Sunday, October 12, 2008

Using the Upper Cut

Hi All,

If you have ever been in a real fight, you know that most street fighters are head hunters.

That is they will immediately try to hit you in the face or some place on your head. They have been conditioned by watching boxing matches and mma fights into thinking that one good punch to the jaw will knock the other guy out, that is correct if you do it right. You will know if a person is trained by the way they punch. Straight punches usually means the person has been trained in how to punch at least, were as big wild round punches usually means no training. You can use the upper cut on both of these fighters. To use the upper cut on a trained fighter or some one who throws straight punches. As the punch is thrown you either have to step straight in to the persons center line ( to the middle of his body ) or step to the outside of his arm on a 45 degree angle . We will discuss stepping straight in.

Say the person throws a straight right punch to your face if you step straight in with your right foot and block with a left out block coming from the center of your body out , hit his arm with the outside of your left forearm and then let your hand slide down and grab his arm at the bicep. At the same time deliver the right upper cut hitting him under his chin. Bring it up from your waist level , he won't see it coming because it is below his line of vision. This is a rude stop !! you can now right elbow him across his jaw since you are still holding his right arm. Follow up by hooking his one of his legs (which ever one is forward) and grabbing his face with your right hand and pushing him down. The first strike, the upper cut sets up all the rest.

If a person throws a big wild round house motion punch at your head you step on a 45 degree angle with your left foot and do your left block at the bicep and then upper cut under the chin. This will change the follow up as you will be more to one side so you could do a back elbow to the side of his head and then wrap your arm around his neck and do a guillotine choke or wrap and fall back and ram his head into the ground.

If you decide to try these techniques go slow and be care full as you can get hurt very easily.

Do so at your own risk !!



If you would like to learn more about using angles and straight lines in fighting go here and check out my book : The Use of Lines, Angles & Circles in Hand to Hand Combat

http://stores.lulu.com/martialarts

Peace ! Jerry

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Defending Against Multiple Punches

Hi All,
Sorry about not posting for a couple of months, been going to school. That's just about finished
so I'll be back to rambling once again. ha !

I read an interesting question on one of the Kung Fu San Soo forums.
Someone asked about how do you defend against a person who throws multiple punches at you.
If your a kick boxer, boxer or similar fighter that makes perfect sense, because these fighters stay in front of their opponent and trade punches, they use bobbing and weaving and block punches with their arms and elbows to get in close enough to score or knock the other fighter out.
So they are trading punches to to achieve their goal "win the contest". In Kung Fu San Soo and alot of other true self defense arts that is not the case. We do not stay in front of our opponents and trade punches our art is not set up that way , the kung fu fighter uses movement to keep them safe while striking vital areas on the other fighter. In San Soo we are usally fighting only on side of the opponent at a time, if some throws a one two combination , since we can step to the side that's thrown first that effectively neutralizes the other punch thrown from the other side.
Here's an example: if some one throws a right punch left punch combination, you can step to the outside of the right punch by stepping on a 45 degree angle with your left foot blocking and grabbing on the outside of of the opponent's right arm, so when he throws the left punch there is no one there to punch !
He can't follow you with that other punch because he would have to punch across himself to do that and it's already to late for him as you should have already backhanded him in the throat or kicked him in the groin our goal is to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible.

Do this drill : Have your training partner step into a typical boxers stance, left foot forward with the power hand (right hand in back), as he slides or steps forward with his left foot to close the distance on you and throws that left jab you step with your right foot on a 45 degree angle to the outside of his left arm block and grab with your left arm, as you can see he would be throwing the right punch at air ! By that time you should have right forearmed his elbow, right back hammered his nose or throat, right backhanded to his ribs and right shin kicked his left thigh ,effectively ending the fight. This would take about 3 to 5 seconds . Alot of people, even some San Soo people say you cannot block and grab a full force punch , well I'm here to tell you you can once you perfect your timing and apply the basic principles of Kung Fu San Soo.

Learn to use your timing and angles to your advantage, also you don't have to always block and grab , you can duck under, go around, drop to the ground and punch them in the groin and kick their legs out.
Have Fun !
Peace , Jerry

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Put Some Stopping Power in Your Kicks

Hi All,
In the martial arts we use our bodies for weapons.
Hands for striking and grabbing along with elbows, fingers, knees, etc.
One of the most powerful weapons are our legs and feet, the legs have the largest muscles on our body, so they can deliver a very powerful strike if you know when and how to deliver them on to your opponent. I see in cage match's and other such fights the front kick used for a jab and round house kick to legs kick boxing style, these will really put the hurt on you . If someone is rushing at you need to stop them in their tracks. Use the front or side kick for this , you just need to put some concentrated power behind them. Also they have to hit where it hurts, solar plexus, abdomen, ribs and have to be timed so they hit them as they are rushing toward you, this increases the amount of energy in your kick.
A good drill to develop this is to swing an 80 lb. heavy bag so it is swinging back and forth.
Set yourself up with your kicking leg back and do a front kick, kicking with the ball of your foot as it comes toward you try to kick through the bag and knock it back.
Do this drill with front kicks and side kicks.
If you have a training partner have him hold a kick bag and move toward you, how fast is up to you, it's going to be a rude stop!!
This will build your reaction time and power.
Have fun !!
Peace, Jerry

Friday, July 4, 2008

Open Hand Defense Against A Weapon

At one time or another you or I could come up against someone who has picked up a weapon of some sorts. Could be a stick, tire iron, baseball bat, bottle, chain, any number of things that could be swung at us. The big mistake some people make is to try and fight the weapon, you always want to fight the person not the weapon. You don't want to use your body to block something that is harder than your body is. Using the right movements you can neutralize the weapon your opponent is swinging at you. You do this by moving past the weapon and attacking the opponent.
Here's a technique to show you that.

Opponent has a stick or some other weapon in his right hand, he is swinging it at your head in a circular moition. As he approaches and starts to swing it , you step on a 45 degree angle with your left foot and squat down into a full horse, you are going under the weapon. This movement will put you by the side of his right leg , now right roundhouse punch to his groin ,this will cause him to bend over, you are still squating , grab his right ankle at the back with your left hand and stand up this will drop him on his back, hold on to his ankle, turn right back at him ,this will put you standing between his legs and right stomp on his groin.

This is a simple technique and works very well, so you see you don't have to block or worry about the weapon. You evade the weapon, attack and take him down hard !!

Have a nice 4th of July !!
As my generation likes say : AMERICA, LOVE IT or LEAVE IT !!
Peace, Jerry

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Striking Nerves Instead of Pressure Points

Hi All,
As martial artists we have all at one time or another looked into using pressure points as fighting tools to give us an advantage. Truth is it is very hard to strike one or two of these points to cause pain or put someone down. These are not striking points you have to apply pressure to activate them, this takes time and in a fight that's something you might not have. So instead of trying to drop someone with pressure points, try striking the nerves that are located all over the human body. We all know that buzz you get when you bang your elbow on the "funny bone " behind the elbow that's a nerve. So you should target areas that you know cause pain, if it hurts you then it will hurt your opponent also. If you read some of the techniques I post you will probably figure out that the strikes are to vital areas. Since most are Kung Fu San Soo techniques they are designed to disrupt the central nervous system and put your opponent down fast. So think about what you are doing when you practice your techniques.

Try this technique:
Some one grabs you with both hands by the shirt, now since he has both hands occupied he is one that is defenseless. Reach over with your left hand and grab left wrist on top and use your left fore arm to bend both of his arms at the elbow (to bring him closer) , now right open hand palm to his left ear when you compress the air in someones ear the nerves inside will register PAIN,step slightly back with your right foot , turn to your left and right shin kick to the inside of
his right leg just above the knee(nerves there), bring your leg back and heel kick to the inside of his left leg just above the knee(nerves there) plus this will spread his legs wide, step down with your right foot turn back to face him and left shin kick into the groin lots of nerves there, now step down and thru him and push him down letting go of his arms.

Also I'm adding some chapters to my book, The Use of Lines, Angles, & Circles in Hand to hand Combat. There will be a section on Sticking Fighting and Knife Fighting , showing how you use the lines of movement in those two areas of fighting.

You can check out my original book here, http://stores.lulu.com/martialarts
And some other articles here, http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Garcia





Have fun.
Peace , Jerry

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Kicking Drill

Here's a simple kicking drill, that will improve your kicking and timing.

Using a heavy bag , you want to swing the bag so it is coming forward and backwards. Every time the bag comes toward you kick it, this simulates a person coming at you. Do this ten times for the side kick and front kick next step to the side and do roundhouse kicks. This doesn't sound like much but you will see how this improves the way you kick and your speed and timing delivering a kick will improve.
When someone is rushing in you can stop him cold with a good powerful kick to his body.
Or step to the side and kick his ribs, side of the knee, thigh etc.

Here's a technique to practice this.

Someone is rushing at you , when he gets inside your safe distance, close enough for you to kick right thru him, you do a right side kick to his abdomen ( between his belly button and groin) this will stop him for a few seconds , it may knock him down or just bend him over a little, if he bends over put your kicking foot down and kick him in the solar plexus with a straight front kick using the ball of your left foot, this will knock the air out of him, step down with your left foot ,turn to your left and grab the back of his head or hair and right down hammer to the back of his neck, turn back toward him and right knee up to his chest follow thru and knock him down.
I've used this one on the street and it really works well if the other person is a hot head and just rushs at you.
Have fun !!
Jerry

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Fighting a Taller Opponent

Sooner or later we will all come up against someone who is taller or
bigger than us.
This shouldn't worry you too much.
All this means is that they have a longer reach with their arms and legs,
so you have to adjust to allow for it.
In Kung Fu San Soo we use what we call "your safe distance".
This is determined by the length of the opponents leg, plus a few inchs,
so you stay just out of kicking range.
With practice you can eyeball this distance and keep yourself at a safe
distance from anyone.
So it doesn't matter how tall the other person is.
The way to neutralize someones reach advantage over you is to stay out of
reach or get so close they can't use it against you.
Don't stay in their punching or kicking range or power zone.
What keeps you safe here is movement.
Personally I perfer to move to the side, go under their punches , move inside or
outside their kicks even get behind them.
What you do just depends on your style or training.
But i disagree with the take a few to give a few idea.
Hurts too much !!
As far as striking someone taller you punch or kick were you can reach ,to the body.
This in turn brings the higher targets down to you.
Kick them in the groin and when they bend over punch them in the face or chop them
on the back of the neck.
Buckle their legs and kick them in the solar plexus, get the idea?
Don't try to reach a target by stretching yourself out , this will get you knocked out!

So how do you fight some one taller than you ?
You stay moving, get close, jam them up, go to the side, get behind,
keep those punches and kicks going to vital areas.
Stay focused.
And practice using your skills in this way.
Peace , Jerry

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Taking The "F" Word Out of Fighting

What's the F word in a fight?
FEAR.
This is what makes or breaks you in a confrontation.
If you've ever been in a real fight you know all to well that feeling of the adrenaline
flooding your body and making you feel like your shaking inside.
Then the doubts , can i really handle this situation?
If you really have to fight then you need to take the fear factor out. How do you do
this .
Just like soldiers, by training for it. Make your training a real as you can.
Have your training partner yell at you and make aggressive moves toward you,
have him pull a real knife and stand in front of you.
Even though you know he's not going to hurt you ,your brain still registers danger!
Use this drill with any weapon you'd like ,baseball bat ,stick ,bottle,chain etc.
Think about what technique or combination of techniques you would use for
for different attacks. Is the attacker coming at you with a weapon he is swinging or
is it a weapon he has to thrust at you ? What angle is it coming on ?
Then do as many techniques as you can for each and do them over and over,
soon they will blend in to a whole arsenal of moves.
Soon when you see a threat to you , instead of fear your brain will see a bunch
of targets in front of you.
Reality self defense is just like anything else, the more you practice the better you
will get at it.

Here is a drill I used when I was an instructor.
I would call out a couple of students and have them free sparr, I would instruct them to
take turns attacking each other, they could attack any way they wished and defend
anyway they wanted, after a couple of minutes i would start throwing weapons on the
ground by them, who ever picked up the weapon would attack the other with it.
This makes the other person being attacked to move spontaneously without having to
think about what he is going to do. He doesn't have enough time to think about it !
Next i would call in another person to enter the area and join in the attack.
Then things start to get interesting.
What this does is make the person being attacked go to survival instinct.
This sharpens reactions and makes a timid fighter become a flurry of fists and feet!

This drill really works give it a try. Make sure it stays in control as I've seen people
become so pumped up that they don't pull their punches and kicks and wind up
hurting their training partners.
I had my share of bumps and bruises from this drill !!

Have Fun !!
Jerry

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Inter-changing Techniques

Hi All,
If you surf the net for fighting technique you will see a lot of different
moves for different situations.
There are moves for knife attacks,club attacks,grabs etc.

What some people don't realize is that you can use the same technique for
most ,if not all attacks .Depending on the angle that the attack comes at you on.
Say you are practicing a technique for someone trying to stab you ,using
a straight thrust at your midsection and you step back with your right foot
and turn your body so instead of facing him squarely your body is sideways.
With your body in this position ,the attacker's body and arm holding the
weapon go right past you allowing you to grab his wrist with your right hand
and striking him with a left back chop to his throat with your left.
Then keeping his arm straight you put it under your left arm (under your arm pit)
and sit down hard and break his arm.
Do you see that you could do this move on any strike that comes straight
and at your mind section , punch, stab, even kick.
Think about it and try practicing it.

I'm not saying you can us only one or two moves for everything.
But you can interchange a lot of what you already know for more than
one situation.

Peace, Jerry

Writing Articles for Martial Arts Ezines

I've been trying to promote my book, and have started writing articles for
some martial arts ezines.
It's really pretty easy, just pick a subject you know about and start writing
about it!!
If your into martial arts there are plenty of sites with lots of information,most
writers on the sites are martial arts teachers and just people that love the
martial arts .
Give it a try you might find out you like writing !

To check out this site just use the button below.
They are even calling me an "expert author" if you can believe that, HA !


As Featured On Ezine Articles



Peace ! Jerry

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Get Your Blog Listed on Toplist

Hey ,
I came across a site that lets you list your Martial Arts blog,
if you have one ,just use the button and get listed!!
Lots of interesting reading on different martial arts.
Jerry

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Knife Defense Technique April 2008

Hi All,

Have you ever seen the victim of a knife attack ?
Most of the time the person being attacked, (if they don't know what they are doing)
will try to stop the attack by putting up their hands and trying to grab or block the
knife ! They wind up getting cut repeatedly on the hands ,arms etc.
If you can it's better to just run and get away!!

If your a martial artist you may want to learn and practice this technique.
A person is approaching you he has a knife in his right hand and is reaching out with
his left hand to grab you. He wants to grab you with his left hand and stab you with a straight
thrusting motion with the knife in his right hand. You step to your right with your right foot
on a 45 degree angle into a right half horse stance,blocking and grabbing his left wrist on the outside with your left hand ,now turn toward his arm into a left half horse and strike his
elbow with your right forearm (this hyper extends or breaks his elbow) now bring your arm
over his and right backhand strike to his throat (you hit him with the hard part of your arm
just below your wrist)reach over and grab his right shoulder with your right hand,straighten
your right arm against his throat, this will choke him.(you pull his left arm against your chest
at the same time),he should have dropped the knife by now .



The lesson here is you don't have to go after the hand that's holding the knife.

You fight the whole person,by stepping to the opposite side you remove yourself from the
opponents" kill zone" and put him in your" kill zone". Make sure you control the opponents
left arm and keep it straight, this prevents him from turning toward you with the knife hand.

Have fun practicing this, this move is very deadly go slow.

Peace , Jerry
If you don't know how to use angles in a fight, go here and buy my book,
The Use of Lines ,Angles and Circles in Hand to Hand Combat

at http://stores.lulu.com/martialarts

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Technique March 2008

This technique is for a left straight punch at your face:
From your safe distance (just out of reach of his leg) you step
on a 45 degree angle with your right foot and block
their arm, block with a left up windmill block (bring your arm up from your center and
block with the outside of your arm in a half circle motion) as you block grab his arm right below the wrist you should be standing in a right horse stance ,now pivot toward your opponent
into a left horse stance as you do right straight punch with the middle knuckle sticking
out and strike the temple with it. You are still holding the arm with your left hand now drop
your right hand and grab his left bicep on top and step back with your right foot and turn
to your left drop on to your left knee pulling and slamming him on to the ground,
stand up and right stomp to his jaw.
This technique is very simple but it is lethal, be careful when practicing this one.

You may want to get my book ; The Use of Lines , Angles& Circles in Hand to Hand Combat
it is available at http://stores.lulu.com/martialarts
It will really help you understand the techniques i put up and will also help you understand
how you do your own techniques in what ever style your in.
Peace : Jerry

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Sport Vs. Reality

Hi All,
Been out for a while due to illness in the family.
But I'm now ready to continue my ramblings ! Ha !

Why do you and i pratice martial arts?
Could be for a number of different reasons,some people like competion,some like to be a
part of a club,some like to take home trophys as recognition of their skill.

Myself i like knowing that if I have to take care of myself or a loved one ,most likely i can
do it !

What ever your reason you should always remember that using a sport to test techniques,
has limited usefulness.
You need to practice real techniques on a partner that has the same goal as yourself ,self defense!
Go to you tube and watch some of the match videos, you will see what i mean.
Yes you will see "my art is better than your art" vids , but look past that and see if you
can spot the real fighters in the crowd.
You will notice that the real fighters play by no rules and punch and kick with full power
when they are in it for real. They will also pick up anything that is useful and smack their opponent with it !!
Remember in self preservation anything goes including dirt in the eyes ,take off your belt and belt em,kick to groin,eye gouges,and anything else you can think of.
Just a reminder that on the street there are NO RULES .

Think About It !!

Peace , Jerry