Link of the month: Acuxo.com The best pressurepoint site I have found so far :)
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ok its 2004 and ive got dsl now. U can get all the ufc, pride, k1 videos from internet using dc++ you can see the evolution of ring mma combat ie it started with gracie jiujitsu and then evolved from there (ufc)
btw, I recommend you do inverted pushups every other day cos this really blasts your tricps, shoulders and traps. put your head down on the floor so your 2 hands and head form a triangle and then press up, do it against the wall initially. you will eventually have such good balance u can do it without the wall. I genrally alternate each set with curls.
Ok April 03 now...response to email:
answer a,
depends on whether you are in tournament or just sparring. If you are just sparring and he doesn't wear chestguard, punch him hard in sternum area, if he tries to reverse hook kick or something, just duck like u gonna give him blowjob and ull be safe, continue punching his sternum and he'll be finished in no time. this is because when he is taller his sternum is right in front of you!
if its tournament then that's a different story. What I do is reverse hook his shins/ inner thighs when he does turning kicks (your kick is above your belt) to wear him down, punch his arms from the side (hook) just beneath his shoulder muscle. once you wear him down a little, u should know the time and then just do continuous attack so the judge remembers you as the dominating one.
b/ in general, I wouldn't use tkd, it would depend on circumstance, and id more likely use self defense (as in eye gouge or face claw)/grappling techniques, in general big guys (who pump iron) are slow and u should take advantage of this fact. ppl with long arms/legs are bad at grappling cos u can move in under his arms easy. If they have weight advantage, id advise you stay on your feet, but if they are skinny dick, then take them down to the ground. there are too many factors to give you a sure win way, the key is to find your own style and learn to apply it against any other style. As bruce lee said, bigger ppl fall harder so wear them out by throwing/sweeping them
weight has nothing to do with it unless u fight a pro wrestler or judo or grappling martial artist...as long as I am on my feet, I fear no mortal man. the reason why tkd is an incomplete martial art is cos u don't attack legs. if you fight someone taller and they do muay thai, chances are they will lean on top of you and try to knee the shit out of you. to get past that u duck under their armpit and slide to their side in deep so u end up behind them (always have a covering hand so their knee is blocked). once safe, I can just grab both their legs and flip them. (i leg press 600lbs+ so I can easily force over guys twice my weight) once they are down, u start punching immediately eg their calve, thigh anywhere. give them so much annoying pain they cant think as u move up their body to their face.
when you talk about nobodies, if you have martial arts experience to a decent level, you should learn to step off the line of attack, to weave and bob so you don't get hit. most guys off the street only do swinging punches and if they do karate straight punches, all I have to do is swat it like swatting a fly (parry) its rare you meet a true martial arts "expert". also im assuming you are a tkd person and I advise you not to use your feet above the belt (ie forget about tkd rules cos if you kick high and have no power, the guy will just knee u in the nuts). I generally only use kicks in combos and never start out with a kicking attack for 2 reasons, kicks drain your energy and kicking causes imbalance so if you are slowass (or put it another way, if they are faster than you), they can easily take you down.
just spar taller guys and you will overcum your fears and see for yourself their shortcumings. when I fight, I believe I will win right from the start and that will help you have no fear. as taller guys have longer arms, it takes longer to retract so ducking weaving and bobbing (like boxing) will help avoid all their hand attacks.
Original question:
>what's the best way to fight someone taller than you in
>a) tkd?
>b) in general?
>
>Hey another thing is - take 2 nobodies off the street and the bigger person
>will win. What do you do if you're fighting someone who's puts 10-20 kilo
>over your bodyweight (and not necessarily unfit)?
>
>Later
>
Ok its been years since I last updated this page. Anyay, as u know, I highly recommend you read Bruce Lee's - The Tao of Jeet Kune Do if you are intermediate or advanced or use it as a coffee table book cos it refreshes your mind on what you have learnt. It has heaps of useful tips that when we dont think about it, we may forget such as when a defender leans back instead of taking small step backwards ie they are off balance with weight on back foot, then you attack the back foot (reverse sweep usually works for me). If only he were still alive to share his thoughts with us today...
A drill I practice often is low block and punch, then high block and punch where only one hand punches (eg right hand) and the other hand (left) blocks not moving the left elbow ie its just down then up and out, in sets of 20 or more...when you do it fast and with power, you will find your speed in close up combat will improve dramatically. BAsically, when I am in close combat, I go for grappling option but i do like to throw in a few fast punches to distract my opponent. Generally speaking, i dont need to block but I practice the drill so if i ever have to at the last moment, my body will listen to my mind. REmember, drills are to enhance your mind-body reaction speed (motor skills or some bullshit like that) AS B Lee said in his book, you have to practice your movements so that it becomes 2nd nature so when you are actually fighting you can use your brain for devising strategies in the shortest amount of time instead of worrying about how to block. AS u know there are only 9 main directions of attack and an experience martial artist should know what possible attacks can come and have practiced blocking those possible attacks so it is 2nd nature. IN any event, if you are unsure, just sidestep!
If you like spinning reverse kicks as much as me, here's a nifty combo I learnt off final fight that improves the effectiveness as in landing probability (playing fighter computer games improves your brain-muscle coordination)...double front right hand backfist (I use bruce lee's philosophy and have stronger side forward which is my right for backfist), left cross/elbow, and recoil the left arm for momentum while simultaneously whipping the left foot around anticlockwise and land on your opponents cheek/neck :) You will find it is the left arm/elbow recoil that creates the extra momentum. If u are close to your opponent, u might do a spinning reverse axe instead. If you are more advanced, instead of double backfist, do one backfist and follow with a wingchun punch with the same arm. The benefit of this is.. lets say he leans back to avoid the backfist, when he leans forward to regain his momentum, the wingchunpunch on his chin will stun him momentarily and sets u up nicely for the rest of the attack. Obviously u need to master the art of using the same arm for multiple attacks which in turn depends on your "tensing/flexing at the last minute" attack skills. These leading arm movements are to be done as fast as possible kinda like homing a missle towards the target before it detonates. D benefit of one arm multiple attacks is that it has a higher sucess rate of landing and minimises the probability of a counter attack between attacks eg if you right punch and then left punch a la karate style, in between is a massive amount of time (for an experienced defender) to counter attack.
13/01/02
I saw the Jet Li movie called The One and it is definitely one of the best martial arts films ever made. Yes there is special effects but if you look deeper, it is very educational for the advanced martial artist. It is well documented in Chinese History that Pak (Bak) Kwa Kuen (my little translation to english means "nosey fist" LOL) defeats Wing Chun and his last fight scene with himself is a perfect demonstration of this. For those of you who dont know chinese kung fu then watch this movie for its story and sfx cos both are just as good a reason 2 go c the movie. Anyway, the Jet from the future practices Wing chun and does the "the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line thing" and the other one (the good cop) does the Pak Kwa fist. The kuen (fist) is actually a misnomer because Pak Kwa is actually based on open palm circular movements (kinda like aikido but with kicking) using palm strikes/push. Personally, I find that it is too hard to master for a normal person and you really only benefit from the footwork. The hand techniques do help your breathing/rhythm/focus though and if you master it, you can develop your own brand of "No shadow hands" which is what I call my hand technique. If you can develop your arm techniques to the point where you dont even have to use your support arm (hand that is behind front arm) ie front arm can block and attack with speed and rhythm, then you are halfway to martial arts nirvana . Anyway, The jet li fight just illustrates the fact that you should not blindly follow any one art cos like religion, it will lead to your downfall when you meet someone who is a better master at their art than you are in yours. This IS the best jet li movie in terms of practical martial arts and ranks up there with the wong fei hung ones. Its got the "double" thing like other older martial arts movies by VAn DAmn, Jackie Chan etc and it is about travelling between universe which is one of my favorite topics eg STargate is my fav tv show.
Just a little tip on 540 roundhouse kicks, just about anyone who tries and practices a lot should be able to do one. Hell, in Malaysia they ahve a sport where everyone can 540 (to kick a ball over a net) hence if you practice always bear in mind the ultimate purpose is to kick someone in the head. If you are in a fight, to pull off a 540 you shouldnt take the step across ie you should start with whatever leg is in front cos it wastes time if you step...ie rely more on your hands swinging to generate hip momentum. If youve mastered my klumsykick, and can 540 at will without stepping, then try doing a 540 and when you are about 45 degrees from 540 ie you are airborne and ass is nearly facing your opponent, hook your non roundhouse foot so you are essentialy doing a 540 klumsy kick ie turning + reverse hook. Note if you have heaps of air, you should consider doing a whip kick instead of the hook because its more suited if your opponent moves in deep. Note if you do do this, you are essentially doing a 720 hook LOL.
I have started a breakdancing tutorial with tips on how to backflip aerial etc here Having strong arms from weights helps you slice the air better eg cartwheel no hands.
22/11/01
Ok someone commented on my lovely klumsykick (which is a jumping crescent or roundhouse plus reversehook all in one go). You should first be able to do a 360 reverse hook and a jumping 360 crescent before you attempt it. To land it sucessfully (as with a jumping 360 reverse hook) you need to rotate towards your opponent in case he moves back/ducks. If he does, you should be able to drop your hook kick leg down into an axe or outer crescent. Also, to make the kick more powerful, after the crescent you should be rotating at an angle as opposed to being vertical ie a la van damme style in bloodsport (I strongly recommend you learn some martial arts tricks so you learn to rotate at every angle eg horizontal/vertical and everything in between because it will help getting out of throws/locks). The key to my lovely kick is jumping high throwing your hands up in the direction of your spin after squatting down and using the crescent to give your hip rotation. BTW you dont have to do both attacks at a target in front of you. you can easily crescent kick someone on your left and use the hook to someone on your right depending on how high and how long you stay airborne. Ps if you want to cheat (eg in 540 crescent/reverse hook), what you do is step your foot across the front(or back) of your body and start turning before you launch yourself up (this doesnt work with my klumsykick cos the back leg is the crescent leg and is what drives the hip rotation). If you are flexible, after the reverse hook, kick your other leg out in a front kick. Doing windmills (breakdance move) will help your leg flexibility, kicking speed and EXPLOSIVE power. If fighting guys who keep doing turning kicks, the front thrust push kick (to attack waist and above) and wingchun style cross body push kick to defend/attack below waist are sufficient to teach them a lesson. I suggest you stand within arms length of a wall and practice lifting your leg up (knee first) and execute the kick so you land your foot in the desired attacking position. The kneelifting is fast, light and relaxed and u use explosive strength to home in onto the target. This way, you can ensure that you jam your foot on either his hip (side of attacking leg) or his supporting leg (by moving forward). Play around with low crescent type slaps to shins/just below knee cos it gives your opponent stinging pain esp useful when grappling. Learn to punch and kick at the same time and punch and step forward without losing power/momentum. Just going to class is insufficient because you have to devote significant amounts of your spare time doing footwork drills until it becums 2nd nature so when you get a surprise attack, you respond without hesitation. Another of my favorite kicks is the gliding (kinda step one foot across the front of your body after hopping up) and place it next to your opponent and use the other leg in a backside kick (I call it a backside kick because it is excecuted as a side kick not a donkey kick.) This kick is just more stable and powerful than a donkey because it winds your opponent whereas the donkey is easy to sidestep and if you kick too low, you literally can have your neck broken. The key is practicing on a wall (pratice control by doing it full power and landing the kick light so you dont have sore heel LOL). This kick must be done with explosive power and the results are gratifying. I like to thrust my kicking leg side arm behind me to get more power. This kick is good defensively too because your upperbody is away from your opponent and your ass is like next to their hip so they cant really do much unless they shuffle their feet (which will be too late cos your kick has landed). The key is stepping your foot across next to their front leg and planting your foot just outside of theirs ie if they stand in left stance you cross your left foot across the front of your body. I prefer kicking with one leg on the ground but if your opponent is charging at you then do a budget version of my klumsykick by kinda doing a hop crescent with the backfoot and a cross between a donkey and a backside with the other foot all in one go. You tense your lowerback when executing.
14/10/01
I just saw Kiss of the Dragon Starring Jet Li and it was a very good film. As Ive said before fuk the critics cos they know nothing about martial arts. Anyway, it was kinda a westernised Wong Fei Hung with the acupuncture and all. I wont spoil it by giving you the story but Ill talk about the martial arts scenes. The end fight with the twins is really good for strategy cos he lured the dude who did the "cum here" gesturing with the hand to the more cramped aisle (like in those classic chinese movies and when i do it when im sparring it does unsettle my opponents hee hee)...anyway I have to admit if you are bound by tkd rules against someone who can kick multiple kicks who is taller than you its pretty tough so you really only have one option and that is to slide forward and back doing front push kicks or side step when they do reverse kicks and counter. If you have a powerful punch you can always move in quick and punch. The other fight scene i liked was with the double stick but it was too fast to see the techniques where he got the attackers into holds. NOte double stick is one of my favorites cos if you are fast, you have a high margin of error ie its almost impossible to get hit by someone who also has sticks. Going for the legs is the best a la Bruce lee in his movie with the Nunchaku against the bunch of attackers cos the shin is like a great target since you have to really move quick to avoid being hit and once youre hit, youre fucked.
Ok im redesigning this page so its more userfriendly so make sure u cum back for more tips. BTW, ive been doing heavy weights cos i have an arm wrestling comp and I still manage 4 punches per sec so it proves that weights does not slow you down if you do it every other day and keep up your martial arts/aerobic activity. Just b4 i go, if you want to improve your pole and you do weights, then find a barbell (without plates and the length should be the same as your height) and do the wrist spining exercises with it, you know the one where you kinda elbow across your body to bring it to the other side and youll find this strengthens your back and shoulders so much that when you do normal wooden pole your moves will be fucking 10x more powerful and fast. BTW doing windmills (breakdance move) will significantly improve the agility of your torso and kicking/hip power. Theres nothing better than getting home after a hard days work and doing them as fast as you can LOL
Some ppl ask me stupid questions like how do I get faster? how do i get powerful punches. How do I become a good figher? There is only one answer and that is to train hard and smart and fight/spar as much as possible with opponents who are better than you. PPl ask me shit like : "If Bruce Lee was alive, how would he go in UFC?" Fuck man do you eye jab in UFC? no, now in Wingchun a fundamental technique is the eye jab so its like comparing apples with oranges. UFC is (more like kfc) a sport with rules and as long as there are limitations on what you can do, you are not comparing fairly. Anything goes, thats where bruce lee excels cos hes fast and the typical guys are big and slow these days. Note the term "slow" is used in relative terms. Ok Jet Li has heaps of good movies cuming out. For those of u who dont know fuck about Chinese kung fu, he was 7 times chinese (china) champion or something like that ie hes the Arnold Schwarzenegger of Martial Arts. His stances are good for those who use both upper and lower body to attack (in case you think its too fancy). He can easily beat the shit out of (read: decapitate as in break arms legs etc) any UFC guy if you use anything goes.
This site has a bunch of screen captures from Jet Li movies and animated gifs etc. Check out the first movie clip with his jumping au batido (which lands on the enemies neck)
Jet Li Photohouse also has nice pix
Screenshots off Kiss of the Dragon
Ok for those of you who hit aimlessly, try this:
Aim for the opp's nipple when punching. The breast tissue is quite sensitive (hence the piercing) so drill your knuckle when you do punches there and the results speak for itself. Ok to kick, heel stamp (hard) just below the kneecap (slightly towards the inside). IN terms of general fighting skills, you have to have sufficient stamina to chase your opponent and then fight them without stopping (or losing your flow). The best way if you are going too fast (cos they suddenly stop) is to do a jumping kick so you land close to them if you miss and use hand techniques. The classic jumping kick is run and jump doing a right turning snap kick to your left and then use the same leg for a right side kick while doing a left front kick (or side thrust) with the left simultaneously (as seen in the movies). If you jump high enuff and are fast, you can draw the right leg in and turn 270 clockwise for a backkick before you land. When you get comfy do right turning snap to your left and 360 (clockwise) back kick with same leg.
26/8/01
I just remembered, there was this guy I knew back in Hong Kong who did TKD, we used to go to hotels practicing our spinning back kicks/sliding side kicks on the doors (busting the locks open) and run to the stairwell bursting with laughter :) Those were the days. If you cant kick down a door and you do tkd, questions need to be asked.
Ok this is what Mr david carrizosa asked:
>Waz up? my name is david carrizosa and i think the way >you fight is awsome a a slap in the face of how all >those fighting classes are a work out and thats it. I >wanted to know what wing chung stance is and how you >train to become such a good fighter and how you defeat >bigger and more numbers than you. well could you give >me some web sites of pressure points and most of the >stuff you talk about.
The wingchun stance is only good for close to medium combat distances. go to the links below to see what it looks like. Note, a lot of students from wingchun skools are good at hand techiques only so Generally, a strategy I use (and you can laugh all you want because it works for me) is to kick my way close (eg sliding frontkick-double turningkick to head/body without putting the leg down but ensure they do not step forward to punch you in the chest) and then tackle the wingchun guy to the ground (press their front arm down as they might do a straight lead punch 2 your face and ram your shoulder into their abs/chest) and grapple. Remember, most martial artists are not sufficiently trained in ground fighting/pressurepoints so if you can master it, you will get the upperhand. Obviously, I wouldnt use upperbody grappling with a guy 2x heavier than me Lol! Doing weights will give you additional upperbody strength to compensate for weight deficiency. If you do kick, make sure you can kick fast and at will and also know
how to get out of leg grabs eg if I do a turning kick and they grab my leg by blocking my knee and lift my leg up with their elbow area, I sink my knee down and do a reverse hook with my (other) supporting leg to their grabbing arm (the pressure point just under the shoulder to give them a bruise hee hee) Note do not go for the head because all they have to do is lean back and youre screwed. This is usually sufficient to distract them so you can dislodge your leg from their grab If they still dont let go, I do a front flip or cartwheel so my leg goes up and because my whole body's momentum is greater than their arm strength, I can free my lovely leg :)
You can basically do
the same with a grabbed leg after you do a side kick but because of the dynamics of the side kick movement, Id advise you to do a cartwheel straight away by thrusting the sidekick leg down because the last thing you want is to have missed a side kick and the attacker is behind you whereas if you cartwheel and turn to face your opponent again, youre safer. When you get better you can do nohands cartwheels, the key is slicing the air and elbowing instead of placing your hands down on the ground. For the front kick grab where the attacker sidesteps and blocks your calf, backflip is your best option. because if he drops your leg and clotheslines you to neck choke, youre fucked. BAckflips when youre leg is grabbed is easier than you think. The alternative, is to just turn so your ass faces your oppoent, sink your weight down and jerk your grabbed leg away. If you are fast and react quick, you can actually do a front flip like movement by turning your hip before he locks down your knee when he grabs, but aim your nongrabbed leg up his nuts hee hee. This is kinda a sacrifice move. Note the way you do land from this is kinda like the breakdance move where you drop to pushup position but once your arms touch the ground your chest touches the ground and your abs and then your legs its a great quick breakfall. Generally if I do this type of breakfall, I would roll sideways once or twice (body straight) then flip up off my back to get back 2 business.
I had a nice picture before of all the pressurepoints but i cant remember where I put it. They are all over the body so if you get into a tight situation just pinch their muscles so you squeeze right to the bone and the effects will be obvious. As a general guide, here are some commonly used ones (there are heaps more but these are easiest to reach):
Middle of hand (dig your thumb into it)
Middle of forearm
Middle of wrist
Middle of traps next to the neck (note if you get a bodybuilder with massive traps attacking you, this is not a wise choice :)
one inch in from the outside of the shoulder (from the front)
Where the bicep, side delts and triceps meet
near the inner elbow
Middle of calf muscle where the 2 bulges meet (when viewed from back)
outside of foot
Inner thigh
Pressurepoints combined with arm/wrist locks is the ultimate in controlling your opponents. I like control because it reduces the time required to end the fight and as some of you may know, the more time you give your opponent, the more opportunities they have of "surprising" you. Note apart from pressurepoints you can also target the tendons eg the archilles tendon when grappling just pinch with thumb and finger as hard and they will release whatever lock they are applying to you. Most people do not realise that you can get out of a lot of submission moves even when its been fully applied by utilising common sense pressurepoints. for those who bother with strangling someones throat, the quicker way is to squeexe both sides of the adam's apple (if youre fighting a guy) and rip it out. Its as easy as pulling the chicken wing off a chicken :) But then again, you may end up killing the poor bastard. so if you are using it as a pressurepoint to get out of a lock, dont squeeze too hard :) Just squeese your own to find out how delicate it is and imagine using full strength. ps if you want to srengthen your grip, do weights
To learn how to fight/be a good fighter, you have to spar "anything goes" with people from all martial arts styles. that way you know what skills you need to develop to defend and attack those styles (on the street). And if you like streetfighting, fighting dirty will make your life easier eg spit in their eyes to distract them if youre grappling. Remember, traditional shit you learn in class about respecting your opponents doesnt mean crap when youre on the street, cos if you give them a chance, they will pull a gun or knife on you!
The key is to think fast and be quick on your feet. if you can do that, your attackers wont land anything on you.
to defeat bigger numbers eg 3 on one, what you do is move so they come at you one by one ie you move so they are aligned one behind each other which is why footwork is very important. that way you can take them out one by one. To defeat ppl bigger than you, you need to move in quick and at the right moment. This only comes with practice. In terms of classes being a workout, Thats because of commercialisation. You see everyone is in it for the money these days. You have "world champions" in just about every corner opening dojos. In order to attract more students, they promote martial arts as a way to keep fit. Still, I believe you have to go to class to master the basics/fundamentals of fighting eg learning the different punches/kicks/grappling/throws, how to apply them in various situations etc. There is no substitute for sparring esp full contact anything goes because you can be creative and combine moves from different styles. If you read my last update below, I talked about kinky moves. now capoeira has some useful ground moves. You see the move how you get off from being on your back (because you were thrown) swinging your legs is quite useful in situations where your opponent moves in to kick you in the ribs because you can do a scissors takedown. Therefore, do not underestimate any style because your ignorance may someday get you when you least expect it. If you want to fasttrack your progress in martial arts, you need to include some endurance and strengh training as well as reflex training when youre not in the dojo/class. All Mainstream martial arts have inherent limitations eg in tkd you cant kick below belt or grab and in other arts, they are only preoccupied with a certain "way" of attack/defense so it is up to you to blend everything together.
Also, sometimes you do sacrifice moves to avoid getting hit eg because of poor judgement youre in a situation where you are bound to get hit and youre off balance, so what I do is a kinkymove where I place my hand on the ground and kick up their crotch either with upper hook kick or front slap with foot (I dont believe in aubatido being a useful move because if you miss they can kick you like a soccer ball :0) and then either roll and stand up or do one of the flips to get back on my feet. Note the swinging leg version is safer than flipping directly off your back. BTW in some cases its more advantageous to flip out of a arm lock than to do a roll because you can get directly into an attacking position as opposed to having to jerk your arm free (if you do aikido, try placing one arm down and flipping both your legs over as opposed to doing a forward roll) and just turn and kick the opponent in the nuts ie while he may still hold your arms, if you flip before he executes, it distracts the hell out of him before he executes a throw/submission lock and you can counterattack and then free your arm. This is more efficient than rolling away and then having to move back in to fight your opponent. of course you have to have some gymnastic capability which is where the kinky martial arts moves come in.
The mighty backfist is underestimated by a lot of martial artists. Choy Lee Fut swear by the spinning version because in tournaments it knocks out kickboxers. But then again if they were up against me in the street all I would have to do is sidestep duck/lean forward and tackle them to the ground and punch them in the nuts :) Anyway, the point im making is the backfist if done correctly with a whipping motion, is always going to be faster than your fastest punch and can generate equivalent power. Your goal (if you do intend to master this useful attack) should be to have your lead hand only move 10cm before it hits the target's face. Also, do not draw back your hand when you start the attack and do not move your shoulders. This is in line with the one inch punch principle where your entire body generates the power. The other great thing about backfist is if you do do wingchun hand techniques, all you ahve to do is do open your fist and then press down on the attackers front guard to follow up with your other hand. Note because I do other martial arts, I may for example do a quick tenkan, drag my opponents wrist down further by switching grabbing hands and do a kotegaishi thingy. Ok how fast can you punch? For the average martial artist, you should be able to do 3 punches in 1 second (karate style in horse stance) For the advanced it should be at least 5 and if you want to go for the world record...I think its 9 hee hee
Martial arts women
Ok I dont mean to be sexist but...there is no way a woman can defeat a man who has had equal martial arts training in combat. So if your gf or wife beats you up, I suggest you go do a martial art and put her in her place (kitchen). Women are weaker and slower than man (cos god created them this way), They can take all the drugs in the world and lift weights but there is no way they can outlast a guy in a fight. What I am saying that if you are a girl, dont get the false hope that you can walk in the street and can take on anyone who gives you trouble. You can kia (scream) as loud as you want, but if you trade blows with a guy, you will get your head bashed in! I mean sure you can do all the kata and flips in the world but you dont have power so when you are up against a normal guy with minimal training, you have no chance.
22/08/01
For those of you who like kinky moves, after you learn how to flip off your back, try one hand, one hand with something in the other (preferably a weapon eg nunchaku) and the no hands, then try front roll to flip. Another great move to get you off your back from a still position, is to lie on one side (my right) and have one leg straight (left leg) and the other knee bent below it and lean back so your entire back touches the ground while you kick the straight leg around clockwise and over, lifting your hips up and then you flip over one shoulder, and push your body up with your hands and aim your legs up to the roof (initially you might place one hand on top of the other one so your power is all from one point. Note when you flip, you should place the left elbow as close to your rips as possible (just before you kick up) and reach the arm that was originally on the side touching the ground across the top of your head and place it next to your other hand (close to your left ear. Just picture yourself doing a backwards roll (ukemi) but not kick your legs right over but instead plant your hand down and thrust your legs up.
After that you are ready for cool moves like you see on breakdance videos :) The most obvious one is swinging your legs like you would when you are on a pommel/gymnastics male floor routine but since you might be weak in your arms and upperbody, you can do it on your forearms (palms faceing chest or on the side from the wrist bone that juts out to your elbow) and back (so you dont actually extend your arms). Keep your legs straight and keep the momentum going to keep your hips up. Its really cool when you do it fast.Bilang.com is the best trickz site on the net. Make sure you go to the links there cos theres a good breakdance comp clip. Note while these moves might not be practical in fighting situations, they DO significantly improve your other skills eg balance, timing coordination, explosive strength etc.
30/06/01
Mr Leboy sent me a mail asking how to defend against 1. BAseball bats and 2 guns...If you visit the martial arts newsgroups the guns topic has been covered a lot...anyway starting with baseball bats....If you do aikido, you will learn to defend against swords, the principles are all the same there are 9 directions of attack but the most common one would be either horizontal or 45 degrees cutting down (but of course you should be on your toes if you r being attacked anyway) so the moment he attacks (assume he is right handed and the attack is therefore cuming from the left side of you) he will draw his baseball bat back, now if you do any form of aikido you would move it straight away and basically if you move in close enuff, he just wont/cant hit you with the bat at all (eg if you hug him like your gf), but lets say you are slow, drunk and retarded like the average dude on the st. if you are surprised for example and are stiff like hardcock...when you cum 2 your senses, you step forward 30 degrees to the right when he swings ...deep and refocus your direction so you face your opponent, cut down on his bat holding arms (the top one will do and draw it (with sticky hands) past the front of you. obviously if youve moved in and have grappling or martial arts experience, you can choose for the punch him in hte face/clothesline his neck option. If the go for your knees, again attacking from the right, take a big step forward and raise your left knee to block his wrists. Of course if you have kicking experience you can do a variety of things (eg crescent kick his wrist thus causing his bat to fall out of his grip) but this knee to wrist and follow up with punch to face is the easiest way to neutralise the attack (if you cant run away hee hee) ps the way to block is have your left forearm's fleshy bit facing the bat to cover your face and you grab his wrist when youve stepped in..your right hand grips his attacking arms wrist from the bottom...I suggest you ask an aikido guy to show you cos its the easiest way to block a weapon attack.
As for guns, no universal law applies cos you can have a trigger happy attacker and youd be dead if you fuck up...if you have someone who is not sure of what the fuck he is doing then seize the right moment (use your judgement and grab the gun hand (this is the most important bit) by moving in either behind him (go past his non gun holding arm by sliding as fast as you can and reaching for his gun arm from behind or do a clothesline and then grab his gun elbow and slide your fingers down his arm till you reach the gun and then just pull down hard and twist to disarm (youd be holding the barrel)), the other way is to do the aikido tenkan and kotegaishi thingy. these 2 are the safest since you dont have the gun pointing at you once you take action. You have other more radical techniques such as blocking the trigger finger and taking the clip out but you had better be fucking fast or youd be dead. If you have grappling and pressure point experience then you can move in fast and "hug" him and do your magic.
With guns it depends on the risk you are willing to take...but with baseball bats its the easiest disarm anyone can do...practice taking a big step forward when he draws back to attack and waist tackle him to the ground...thats the easiestway to get the step forward bit correct In aikido basically you have "meeting of centres" where the point of impact is neutralised by your downward action vs his horizontal...hmm philosophy is best taught by an expert...Make sure you visit my latex pages! I had the unfortunate chance of having a gun pointed at me by a security guard once and of course my life is more valuable than the shit I did so I just surrendered...If someone is out to kill you then you have no choice if you cant run away but to. Tell you what, I was so pissed off cos you see he held the gun close to his body ie not like the movies where they hold it at arms length so if I did move in, my head would get blown up Fuck fuck fuckety fuck!
19/4/01
Ok heres some more tkd tips...To land any type of kick, you have to step in deep so your body is close to touching your opponent. Keep your head at the same level so your shoulders dont "telegraph" what you are about to do.and slide forward..then execute at the last moment and make sure you have your eyes glued btwn your opp's shoulders so if they make any moves you can see it in advance. The easiest way to move in in advanced tkd is to 360 cos if you just slide forward, your opponent will either front(push)kick your hip region stopping any attack whereas if youre spinning they are confused momentarily and usually move back so you can chase them and follow with a combo. If they stand there, then consider a 540 roundhouse to head or if they have moved back a little, a 720 hook to head/upperbody.
To land a turning/roundhouse kick against experienced fighters, you either go for their head or dont bother. For those who follow my column, my view is that turning kicks do no damage to the body and you are more likely going to connect your shins on your opponents elbow/they block it...therefore it is imperative you disguise it as part of a combo Now if you are more advanced, have got balance and flexibility, then you can try this...knee them in the chest first (after taking a big step forward [try stomping your front foot on their front foot hee hee] and using your hip to rotate your knee and use your support leg to thrust up your body and knee them up to their chin, they cant duck so they either fall back or sideways from the momentum and thats when you release your shin as a snap roundhouse kick (this is virtually impossible to block if you drop your shin 45 degrees down from the sky ie rotate your hip so it faces downwards after kneeing them cos their rear arm will not reach since you are too close!. The effect of this during tournament sparring is that they fall to the ground and you get a lovely point :) Note kneeing is not allowed in tkd so make sure if you miss it, to follow up quick with a crescent or 360 to move in. BTW there are heaps of ways to knee but I generally lift up my knee about half a foot from my opponent and use my hip to ram it into the opp. horizontally. I also like to do full roundhouse kicks and use my body momentum to knock my opponents balance back. Also I use karate style roundhouse kicks when attacking risky areas ie land the foot with the ball of the foot as opposed to instep when kicking areas where I might hit their elbow. I also make use of bouncing my foot off the opponents body eg if they have the guard up i do a crescent lightly to their elbow area then drop my knee to their chest/slide supporting leg forward if necessary, and then flick my foot up to their head. This way is very effective as opposed to just doing a simple roundhouse where they can see it coming a mile away...obviously you have to be flexible and fast.
To land a side kick you step your rear leg behind your front leg...if your opponent is close you dont have to slide it past the front foot but if they are a bit far or moving away, you slide the back foot as far past your front foot as possible then chamber the kicking leg and execute. (keep your head at the same level ie dont bob up and down or you lose your leg reach when kicking) Alternatively, if you have trading a few attacks and know he will run away, you take a step forward with your front foot before sliding your back foot. If you know they literally run away then do a jumping side kick :).
To move in, if you just slide forward, you really arent being creative enuff and your opponent usually adjusts. But if you are "mobile" try doing a 360 crescent to move your front foot close to your opponent (practice so you know exactly how much distance you can cover and where you land) and the spin naturally distracts them cos they dont know wtf you are doing and usually wait to see...then do a sliding side kick when you land or a reverse back kick. You dont have to do it high...I use budget (low) variations to test my opponent and do high with a turning kick to face instead of the low crescent when I have psyched out my opp. If you land and they ahve run away, dont be afraid to rotate 360 by stepping a leg forward so you end up in front of them and do a front push kick to their chest.
Try regulating your attacks' rhythm ie for me, I go 100 percent and lterally chase my opponent off the mat with side/back/hook/front push kicks...then when we go back to the centre of the mat, I move around the opponent in a circle using elaborate footwork to confuse the opponent (refer below) and count to 50 focusing on breathing to catch my breath...if they attack moving in viciously, then so be it, I counter, but if they dont, cos I maintained my distance, I will have regained my breath and go for it again...this way will ensure you always have enuff energy and dont run out when it matters most.
There are 2 ways of defeating someone in tkd, either score heaps of points or knock them out/cause them to give up. If you have landed a few kicks and he hasnt done shit on you, youd be safe to assume you have a few points...so you can do the psychological thing and be defensive and counterattack...This is good for beginners to intermediates, but as you know shit happens...which is why i prefer damaging the opponent rather than just scoring points doing turning kicks to their bodies (which is what most tkd skools teach...note the style of tkd I am currently doing is point scoring ie we train fast and for stamina so that is good because my bodybuilding slows me down and tkd helps give my muscles speed) I read that to have good kicking power, you should minimize the amount of aerobic exercise you do! More on that later...
By utilising side, backside, hook and front push kicks which cause pain early, you will be damaging them both psychologically as well as physically thus ensuring your overall sucess in winning. Most ppl in tkd rely on roundhouse or front kick combos to score points At advanced levels, you should use trickery to make them move where you want them to move eg draw your leg back so they think you are moving back and they move in..then give them a nice hard side kick
21/3/01
I had such a good time sparring last nite....anyway heres some tkd tips as promised..
Last nite I found sparring pretty easy (havent done tkd since 1997!) except with a tall 6'2" plus French dude (All the guys who spar me are blackbelts btw)...The funny thing is he kept sinking low into a semi horse stance...now we were both tired but he had the reach advantage...so what did I do...I did my lovely sliding side kick (and chased him halfway across the room hee hee. Now for the tip. Sometimes its worth putting your leg down and doing an extra slide "step" because he may take 2 steps back and stop. He generally had his front arm down so I aimed at his upper arm and thrusted out so i knocked his elbow to his ribs....ok back the the point i was making yesterday. If someone has his front leg up and does kinky kicks in the air, slide forward slightly to the side and then move in to do a sliding sidekick to his ab area. The key is not to stand in one position too long. Eg when I am tired, ill go "dance" like in rocky ie the boxing move. I generally move in a circle maintaining the same distance around the opp towards his back side so the only kick he will be doing is a reverse hook/back side kick and that is very ineffective against me because all i have to do is continue moving but a bit more sideways so he doesnt contact me. Catch my breath and then do a sliding front push kick when he gets dizzy following me and get back to business....they key is not to do it too long and have some variation or eventually he will see thru you!
Sparring shorter ppl is quite easy...heres what to do if you miss a sliding sidekick and he moves in behind your next to your ass....retract the kicking leg immediately and plant it so the knee is inside of your opponents knee (of the foot closer to you) bring the knee up and push out with your shin to his upperbody so you are facing him again then using rebound motion to flick your foot up to his face 100 percent sucess rate against short ppl because you have trapped his only blocking arm and youre too close for him to duck in time...as you have pushed him with your shin his other arm will not reach your foot in time and they cant block the knee dos its already on their body :)
When I do my back kick, I tend to do a back side kick instead...why? because in real combat the traditional back kick (toes down version) limits your options after execution since your hip is pointed away from the opp. The backsidekick with a hook kick thrown in for good measure does wonders. If you want to be a bastard (not that I am) do these after you miss your sliding side kick (thats my kick of the moment cos it has power and long reach for all the ppl who keep running away from me) and he moves behind you. immediately drop the kicking leg and do the backside with the other leg. If he has started to chamber his leg or a turning kick, you can hit his knee with your heel and voila...hes out for the day :) Thats the thing, if you want to be a bastard, theres these nifty moves to immediately cripple your opp. But then I wouldnt advise you doing this to your friends in training cos no one would like sparring you and only use these techniques in tournaments or against aggressive people to teach them a lesson. Remember, the best way to "cripple" your opp is to use your heel/outer edge of foot against their bones. eg if youre fast when they do a turning kick you step back and do a reverse hook at waist level leaning back and land it on their knee/shin when his kick is airbourne, the effects will be devastating :) ps you can have your knee bent if youre a bit too close so you dont miss. I love waist level reverse hook kicks to move in going left and then going right one after the other (like a basket ball player dribbling with his back to you to get around you (cos they dont get points for hitting you in the back in tkd)...followed with a leaning back high hook to knock their head when your body (ass) is touching them. One last note for the day when youre sparring a weaker opponent eg a kid with a blackbelt, practice your punching and learn to move in when they kick...do bodypunches and the works. A lot of us dont realise that even with the armour, you can still punch their upperchest as long as its below the shoulders so if youre accurate you can hit them just on the top of the armour where its nice and thin and give them more impact...even if you hit the armour they still feel it....the worst thing is you cant punch their face cos when youre on a roll after some bodypunching you want to finish them off with a hook! hee hee...esp if you have done some boxing.
20/3/01
Today I am taking up tkd again. I just love to show off my kicking skills. I plan to go to a few (every one I am eligible for) tournaments this year...tkd medals are easy to get (esp if there are only 3 competitors hee heee) and I want to have like a bucketload to show my kids when im old hee hee.
From now on this page will be useful tkd tournament tips...eg kick your opponents forearm guard using hookicks and outercrescent to their fingers...most of us who have had our thumbs kicked will know what Im talking about...youll be numb for a week at least and that distracts the opponent enuff so you can give them a big side kick (jumping if youre capable) to finish them off.
12/3/01
e is a backup, my latest one was deleted :( anyway to make you happy...
Click here - http://www.bilang.com for martial arts trickz movies picutres how-to and be sure to check out their links for more trickz.
The au batido is a kinky move. (heaps of pix at bilang.com). It is basically a cartwheel on one hand where you stop and the kicking leg is supposed to kick someone. Initially you can forget about kicking and just do the cartwheel motion. Make sure you warm up and stretch first!...Esp when trying flips because it really takes it out on your knees. Remember for martial arts purposes land with your knees slightly bent or your knees will be fucked when you get old...ie you dont need to land in straight leg position as in gymnastics! Its one thing to learn how to fight but another to use your body to get out of the way....which is where flips come in handy...The kicks may lack any practicality in a fight but at least you will have the speed and power. A 720 kick took me ages and I mean ages to master...so start learning when youre young. I love moves where you use your entire body...Martial arts is like the key to all moves.
Its one thing to know how to do moves in the air eg eye jab with fingers and other to actually have "done it". If you haven't "done it" before, you should be very careful using these moves in a streetfight because accidents happen et you might poke his eyes but you might also break your fingers! So Id stick to moves you already have done before in a streetfight to avoid embarassing yourself or worse still fuck yourself up! Theres a lot of talk on the newsgroups (Click here - Mailandnews.com for a free web based newsgroup reader) about martial arts vs boxing. You have to be near pro level in terms of boxing to have any effect on a trained martial artist...ie you have to punch fast with power and have high accuracy and be very aggressive moving in with no fear...if you lack any of these elements then you as a boxer will have a tough time. The thing is if you get kicked in the nuts, youll think twice about moving in and end up going into defensive mode. Once that happens, you are literally screwed.
30/12/00
Ok I got a mail from a dude. I reccomended as always for him to do aikido followed by wing chun. The point being he will learn to control his opponent from the beginning.
Meanwhile, on tv i saw a funny John west ad where a bear does some martial arts moves to a fisherman to get a fish. It was so funny. One important leg movement that muay thai lacks is the wingchun type
leg check where you stamp the opponents shin/knee with your instep.
I have noticed that while martial arts is flourishing, the quality of students cuming out of skools are crappier than ever. With an abundance of "recreational black belts", you have to wonder where all this is going. Take for example the side kick, These bb cant even do it themselves properly so how the fuck are their students going to learn. The side kick has to have a hip thrust. Without it there is no power and the way these buffys do it make me just want to get up there and show them how its done. Eg if i was holding a body pad and got them to kick and i pushed forward they would go flying to the floor. This is not taebo folks, real martial arts needs power not flinging arms and legs all over the place. The way to ensure you can do a side kick properly is to use a kicking bag (punching bags will do too if you can kick high enuff). When you sidekick a bag there are 2 possible good outcomes. one is when the bag goes flying to the ceiling which is the minimal damage way ie you push your opponent flying to the ground. The superior way is to cause the target area of your bag to bounceback causing the bottom of the bag to lift up which comes when you do the sidekick with decent snap/hip thrust/retraction of leg. The bag does not go flying up because you have sent your energy horizontally which is the effect you should have on a person when you do it ie he will be winded and collapze to teh ground as opposed to flying back and getting up Ok thats all for now.
11/10/00:
hi for those of you who dont understand aikido, let me tell you what its about.... aikido is about ki and being in harmony with your environment. It is not about violence and what you see on tv. (steven seagals moves are so fuking slow and choreographed) It is about positioning your body in a superior position relative to your opponent so technique is not necessary (or icing on cake). It is a soft self defense martial art which the attacker makes the first move.
Anyone can learn aikido technique but to apply the aikido principles to various situations requires a brain. Most people dont have much intelligence so they find aikido doesnt work for them ie they just blindly learn technique. You also have the old skool aikido dudes who think aikido is the greatest and dont innovate their learning. Aikido is the best commercial martial art for defense against multiple attackers compared to all other martial arts. There are striking similarities of technique to some chinese kung fu styles. refer to the jet li movies and in particular jackie chan's drunken fist.
Aikido is good for self defense but you need to learn an attacking martial art to complement it eg wing chun. Additionally, you might want to learn a kicking martial art. While tkd is good, it is not great because youll be doing silly moves such as turning kicks which do no damage. ok bye bye and cum to my pages.
30/7/00:
Today Ill talk about the telegraphic nature of movement which Bruce Lee's writings discuss in detail. For the advanced martial artist, you should attack with minimal shoulder movement. This way the defender wont see what youre doing in advance and wont have time to react eg when you backfist. Blee says to start moving the fist first and not draw back the fist (which most people inadvertently do). This requires good muscular coordination. The same applies to kicking because if you kick, you use more energy and if you dont land your attacks youre wasting it unnecesarily. Thats why its imperative you camouflage your kicks with hand movements/attacks (unless you have a sure shot when defending)...the road for martial arts sees no end.
30/6/00:
Anyway back to real life, weve all seen it in movies but we dont apply it to practice. You should learn to use everything around you as weapons eg pick up a pencil (even blunt ones work) jab it into your opponents throat below the adams apple or between the collarbone and traps. If you want to be a pain, snap the pencil so your opponent spends more time trying to dislodge it and finish him off.
20/4/00:
Ok today Ill talk about Air Superiority, a concept which is basically controlling your opponents airspace, thus his movements. Its a simple concept but takes years to master. YOu achieve air superiority by restricting your opponents airspace or placing your limbs in a position that any attack they do will be countered effectively. This requires a in depth understanding of all the blocking movements available for any given attack. Generally speaking, this is only necessary for fighting against "trained" martial artists. Against the untrained, you should have enough speed to counter attack without having to block or simply doing a quick parry by flexing your wrist and immediately attacking them. You control your opponents movments by keeping your hand/forearm/knee near your opponents elbow/knee/foot eg if they attack you by kicking high, all you need to do is block their knee/shin and moving your body forward.
Another thing is if youre facing trained martial artists, your attacks sucess rate is diminished so you need to control their front arm/defense before you attack (unless they are shit). You do this by doing simple movements like a lower pushblock of their front forearm/elbow area so that their entire front side upperbody is free for you to do throat claw/eye jab etc. If youre doing tkd, do a crescent kick (while stepping forward slightly) to their front arm elbow and drop it down so when he lifts it up again (a natural defense movement), you can do a hook kick in the other direction since they have opened up.
Remember, to master any attack you have to understand and explore every alternative defense open to the defender, by this way you can chain air superiority movements/blocks so that the final attack will have a much higher sucess rate. Bear in mind, this does not mean doing energy wasting movements like 50 turning kicks before landing a single one.
At advanced level, you should learn to distract your opponent whether this means clapping your hands or slapping your body when moving your arms or simply flicking your fingers into their eyes (note the tension when 2 advanced fighters are fighting) since this surprises them and disturbs them mentally.
10/4/00:
Cool today someone emailed me about my martial arts page...first of all people do martial arts for various reasons. There is no right or wrong reasons, its simply a tool to help you find the meaning of life. Now this dude said that first dan is when you start learning, I totally agree, but that also depends on the individuals ability to learn because some can simply learn by observing and practising. I did martial arts because I was abused as a child and it helped me to find something I could build my self confidence...That is why my goal is to fight people from as many styles as is possible under no rules, or their rules because this way I can adapt and evolve my own style of fighting. I am very aggressive and patience (something he mentioned) is not one of my virtues. I mean if im paying fees, fuck me if im going to wait forever after my first dan just to learn a few tricks. Learning an entire new martial art's philosophy is more beneficial to me in terms of self defense.
For example, any of you who have reached first dan in Taekwondo, ask yourself how much of the stuff you learn after that is practical (read: would you be able to use it in a street fight). If you can defeat all at your dojo, join another one and fight them after class.
Some people do martial arts because it gives their life direction, some like teaching (for money) and others have their own reasons...mine, its purely to advance my fighting skills. Commercial martial arts in the western world has made it more accessible but the true spirit of martial arts is kinda lost. Everyone opens up their own skool teaching half assed principles. What you need, is to keep open-minded and learn to adapt what you learn to real fights hence fighting is the one and only way you can advance. There are no 2 ways about it. I mean Martial means war (as mentioned below).
Respect and discipline is good and you should repect your opponent but that does not mean show mercy during fighting. Rather it means just because youre better, dont act cocky.
What you see on tv is not no rules and all these so called world champions wont last a second against the best martial artists because by wearing gloves, that automatically limits their attack and lets face it folks, in real life high level anything goes martial arts fighting, fights are over after exchanging a few moves. If you cant defend against anything goes groin attacks, then you should train with someone who is good at kicking and tell them to kick your groin and you practise your defense. Also, if youre advanced, get someone from another style to do ANY of their styles attacks on you and practise defending against it.
True nirvana in martial arts lies in self defense and this can only be sought if you achieve the ability to fight any opponent by simply moving your body without yourself attacking ie pure self defense. There is only a finite number of ways for someone to attack you. So by mastering body positioning, and fast evasive movements, youll be able to eventually sense your opponents attack. By positioning your body well, any attack is must a matter of convenience. The only reason people will land an attack at advanced level is thru your own lapse of concentration or being overwhelmed by their attack thus denting your confidence or their deception thru camouflaged moves. It is also true that at advanced levels you unlearn what you learn as a beginner. For example, you dont do blocks with the whole arm, a quick slap (read: parry) combined with your own body movement is enough.
28/3/00:
A sensational Jeet Kune Do/Bruce Lee link is here Ps if you want to advance in martial arts, Bruce Lee's Philosophy and other stuff is a must read. The key is Efficiency ie all other stuff you learn is only a means to the end. The ultimate goal in real life anything goes fighting is destroying your opponent both physically and psychologically. The moment you show mercy is the start of your downfall. Therefore, when you get your black belt in any Martial art, quit and start a new martial art. Teaching beginners and shit wont make you any better (do that when you retire/get old). You have to seek out new opponents of other styles and fight them according to their rules whether it be wrestling, kendo etc because by improving on each of these areas and learning to apply techniques from other arts eg judo in wrestling, youll become a better overall fighter. My kicking is second to none, so generally speaking to improve my hand techniques ill refrain from using my kicking techniques as much as possible during sparring.
Another reason why you should do other arts as opposed to sticking with one for prolonged periods is that on the street, anything goes so having broader skills and being able to apply them is better than sticking with one. Youll eventually distil from each art you learn and create your own unique style. Also, in sticking with one art (note prolonged periods by my definition is when you get frustrated youre not learning anything new and you can defeat all who will fight you in "your art" [sure, you can be the favourite student, but ask yourself this, what have you got to gain from that?]), you may get the brainwash effect that the art youre doing is the best and hence not be open minded enuff to learn other useful techniques. BTW, I personally dont believe in kneeling and meditating. I mean fucking hell, im paying fees to learn, not fucking up knees and calves!!! Go on a scenic tour if you need to relax.
Although Bruce Lee says its bad to be over confident, its worse to be unconfident so believing that youre the best doesnt hurt. Just keep your mind open and learn from every fighting experience. Remember movies are movies. To strangle/choke with the goal to kill, you dont need 2 hands on the throat, just claw the guys adams apple, and crush/rip it out. Visualising is very important, when i do this throat rip (usually as part of a takedown and I dont rip it out, i just immobilise them or else id be a murderer!) I visualise a snake opening its jaws with its teeth showing and then digging in deep as fuck so the opponent just wriggles and dies. (ps if you have never seen this, watch the nature/discovery channel). Visualising helps you focus, its like a beginner bodybuilder visualising they have arnold's biceps and every rep its flexing...
If you want to just strangle them, think of the goal, its to cut off circulation to the brain, therefore know the human anatomy and apply pressure to the correct arteries/veins (i know theres a difference but cant remember which way) as opposed to wasting energy gripping on the entire neck. Always stay relaxed and breathe. In sparring stance, Keep your shoulders down (forget about keeping your hands up above your head) as you can always block your opponents elbow when you see it coming. Being relaxed you respond much quicker.
My sparring stance is open handed, rear hand over sternum and front hand knuckle about chin height. I hold my fingers the way bruce lee does because parrying, punching and blocking is most efficient in this manner. My lowerbody is at an angle but upperbody faces forward. Some people over turn their upper body so they effectively limit their power attacks to one side and when attacked their overturned side is slow to respond. My feet are in bruce lee position (refer to my other page).
Ok Ill now babble a bit...womens self defense classes are popping up everywhere. Now this is good as an introduction to martial arts and should NEVER be substituted for doing a real martial art. I mean in 14 weeks you cant develop the strength speed and flexibility to do shit. Plus if youre a woman, you will aggravate the dude even more when you try your move and he gets up before you get away and retribution will be on its way. Ok for women I reccomend judo, aikido, jujitsu, weight training, sprinting...if you want more email [email protected]
15/3/00:
oK a USEFUL kick is the sliding front push kick. It can generate about 80 percent of power found in a full power side kick esp when your opponent moves in the same time you execute.
YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO SLIDE IN MY Martial arts page 1. The way to practise is to do it on a wall. This is because the wall doesnt move and hence you can generate enough pushing power. If you do it on bag, its only for speed ie you can do one, quickly slide back to starting position (approx 1 metre or more from bag) and do it again when the bag swings back. Ok back to the wall, generally if you slide, you can slide 3 to 5 metres to gain sufficient momentum. You can either do the one kick 2 forces way or just the pure downward thrust. The first one is basically do you do a front kick normally and then thrust down thus getting 2 hits with the one attack. The other one is generally used when your opponent moves in and you can send them flying to the ground. Either way, you can cover a lot of ground with the sliding front push kick. And the beauty is that you protect yourself all the way ie you lift your knee up when you approach your opponent...IF YOU MISS eg your opponent sidesteps, you have sufficient forward momentum to breakfall as opposed to the sidekick where you are next to finished if he gets behind you. Use the wall by pushing against it and rebounding off it. (i WOULDNT ADVISE using the heel on the wall as you might get brain damage ie use the toe half of your food instead and practise heel on the bag.
14/3/00:
When you fight someone, You should have 3 views, the first one being them as a skeleton ie for your arm/joint breaks, 2 the nerve/pressurepoint view and then the other external view ie you see their positioning, attitiude, confidence, ability etc. By having these 3 views, you can easily defeat your opponents eg you should know your pressurepoints back to front so once an opening presents itself, you can attack immediately without hesitation.
The transition from beginner to intermediate in terms of kicking ability can be done using the following: Do slow leg extensions eg front kick - lift your right knee up with your body upright at all times ie never leaning, and then extend your lower leg slowly till your whole leg is parallel to the ground, pause a second, and then retract to knee up position and then turn your lowerleg up sideways and extend to side kick position. Now keep your upperbody upright (hard for beginners but youll find that keeping your bodyupright in real life fights is a must if you want to survive ie you can easily bring your leg down as opposed to being off balance and having your legs swept out from under you), you should attempt to hold the leg as high as possible by flexing your hip/butt muscle. Now you can pause as long as you want for this one eg until you go numb because this position is the best for developing the muscles needed to generate hip power when doing aerial kicks. Then retract and bring your knee back up in front of your chest and then lean forward while simutaneoously delivering a slow back kick, hold the position, arch your back up using the lower back muscles and if you want twist your upperbody slightly anti clockwiseso youre looking over your left shoulder while your right leg is up in the air so you can see your foot (for balance). then retract and do again with the same leg or left leg. The key is to do these continuously ie one right one left or 10 right 10 left. You will help your stretching and balance somewhat. Eventually if it becomes too easy lets say you can do 100 in one go really slow or keep your side kick leg up 10 minutes, use an ankle weight. Youll find that the result is that your kicking will be really fast so this combined with kicking the bag endurance and power training will give you power and speed and air superiority ie your kicks will be so fast that when your opp is half way executing, youll have landed your attack. (ps sticking your leg out doesnt translate to powerful kick)
Although fighting is like a game of chess, the one thing that is not, is that the person who makes the first move will in theory lose assuming equal capabilities since when you attack, you open up your defenses.
Learn to fight open handed. This is because youll be faster and also be able to change your hand to a fist or other forms much easier. Initially, you may get some injuries as a beginner eg when your opponent kicks your hand and you dont know how to block, but eventually youll learn to be relaxed and use the edges of your hand as part of "sticky hands" to deflect your opponents attacks. Also it is a prerequisite to tensing at the last moment and thus delivering more power/snap in your attacks. The bruce Lee way of holding his fingers has been adopted as a model which is efficient and effective. Ie the transition to one inch punch and backfist is seamless and it also allows quick parrying and grabbing.
Ok boys and girls, i accidentally stumbled across jet li's official website - link on my main page and wondered to myself, "hmm what would be the result if bruce lee was reincarnated and he was to fight jet li WITHOUT WEAPONS". After thinking it over, although bruce lee isnt any martial arts champion, i think bruce lee would win. Reason being his attacks and counterattacks are direct and his defence is perfect whereas jet li although several times China national champion, is good with weapons and kata might not be that good fighting against someone who did wing chun. Bear in mind wing chun was created for those with smaller bodies to use against legendary kung fu masters. Anyhow, if someone could create a computer simulation, id be grateful.
21/2/00:
Ok heaps of people ask me how to get flexible... For beginners, after warming up, the way is to sit down low in your horsestance. Keep your knees out/back and hold as long as possible (best to watch the second hand of a clock put in front of you. You can choose to hold your hands out in front of you or place your palms against each other like a buddhist monk. Either way, youll find that when you reach the point where youre about to collapse, get out of horse stance position and into side splitz. keep your knees locked and toes pointed forward (not to your sides as forward is the only safe way re knees). Initially, lean fwd on your hands, and push gently forwards and backwards like youre fucking the ground. Then after 10 times of this slowly move back your upperbody and then sit down on the ground on side splitz position (point of contact is your inner thighs and instep/heel ie still in side splitz (or if youre not flexible enuff just sit with your feet out wide toes pointed up. Breath normally. and then reach one arm over side ways to touch your feet. This should do the trick. Also, at end of class, do forward splitz as the kicking would have loosened your muscles up. I dont do foward splitz at beginning of class because the hip is rarely warmed up enuff.
The same goes for front splits, ie do a forward lunge and hold for as long as possible, front knee 90 degrees and dont push it over your toes, back leg entirely straight. AFter that, sink into front splitz. repeat for other leg. This and the above mentioned side zplitz exercise will definitely improve your stretching substantially.
You can also do balance/coordination exercises where you combine stretching with balance eg holding your left foot up in the air with left hand while standing on your right. You can also do the swan hold ie your rear leg is like back kick and your back arched back and stick your arms out so they form one line while your supporting leg is being stretched. From this position you can change to other positions eg your rear extended right leg bends and you you look over your left shoulder...hmm too difficult to describe. Either way, the more you stretch and better your flexibility. Breath naturally and dont bounce
Martial law is the best martial arts series ever made. Sammo shows effectively how mainstream martial arts is ineffective. The bit where he goes to the LAPD training room is where youll learn most. For example the episode where Billy Blanks (founder of Taebo AND I LOVE HIS QUOTE ie "You have the will, I have the way".) did a turning kick in the training room, Sammo demonstrates how easy it is to defend against turning kicks by simply moving forward and pushing Billy off balance. Grace is also really sexy....This page will have more philosophy from now on.
20/1/00: Ive said this before but since most of you dont read everything i stick up here it is again: to defend against multiple attackers - move so they block each other ie if you have 3 attackers in front of you, move to the right so they are all in 1 line and you only have 1 attacker! If you are surrounded by 8, manuovre (i cant spell sorry) yourself so you have 2 attackers in front of you. Remember, streetfighting is all strategy just like chess, thats why kickboxers never make it on the street because most of them dont have any brains!
13/1/00: Klumsyboy's Theory of relativity applied- If you opponent is fast, supposing he does a kick to your head and you cant block it in time WITH A FOREARM BLOCK. However, supposing you duck and lift your hand to block the attack simultaneously, that means you have halved the time you need to block the head attack. Note Klumsyboy rarely does head blocks, he moves his feet which moves his body out of danger and counterattacks :)
10/1/00: Dont underestimate the tackle. I first started using it after playing mortal kombat 4 as raiden ie he shoves the enemy from one side of the screen right to the other. IRL this wont happen for obvious reasons but still tackling is one of my fav moves now - aim to tackle round the waist area. Grab the opponent's (ops) rear upper legs just above the knees while simultaneously shoulderbutting 45 degrees down into his abs. Once hes down, grab/palm/punch his balls, forward roll over him and finish his face off.
if he leans forward while tucking his abs so his weight is over your shoulders, grab his trousers near the ankles and do a deadlift leaning back slightly and its now hammertime, drive him into the ground behind you (you can arch your back like wrestlers to give the dude more pain and impact). If hes 500 pounds and youre only 200, then you should opt for an easier option ie pull out of tackle and immediately switch to hip throw and lock his arms using sidearmbar (break his fingers).
120100: If you dont know how to apply a move youve learnt from training, ask your instructor because every move you learn serves a purpose...if he doesnt know, its like blind leading the blind (might as well just play with yourself to go blind). Anyway, the one arm pushup is used to get out of takedowns...if your op has done a take down but is just about to do an armlock locking you down for good ie the arm behind your back version and you are face down on the ground, relax the arm hes got hold of do a one arm pushup explosively with the other free arm (helps to keep it under you when you fall) and do a forward roll tucking your head in with the space youve created.
Generally, i dont let my opponent throw me by jerking my arm away and twisting in the direction he is executing the throw. If hes half way thru the throw after jerking my arm semi free, i do a breakfall or flip.
29/11/99
First of all, I will accept any challenges as long as you cum to me here in Sydney Australia.
I fight anything goes and if you are one of those dickheads who think MuayThai is the greatest or boxing eg Mike Tyson is the greatest, then you have obviously limited fighting experience. Did you ever stop and think why "The greatest" Ali did TKD?? In any case, If you think you know your martial arts back to front and want a good fight, visit little me here and we'll have loads of fun. The reason why people who do kung fu and other arts lose in the ring is they dont have real life fighting experience eg they learn their moves against an uke who controls their attacks (by being submissive). There is not subsitute for fighting experience, you can learn all the theory and moves, but if you dont have the balls to use it in real life situations (ie you freeze up), then all is in vain and you might as well have taken up athletics instead.
The reason why youll have a difficult time fighting me is that my blocking skills are second to none. As the saying goes, the person who attacks is at a disadvantage. So basically if we have unlimited time, I will wear you out and toy with you to see what moves you have up your sleeve, unless I wish death to you. If im a real bastard, Ill sidestep all your aggresive attacks so you have to chase me *grin*...
As to why muay thai isnt that useful on the street - I have a 100 reasons, but the main one is that it is a sport and sports have rules - any rules limit the usefulness of combat in real life situations. You cant throw is the biggest limitation because in Muay Thai youre always so close to your opponent. Its like me in a TKD comp a few years ago. I was halfway thru a hip throw when i realised i was doing TKD, but thats another story - penalised for grabbing/holding :(. Plus if im that close, id move for immobilisation techniques rather than slug it out (in the street)...Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you think you know any better. Come to my main page for prettygirl n babe links
There are also xxlinx in my diary/gbooks.
28/10/99
Despite the turning kick being a useless kick, I do jumping turning kicks on the bag as part of my training. I do one left one right alternating for 100 reps rest and do it all over again. Its a great leg workout and I do it after aggresive skating ie my legs are totally warmed up.
As Ive previously mentioned, how long you stick with a martial art is irrelevant after 2 years in it. It is better for you to do other martial arts and understand all styles rather than be brainwashed into a false sense of security. The purest form of martial arts is fighting. No matter what youve learnt, if you cannot apply it, youve just wasted money and years of training for nothing. If you cant fight anyone anystyle, you have a lot to learn (u are still at the bottom of the mountain). Westerners all think muay thai is the greatest but they dont understand that a sport is only a sport and if you get out on the street, you will not be limited to all these silly rules.
Most styles of martial arts you see on tv are controlled during combat. It has nothing to do with reality. In real life, you wont be wearing stupid gloves and youll be able to use your fingers (so sharpen your nails baby) for grabbing,pressure points etc. You will have much more choices of how to destroy your opponent. Street fighting is a great way to progress (but beware of the fucking police) once you have several black belts and cant find a worthy opponent. For me, if anyone has something against me, I always offer to fight. It is man's natural instinct to show off so unless they are intimidated by my sexy muscular body, theyll usually punch me. As I am prepared, I end up having a good fight. Its better to fight people on the street who have nothing to lose/no money (scum of the earth)ie they wont sue you if you break anything. Some of these people can be viscious so you will find out whether you are quick enuff/your moves are effective/efficient. Make sure you can fight at least 2 people at a time and are quick on your feet.
Points to take note are:
Always go for your opponents groin when d opportunity arises whether it be a crouched punch when hes doing a turning kick or a claw or a snap dick kick
keep your groin protected by keeping your front leg close to your opponents front leg and be ready to sweep/kneeup/legcheck
Look out for opportunities to grab your opponents arm and do wristlocks/move in and use pressure points (in particular the one on the front delt and the neck/trap one which is good before a throw)/ take down
watch their shoulders (some teachers reccomend eyes but eyes can deceive whereas shoulders cant - also watching a tall dudes eyes may cause you to miss his feet movements), once you sense hes doing a turning kick, glide forward bruce lee style and do a front push kick or side kick to send him flying winded.
Dont forget to block, grab and jerk to surprise him and then his centreline opens and then you can do one inch punches till the cows come home.(if you know how to)
If you are really close and have his arms controlled, a eye jab/claw is pretty effective for stunning him long enuff so that you can break a finger or two of his. Most people forget these useful street fighting techniques and end up prolonging battles - Fighting is a strategy game just like chess or computer games
Following the above, you should be able to fight people twice your size/any size. Being smaller, you have more space to move and are more efficient. Plus their groin is much more exposed. If they do martial arts, do what Jackie Chan/Bruce Lee does, ie go for the opponents legs by attacking their knees/shins and sweeping. A taller/bigger person uses more energy to get up off the ground and their falls are harder - picture an arcade game, they have a limited amount of recuperation energy in the energy bar. If you are good with pressure points,wresting/throws and wristlocks, then move in, otherwise keep your distance and look for groin opportunities. Remember, in real life you dont have time pressure and can take all day if you want provided he doesnt have weapons of the shooting kind...more tips later ps email me for discussion/arrange meeting to fight - i live in mascot sydney australia and love fighting anyone who thinks they can defeat me ie i hate holding back for people who cant fight
Some Defenses to the right leg turning kick
The beauty is that the first attacking (left) leg doesnt have to actually land on the guy you can swing it out so that its placed just to the side of the guys center line so theres no escape and swing your leg..or hook it round him creating a scissors kick. Practise it low and then when you gain confidence your whole body can be horizontal when executing. Attempt to land next to your opponent so even if he ducks you can move in safely.
Bruce Lee and Leg movements
The six diseases:
Action is not a matter of right and wrong. It is only when action is partial that there is a right and a wrong. Not being tense but ready, not thinking yet not dreaming, not being set but flexible - it is being wholly and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.
To reverse, slide or shuffle your rear foot backward about half a step, widening the space between your feet for just a split second as you slide your front foot backward. When the front foot is in place, you should be in the on-guard position and perfectly balanced. Your weight should shift slightly to your rear foot for just an instant.
While sweeping your hand upward, swing your hips forward simultaneously, dragging your rear foot forward. In that split instant, your weight is heavily on your front foot. At this moment, your leg straightens out to thrust your body forward. Sometimes, on an especially deep, penetrating leap, your rear foot may be ahead of your front foot while you are gliding in the air. You must land on your left foot only, as your right foot is delivering a side kick.
From an on-guard position, do the forward burst without penetrating too
deeply. Sweep your hand upward and leap forward without straining
yourself. Quickly place your front foot down without kicking. Continue to
do this motion over and over again without stopping. But make sure you
keep your balance and fluidity in motion. This exercise is excellent to
adapt your body to move with ease, rhythm and grace.
As you become more adaptable to the movement, increase your speed and
work toward shortening the distance by more and more execution.
Eventually, you can substitute a backfist punch for the sweeping movement
of your hand.
The backward thrust is like the quick backward movement except that it
carries your body backward quicker and deeper. From an on guard position,
push the ball of your front foot to initiate the motion which straightens
your front knee and shifts the weight to the rear foot. Then the front
foot, without pausing from the initial motion, leaves the floor and
crosses your rear foot. Just before it lands, your rear leg, with its
knee bent and acting like a spring, should thrust your body with a sudden
straightening of its leg. You should land on the ball of your front foot
just a second before your rear foot touches the floor. That one quick
motion should carry your body backward at least two steps.
For your daily training, do the backward burst for speed, balance and
rhythm instead of deep penetration. Move with lightness of your feet and
keep practicing toward shortening the distance.
Karate, Wing Chun, Aikido and Taekwondo I did karate and taekwondo in the same period of time and could say that these two martial arts are excellent for fundamentals. Kung Fu would be a bit difficult for beginners as it is demanding in terms of flexibility in a lot of the (basic) movements. The major benefit to me of karate is learning how to use my hip and shoulder power when punching and learning to punch straight while being stable ie not bobbing up and down when i move forwards and back in and out of long forward stance.
Kata is actually useful if you learn to create your own one based on your favorite combination attacks and defense movements stringed together. This is because practising the karate (and other styles) kata have moves which are either useless, inefficient or you dont understand why you are doing them. If you DIY, then you know exactly what you are doing, and can vary the rhythm yourself.
Some negatives of Karate:
Wing chun was designed by a woman for women so a man (me) needs to modify it. The stance is impractical if you do not move and is a bit rigid. I like being relaxed in my stances so I flow like water and can transform to other stances when the need arises quickly. Being relaxed (helped by breathing techniques) will make you respond quicker to any attack from any style.
Aikido is a very versatile martial art and i believe that all beginners to advanced practitioners of martial arts should learn it. You learn move your body effectively, immobilise and throw your opponents. It has a great philosophy (karate has little philosophy if any at all) and if you do it, youll improve your timing and learn how to breakfall. It is perfect against karate as i think it was created to defeat it. Karate is rigid whilst aikido is soft like water....Aikido moves are essentially judo move variations ie it is the use of joint techniques rather than just single throws...id say aikido and judo are twins separated from birth. i mean if they get too close you do a judo throw while if theyre at a longer distance do an aikido one.
The major fallacy of aikido is that it is dependent on the opponent committing full force in each attack otherwise there is no counterattack and aikido does "not work". Meanwhile, aikido is not good against lowerleg attacks and one leg multiple kicks of which I am proficient. In short, as long as you dont use the karate moves eg using a kick to lead a punch, and have good balance when attacking (and regaining it when youve attacked and missed quickly), can read the aikido guys moves (ie if hes going to grab your wrist, then dont fucking give it to him! hold it fucking close to your body in a clenched fist as he cant do shit when your arm is not outstretched to an extent),the aikido guy will have shit chance at defeating you. However, you may not defeat him either because he loves moving out of the way. My advice for you is to breakfalll away if he gets behind your back. And if you are half as good as me, you can do a flip which will surprise him and kick him in the groin. Aikido together withWingchun hand techniques are the best hand techniques you can learn. If you master them and know how to interchange between the two styles, No MORTAL will ever be able to land an attack on you (provided you see them coming and you are quick on your feet, lets just face it, if you just stand there and get hit, you have no hope! Learn to move and you can face any so called world champion and they wont be able to land a single attack on you in the ring. This is guaranteed if you learn to maintain bodydistance.). Note also that you are supposed to "counter" attack when your opponent attacks.
To perform a spinning whip kickBegin from a short fighting stance (feet about one shoulder width apart) with your head and upper body aligned. Pivot your front foot in the direction of your target until your heel is pointing directly at the target. Bring the foot of your kicking leg up to your other knee to chamber the kick. Once chambered, shoot your kicking leg out toward the target, with your leg reaching its full extension about one foot to the side of the target. When your leg is fully extended, whip it across the target and return to your original fighting stance.
Many people will say that this sounds identical to the spinning hook kick but there are a few key differences. The first is that the spinning whip kick does not use a turn of the body to chamber the leg, but instead coils the body prior to kicking. When you pivot your front leg, your body should essentially remain behind and coil, like a golfer preparing to swing. This creates what is scientifically termed potential energy, a reserve of energy ready to be used. When you shoot your leg out to kick, your body's uncoiling force, not your leg's power, delivers the blow. This brings us to another essential difference between the two kicks. The spinning whip kick uses the power of the entire body, not the hooking force of the leg, to create power. By turning the body into an uncoiling whip (hence the name of the kick), it allows even the smallest competitors to deliver knockout blows.
A final difference between the kicks lies in the positioning of the upper body during the kick. When performing a spinning hook kick, the body moves forward toward the target as the turn is made (before kicking) to chamber the leg high enough. The spinning whip kick coils the body in place instead, creating a static axis around which the leg moves. A static axis provides the kicker with many benefits including better balance, more power using less muscle force, more speed, and quicker response time. It also means that the kick can be executed from a very short distance, allowing counterattacks to the head while your opponent is moving at you. The spinning whip kick is often modified in competition, with the kicker dropping his head out of range of a counterattack while he is kicking. This is an advanced strategy that should be practiced only after you understand the dynamics of the a correctly executed spinning whip kick. If you try dropping your head without understanding the purpose of this movement, you will find it difficult to maintain your balance, speed and power throughout the kick.
My Lovely 97 combo tips for sparring and self improvement
Remember you have to use your brain and not just your body so the best way is reading articles to open your mind to new ways of thinking...Obviously actions speak louder than words but I cant exactly show you thru the computer!
http://www.wingchunkuen.com
It has very useful and interesting articles
http://www.cheungswingchun.com
More useful articles
Defend.net Forums
Has heaps of forums and advice.
Wingchun.orghas interesting memory technique.
Carbonecho.com A very lovely site
Wenessia.com Portal to martial arts
Jubei.com Great Martial Arts tutorials
Chimp's Backflip tutorial Great for all you who are wondering how to do a backflip without help...a summary is crouch and do a one arm cartwheel with the closer hand then the other hand and then no hands :)
Combastics.com Great Martial arts tricks site...
Martial Arts Trickz - Bilang.com Jumping kicks and flips...movies and pictures.
Cum back soon to this page for new links and tips
Meanwhile you might want to visit my sexy babes page
or download/listen to music/read my trance mp3 review here or go to my bodybuilding page
