of the points raised in forums and on the net, so I thought I’d summarise those comments here:

But your approach is too risky!

One of the principal arguments I’ve encountered is that “giving opponent an opportunity to hit you doesn't make much sense”. Another way this has been pu... Read More

My brother is fond of saying that karate is a "counterstriking" art. However I know that he really means a “countering” art, since karate counters are by no means confined to "striking". Rather, he uses “striking” (and more specifically “counterstriking”) in order to distinguish karate from those arts which are predominantly about grappling. Put another way, the reference to “striking” is not intended to imply any exclusivity in terms of striking (as opposed to locking/taking... Read More

Introduction

Karate employs many techniques categorised as "uke" meaning literally "block". It is fashionable in some circles to deride traditional blocks as "unworkable" or "ineffective". The principal arguments in support of this proposition are that -

(1) there is little value in just "stopping" an attack - rather you should use other means to set up an effective counter; and

(2) in any event, the movements constituting traditional blocks are "too large" for practical us... Read More

A correspondent recently wrote to me asking about our martial art. He made the comment that “It seems great but a bit lacking in power.”

I told him that if by that he meant visible power — yes, he was right. However “visible power” and “power” are 2 different things. Some techniques don't look powerful because they have a lot less "push". The front kick is a case in point. If you do it against a heavy bag you'll be tempted to hit it with more push so as to "feel powerful". O... Read More