Guest Appearance: Are Forms/Kata a Waste of Time in Martial Arts? w/ Sensei Ando

Guest Appearance: - Episode #82

with Sensei Ando of Happy Life Martial Arts

Do you practice forms or kata? Are they worth your time? Join Ando and Sifu Randy Brown for a lively discussion about the good and bad about forms. ►SUBSCRIB...

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I had the great pleasure of returning once more as a guest on my friend Sensei Ando’s channel Happy Life Martial Arts. We had an amazing, and thought provoking discussion on martial arts forms training, solo training, and more. We even threw some virtual punches, and a shadow boxing Heimlich maneuver was almost necessary. Check out the video for a great podcast.

I highly recommend following him on his YouTube channel, as well as his podcast. Even though he is famous enough now with over 249,000 subscribers, a few more can’t hurt!

You find more of Sensei Ando here:

Sensei Ando

Sensei Ando YouTube Channel

Hook vs Circle Punch - What's the Difference?

What's the difference between a Hook Punch and a Circle Punch? Are they really that different? Yes, and yes. 

The Hook Punch is used at a closer range, similar to an uppercut. It works well when you are striking in tight, or engaged in a Clinch (Lǒu 摟). In here, a long range strike will extend beyond my opponent. We position the arm in a tighter hook shape to help land on our targets such as the temple, kidney, liver, ribs, stomach, and jaw.

The technical position when throwing a hook punch is critical. When bare knuckle striking, there are no wraps to support the wrist, so technique has to be spot on in order to prevent breaks, sprains, and fractures in our own hands/wrist. 

The wrist is held in a straight line, and we use the transverse core rotation of the upper torso to connect the punch, versus extending the arm and bending the wrist which is dangerous to our own hand. Thumb position is up.

When the range to our opponent is further out, and we are still throwing straight punches, this is where the Circle Punch really shines. It allows us to attack the side doors as well as down the middle; utilizing the principle of - Randomized Striking. 

Connecting with a Circle Punch has the added benefit of increased power generation through a looser whipping action. The punch is thrown relaxed; the arm builds up speed before connecting. If this impacts the temple, jaw, occipital lobe, bracchial nerve, or ear, it can have devastating consequences.

Because of this, when our opponent sees a Circle Punch steaming for the side of their head, they are more likely to open the center doors trying to defend; thereby allowing our other punches to land. 

The hand position for the Circle Punch is wrist straight, thumb pointing down. 

Timestamps:
0:42 - Technique
4:12 - Pad Drills - Hook Punch
5:29 - Pad Drills - Circle Punch
6:12 - Bag Drills
6:44 - Bag Drills - Circle Punch
7:10 - Bag Drills - Hook Punch

Gear

You can find some of the items we use in the video by following our affiliate links:

Assassin Pads
Punching Bag
Gloves

Guest Appearance: Fight for a Happy Life with Sensei Ando

Fight for a Happy Life Podcast

hosted by none other than Sensei Ando of Happy Life Martial Arts

I had the honor of being invited onto Fight for a Happy Life martial arts podcast with host Sensei Ando. The episode just released today. 

Check out our conversation on topics like - freedom, defining success, barriers to students progress, living life, and weird questions about what I want on my deathbed/tombstone (is this guy planning to kill me???), and lots of laughter.

Click the photo above to visit his website for the podcast, or follow the links below for your favorite podcast location. Enjoy the show!

To Listen to the Interview: 

iTunes
Google Play 
Stitcher

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Many of you know Sensei Ando from our previous collaborations, as well as his visit to our school last summer. He's a positive influencer that's always reaching out to help other people. Admirable. 

Here are a couple of videos we did in case you missed them. I highly recommend following him on his YouTube channel, as well as his podcast.

Tips to Manage Distance in a Fight

Tips for Defending the Bear Hug

You can contact Sensei Ando - 

Sensei Ando

Sensei Ando YouTube Channel

Guest Appearance: The Strenuous Life Podcast w/ Stephen Kesting

The Strenuous Life Podcast

hosted by renowned BJJ Black Belt, and founder of GrappleArts.com - Stephen Kesting

Stephen was kind enough to invite me on to his podcast 'The Strenuous Life' last month. We finally got our schedules to mesh up last Monday and recorded this podcast for everyone. It was an awesome conversation and I had an amazing time. I think you are going to really enjoy this.

I know some of you are quite familiar with Stephen, and already watch his videos/listen to his podcast. If you haven't heard of Stephen, please check out his website GrappleArts.com and YouTube channel. I highly recommend you subscribe to his stuff. He is extremely humble, puts out top notch detailed content, is super nice, and is always trying to help others.

Click the photo above to visit his website, or follow the links below for your favorite podcast location. Enjoy!

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"Can Kung Fu, BJJ and MMA coexist?  Maybe they can, and maybe they can even learn from each other.

This is a conversation I had with with Kung Fu stylist (and BJJ brown belt) Randy Brown in which we touched on  the history of Chinese martial arts and what made them less effective over time, what traditional martial arts look like when you start training them with resistance, and much more.  I think you’ll like this one!

The best way to listen to this podcast is to go to your favourite podcasting platform, subscribe to ‘The Strenuous Life’ Podcast, and then look for episode 128. You can find it on most podcast platforms, including…"
 

iTunes

Google Play 

Soundcloud 

Stitcher

How to Throw a Punch...Safely

Having an improper structure, leaving a finger misplaced, or snapping our elbow, can all cause lasting damage, injuring ourselves more than the object we are trying to hit.

Whether we are hitting bags, pads, mitts, makiwara boards, or sparring partners, it's important to keep these tips in mind to keep us punching without injury for years to come.

The Round Kick - Like a Dragon Lashing It's Tail

Here we help you set up the round kick without getting hit, run over, or shut down. Check out our video on Advanced Footwork if you need help with some of these angles. 

This is an extremely powerful kick. It's like getting lashed by the tail of a dragon. When fighting, getting hit here can be a huge game changer. Whether we take our opponents leg out from under them, or we weaken/injure the leg to get them to change sides. 

Check out these angles that can help you set up a good position to throw it from. Thanks for watching.

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Defending Against the Bear Hug - PASS vs. FAIL

Jumped from behind? Your opponent got position on you? No matter how it happened, it's a bad place to be. Join me and my special guest Sensei Ando as we show what to watch out for, and how to make one of the most commonly failed escapes, succeed.

►For more of Sensei Ando's tips and tactics, SUBSCRIBE to Sensei Ando: https://www.youtube.com/user/AndoMierzwa

►Also visit Sensei Ando's website here: http://senseiando.com

First thing to do is to drape the hands to defend the choke, and drop your stance to keep your center of gravity lower, making it difficult for your adversary to pick you up. 

Next, it is important to realize that standard escapes with splitting the arms do not work unless your opponent makes a mistake. The objective of holding you from behind, unless a multi-attacker scenario, is to pick you up and slam you. This means, our adversary is going to grab us lower, around the elbows; making it impossible to split the arms and slink out.

After establishing control of the arms and a good wide base, start using your hammer fist attacks to the groin, combined with foot stomps to rattle your opponent and get them moving around. Remember to always use the 'outside' foot to stomp. Never the inside.

Since our opponent has widened their stance for stability and to avoid the attacks we are making, we can now make our first attempt to escape using the underhook to the single leg takedown.

Caution

Be careful not to walk out and stop. This is transitional only. We have to immediately move to the takedown, or re-establish our base and position if something went awry. 

As you shoot for the single leg, if the opponent moves, or you do not have enough mobility to get a strong hook/position, then we can abandon that and use the elbow splitting escape that previously did not work. After all the moving around, chances are that the grip they had before, has slipped higher on our arms and we can make our secondary attempt a success. 

Where to? 

Once we're out of the bear hug, we want to look for a follow-up move to secure our position and turn the tides. Sensei Ando has a good go to he shows, followed by a variation I would use.

After the elbow split - immediately snag the neck hook position to keep control.

Ando

Attack the head with a knee to the face to soften them up. Maintain the neck hook and do not give up a strong position. Immediately follow up with a shoot underneath using the elbow in the groin to bring them over the back for a Fireman's Carry Takedown.

Tips: Sensei Ando makes note to watch the danger of the headlock as we're slipping out. Good tip. He also points out to tuck the foot so they don't land on you and break your toes.

Randy

I start off the same way and attack the head with a knee. I'm anticipating the block, but if they don't, even better. We're done here. If they do block as planned, then I shoot over the top and thread my arm under the neck all the way to the other underarm. Clasp the hands, and we have a nice guillotine setup. Use your shoulder to drop weight on them making it difficult for them to posture up and move. Follow this up with a nice reaping leg takedown variation for the finish.

The finish is up to you and your skillset. You can chuck them and go to a ground and pound, pound the ground package, or you can hold on to the guillotine, keep a solid position on the same side of the body as you started on, and finish the choke you already have.

Mantis Captures Prey - How to Stop the Underhooks

The underhook is a powerful tool in the hands of an opponent who knows how to use it. They have leverage, control, and setups for numerous takedowns. So how do we stop our opponent from getting the underhooks? With this awesome move from Taijiquan called Fist Under Elbow, and what I like to call Mantis Captures Prey.

In this video, we'll walk you through 1. The dangers of the underhook. 2. How to shut it down. 3. Counters from our opponent to watch out for, such as the 2nd hand. 4. Spear Hands, Eagle Claws, and Reaping Legs. 5. Hook, don't Reap - how to vary the technique based on our opponents position.

Like the video? Don't forget to hit subscribe.

Cracking the Black - Holly Cyr

photo courtesy of Haeyong Moon

Saturday was a very special day. Holly Cyr received her Black Belt in Mantis Boxing  (Tángláng quán 螳螂拳) on Saturday, January 2, 2016. The first Black Belt awarded by my hand. Holly has beaten the odds and continued to stay the course. Becoming one of the few women to achieve such a rank in Mantis Boxing.

Holly has spent the past seven plus years dedicated and committed to not only her training, but the elevation of her peers. She constantly contributes to the team in any way possible, and has been an upstanding student, mentor, and coach.

Holly receiving her first belt in Mantis Boxing. 2008

Over the years Holly attended classes every possible chance she could. Including workshops (here and abroad), mountain retreats, and competitions. Training during the day, returning again at night. Day after day. Any opportunity to train, learn something new, or hone an existing skill, she was on it. This took second place only to her desire to help others.

As our mantis boxing has grown and evolved, so too did Holly along with it. Change is difficult for many, but rather than let it stop her, she embraced it. If it improved what we did, she never looked back.

In 2010, we added to our striking and kicking, with a class devoted to throwing. Holly jumped right in. When we added Fitness Kickboxing to create a bridge to the local community, she offered to help coach it. When we needed a kids instructor, she was there helping to run the class, and organize holiday events for the kids.

Seeing a need in the local communities, she jumped at the chance to help coach self-defense training for adult and teen women. Later integrating her knowledge of ground fighting into her coaching.

Continuing to add to her skillset, she took on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and devoted a passion and focus and to ground fighting and self-defense. She competed and gold medaled at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation in 2013, and was one of the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belts in our school.

Over the past year, her Mantis Boxing has coalesced into a formidable art; Holly has become a force to be reckoned with on and off the mats. Her hard work has paid off, and will continue to serve her well into the future.

IBJJF Boston Open 2013

It has been a true honor to watch Holly grow and evolve as a coach. It is the pinnacle of our experience to be able to see someone reach this level. Many fall by the wayside over the years, which only makes this achievement all the more meaningful. Staying the course for this length of time, persevering, seeing something through to this level, is a sign of true inner strength.

This accomplishment did not demarcate an end to Holly’s journey, nor a completion of her training. More aptly, it has only served as an entry into Holly’s greater sight, skills, knowledge, and an ever growing desire and ability to share her art with those around her.

No matter where she goes. No matter how hard life gets. No one can ever take this achievement away from her. Thank you Holly for many years of dedication and commitment to the arts, and the pleasure of being able to award you this honor. You are an inspiration to all those who follow in your footsteps. I look forward to seeing where you take the arts from here.

The Truth on Effective Strike

reprint of an article published in 2013 in the Journal of Seven Star Praying Mantis -

Xiao Da - The Truth on Effective Strike (Journal of 7 Star Mantis vol. 4, issue 4/Northern Shaolin Praying Mantis Institute and Association 2013) 

Targets

Listed below are the targets and the effects a person experiences when being hit in those regions.

8 Head Targets

1. Throat

2. Side of Neck

3. Back of Neck

4. Jaw

5. Nose

6. Eyes

7. Ears

8. Temple

12 Body Targets

1. Shin

2. Knee

3. Outer Thigh

4. Inner Thigh

5. Groin

6. Bladder

7. Rib (Floater)

8. Kidney

9. Liver

10. Stomach

11. Solar Plexus

12. Collar Bone

Photos courtesy of Max Kotchouro

Cervical Spin - Downward Elbow Strike

Effective Strike (Xiao Da), is the Chinese principle of striking to vital targets, or targets that have more destructive impact than other areas of the body. This is a common concept in many styles of martial arts. I recall the first time I showed up for Tae Kwon Do/Hapkido class back in 1991 -  my teacher said - "Want to kill a man? Hit here, here, here, or here." I was happy, but stunned.

I thought to myself - "WOW!  Cool!!!" Followed by - "wait...why would you tell someone that in their first class? Isn't that dangerous information to hand out to strangers? After all even US Army Basic Training Hand to Hand Combat didn't teach us that!". I chalked it up to him just being half psychopath since he spent most of his life training elite South Korean Special Forces Soldiers in Hand-to-Hand Combat.

It was some time later in my martial arts career that I realized why this information wasn't so dangerous after all. The reason is simple. If you don't train it, you won't use it. Effective Strike is a skill like any other. It needs extensive practice and proper training in order to be effective in real combat, or in other words - to manifest itself under stress. In said Tae Kwon Do class, we never used finger strikes, throat chops, or did any sort of training that incorporated strikes to these vital areas; we simply kicked, punched (less), blocked, and smashed our shins and forearms on one another till bruised an battered.

Brachial Stun using Slant Chop

Train Like You Fight, Fight Like You Train

I like to use the terminology - train like you fight, fight like you train. In your Kung Fu training, the constant focus of hitting to Effective Strike targets is crucial to making this habitual. There is no time to think in a fight. One must react and react appropriately; which is the whole objective of proper training.

So when should you learn this skill? Ideally the sooner the better, especially for smaller fighters.  Smaller fighters lack the power that a larger or heavier opponent can produce, so this skill is crucial for us. Being able to hit someone in a targeted area means that your strikes pack more bang for the buck.

With that said, one needs to learn how to properly punch first, before focusing on Effective Strike. Trying to perform Xiao Da from Day One, gives the brain too much to focus on at one time.  A beginner should be more concerned with proper striking, blocking, guard principle, and defense first. Once Xiao Da is properly introduced, aim for these targets with every strike in your arsenal.

After you have learned it, you can then veer off to other non-effective targets that may lure or distract your opponent; creating what we call Open Doors to the effective targets we want.  This is necessary because an opponent with a good defense will 'require' you to 'open doors' in order to hit his covered targets.

Training Tips

These vary based on whether or not you have a training partner.  I did not have a partner to use when I wanted to integrate this into my fighting, so I took colored price stickers used in yard sales, and I plastered them on my heavy bag in the general target areas on the human body. I then practiced various combinations striking to these targets. To test them, I sparred with other people.

For those with a partner, I recommend a great technique called 'Walk the Body', passed down to me from a mantis boxing coach on the west coast. Walk the Body has one person standing still (in their fighting stance is fine) while the other practices slow and very low power combinations to targets on their partners body.

As you grow more comfortable with the targets, the complexity increases by having your partner put their hands up in a defensive fighting position forcing you to move their arms. Following that, you need striking combinations, that the partner blocks, so you can open doors to the Effective Strike targets you wish to hit using solid striking combinations.

Note: this is not a fast paced exercise and requires patience, cooperation, and hours of practice to become second nature. It challenges your critical thinking skills once you add the complexity of combinations versus a live defense. Done properly however these strikes will become automatic and ingrained in your skill set.

Ear Claw

DIM MAK - The fallacy of pressure point based combat

Early in my training I met people, and still do from time to time, that have little knowledge of martial arts, but they talk about Dim Mak (pressure point striking) from books they've read, or videos they've watched, or even some Hollywood movie.

You can find videos online of teachers knocking out students at demonstrations to show Dim Mak, and all the supposed power one can have over other human beings by hitting them in these targets. People are fascinated by this and very enthusiastic. I can understand why, the idea of knocking out someone else with such ease is...alluring! Unfortunately, while some of these are legitimate strikes to real targets, some are incredibly finite and difficult to get to.

In a previous article, Size Matters - In Chin Na I discuss 'gross' versus 'fine' motor function in combat. Just like finite Chin Na skills, high precision striking is less reliable when we are under stress, AND when our opponent is trying to hit us back. That's the live, active, and moving opponent that is also trying to ‘take your head off’ component.

This complicates things and makes it much more difficult to perform a finite strike to a small target area. So unless you're Luke Skywalker firing your torpedo at the Death Star, give up on the idea, and stick with something that will work.

Natural armor - in addition, a human being under the affects of adrenaline in combat (never mind the affects of drugs), is more resilient to these strikes. It really sucks when you're in the thick of it and your silver bullet doesn't really kill the werewolf! This is why it is better to learn multiple targets, strike in combinations that you would normally throw, and cover your bases in case you miss the first target.  Meaning, you missed but it still hurts them like hell!!!

Targets Defined

Temple Strike using Backfist

8 Head Targets

1. Throat - Crush the larynx making it difficult to impossible for opponent to breathe

2. Side of Neck (Brachial Stun) - Knock out blow, or excrutiating pain at the least

3. Back of Neck (Occipital Lobe) - Knock out blow

4. Jaw - Break or Dislocation. Extreme pain.

5. Nose - Pain. Bleeding. Watery Eyes causing reduced vision.

6. Eyes - Loss of sight. Extreme pain.

7. Ears - Tear them off for extreme pain.

8. Temple - Knock out blow. Extreme pain. Disorientation.

Knee Break using Cross Kick

12 Body Targets

1. Shin - Extreme pain and discomfort.

2. Knee - Break/Dislocation. Extreme pain. Loss of Mobility.

3. Outer Thigh - A solid kick to this target can cripple a fighter and make them think twice about closing distance.

4. Inner Thigh (Femoral Nerve) - Identical to the Outer Thigh, this target causes excruciating pain.

5. Groin - Extreme pain and discomfort. Potentially cripple opponent.

6. Bladder - Pain and discomfort. Possible bladder release. (you figure it out)

7. Rib (Floater) - Break. Extreme pain and discomfort. Possible breathing effects.

8. Kidney - Potential knock out as well as extreme pain.

9. Liver - Knock out blow. Extreme pain/discomfort.

10. Stomach - Knock out blow. Extreme pain/discomfort.

11. Solar Plexus - High concentration of nerves. Also the meeting point of the heart, liver.

12. Collar Bone - Break. Extreme pain. Loss of use of arm on that side. Harder target to hit and not effective on everyone.