Randy Brown 2/18/19 Randy Brown 2/18/19

Grasp Sparrow Tail, REVEALED!!! - Yang Lu Chan's Masterpiece

Grasp Sparrow Tail, the one and only. Yang Lu Chan's masterpiece sequence from Qing dynasty Chinese Boxing. This is Yang's Cotton Boxing (miánquán 棉拳), or more widely known as Taijiquan (Tai Chi). The Yang style long form is riddled with this move. I have spent years trying to figure out how this move worked, and it is one of the handful of Cotton Boxing techniques that has continued to elude me. Until now…

This is by far an amazing discovery. I am very thankful for whatever daemon's have been visiting me of late, and showing me these moves. A few weeks ago I was watching Sonny from Beijing Shuaijiao (check out his channel for more good stuff), play around with Part Horses Mane; another move from Yang style. I noticed something he was doing and it sparked an idea to play out.

Thanks to Holly, Vincent, Don, and Thomas for putting up with my ramblings and pushing them around for a few days while I worked on it. Apologies for those in Whole Foods that had to witness the disruptions.

Without further ado, check out the video Max shot so we could put this out there for all that have studied Tai Chi and wondered what these moves do. There are more Cotton Boxing videos coming, but this one is by far exceptional. A glimpse of how skilled Yang Lu Chan really was. You don't develop chains like this, unless you are at a high level in your game.

Randy Brown 2/4/19 Randy Brown 2/4/19

Pat Horse Method - Yang's Kick Defense

There are two variations of this move found in Yang's Cotton Boxing style (now known as Taijiquan). After another round of kick defense training, I recalled the hand pattern preceding the…

There are two variations of this move found in Yang's Cotton Boxing style (now known as Taijiquan). After another round of kick defense training, I recalled the hand pattern preceding the moves. Here are the two variations from the 108 long form used as a kick defense.

High Pat on Horse. This is from Yang style Tai Chi, or Taijiquan, or Yang’s Cotton Boxing, and quite possibly/most likely, existed back in the Ming dynasty, as evidenced by General Qi’s manual in 1560 where he mentions 24 Throws of Pat Horse, and depicts this posture as one of the techniques in his 32 unarmed combat methods.

Randy Brown 1/28/19 Randy Brown 1/28/19

Change Moon - Clinch Takedown

Change Moon is an alternate throw from the clinch. Sometimes our attempts at…

Change Moon is an alternate throw from the clinch. Sometimes our attempts at Crane Spreads Wings are blocked. This takedown can provide an alternate strategy that twists the opponents upper body, splitting them from the lower. The leg wrap adds a preventative measure keeping them from stepping out to regain balance and posture.

Randy Brown 1/21/19 Randy Brown 1/21/19

Diagonal Flying

When grappling in the flank position, and tied up, Flying Diagonal showed up as a good counter to our opponent’s counter for Double Seal Hands, or in general -

When grappling in the flank position, and tied up, Flying Diagonal showed up as a good counter to our opponent’s counter for Double Seal Hands, or in general - if our opponent postures up while in this position. Check out these nuances and details to add Diagonal Flying into your arsenal.

Randy Brown 1/15/19 Randy Brown 1/15/19

What Is The Best Martial Art for Kids?

“If we need to play all these games with kids to get them to keep coming back to class, then maybe, just maybe, we’re a giant B-O-R-E!!!”

I previously wrote an article in 2017 on the 5 reasons Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the Best Martial Art for Kids. While I still agree with my thoughts on that, let’s just say my thoughts have evolved and there is more to it.

In retrospect, there are more martial art styles out there that are just as good for kids, but other factors have to be in place to make them worthwhile.

So what makes a great style of martial arts for kids? Here are some criteria from my point of view:

Builds independence & confidence. Letting children teach one another in class helps them to become more independent and responsible. For tens of thousands of years of human tribal living, younger kids predominantly learned their life skills from older kids.

Kids crave responsibility, and they build confidence in themselves and others when they are entrusted to help one another learn and work together. Through discovering and solving complex tasks. As instructors, we are guides. We don’t make a clay sculpture with a mallet, we use a light hand to make adjustments here and there.

Giving kids time to work on something together in class, to think critically, sparks their imagination, gives them questions to ask, and builds confidence as they experience success in figuring things out, or helping their peers to figure it out.
Entrusts children with powerful tools. Nothing screams trust and acceptance to a child than when we trust them with something powerful. Think about the first time our parents let us light the fire, or to help cook. The thrill of being allowed that responsibility, something we were previously forbidden to touch.

Locking children away from ‘real’ martial arts techniques, things classified as ‘too dangerous’, only reinforces feelings of inadequacy, or immaturity. Martial arts class should teach a child real techniques, and how to behave responsibly with them as they traverse life. This encourages responsibility, maturity, and feelings of trust.
Encourages freedom of expression. Martial Arts is called an art, not a science. This is due to the inherent nature of personalizing the techniques to match our individual bodies. We are not creating an army of simulacrum that will all move the same way, have equal strength, size, or wits.

One boxer, grappler, karateka, judoka, wrestler, etc., can gravitate to an entirely different skill set from another. As teachers, our responsibility is to show the art, encourage the development of a strong foundation, and foster personal development in the direction of what works for the child, not for the instructor.
Eliminates Boredom and provides mental engagement and stimulation. Kids are smart, and they have an incredible aptitude to learn new and exciting things. While techniques need to be broken down, and simplified for instruction (at any age level), they do not need to be watered down to the point of boredom.

How a class and instructor approaches complex subject matter is of extreme import. The audience (young or old) should be mentally challenged, but not overwhelmed. Monotony must be masked by challenge as repetition is the mother of all skill.

Does that mean a 9 year old needs to throw one type of punch 10,000x while standing in a horse stance just to get those reps in? No. We build over time, and we achieve higher knowledge by combining said knowledge and ideas.

The punch can be included as part of a series of moves, or combined with a takedown, kick, or other strikes. Changing it up stimulates the brain, and challenges the student to make the punch work with control, discipline, and technique rather than putting them to sleep, or calling them hyperactive if they do not comply.

No matter the style, the most important factor is that the school, or gym, the art, the program, hit’s the criteria necessary to ensure children are getting the most from their martial art.

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Randy Brown 1/14/19 Randy Brown 1/14/19

Double Seal Hands

It may not happen often, but when it does, it's good to have an answer for it. We're in the flank position, and our opponent is holding our wrists to shut down strikes. We're not in a good position for knees, elbows, or kicks. Many of the throws (Shuāi 摔) in our arsenal are shut down. What do we do?

Double Seal Hands! This armbar/joint lock setup (Chin Na or Qín Ná 擒拿) can be highly destructive to our opponent, and get us out of a bind and put them into one. There's a nice throw component I'll show that you can add on to the arm bar as well.

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►Listen to PODCAST: https://randybrownmantisboxing.com/swamp-talks-podcast/

Randy Brown 1/11/19 Randy Brown 1/11/19

Wicked BJJ Clock Choke

I spent some time last year adding the clock choke into my game. It's an awesome submission and one I had never really used until early last year. It became quite useful when attacking people's turtle defense.

After using it repeatedly, I ended up in side control with…

‘Wicked’ is one of the keywords in Mantis Boxing. It has to do with trickery such as fakes, feints, distractions, or setting up the opponent to get what we want. It applies heavily to this clock choke setup and you'll see why.

After using it repeatedly, I ended up in side control with Chris one day. Chris is pretty sensitive to when the armbar is coming from side mount, and good at escaping it.

Rather than risk giving up the dominant position, I kept pressure on his back and looked for the lapel. He now has nowhere to turn except to the turtle. Once he turns all-four, snag the wrist and the clock choke is setup. I enjoyed working this one and thought I'd share it with you guys.