Blocking in the Martial Arts
Various martial art systems approach the concept of blocking from different perspectives. Some systems teach very basic blocking concepts, and progress through different approaches as the student grows in knowledge and skill. Some systems use a single method that they believe to be the best approach. Many say that blocking doesn’t really exist, there is only striking. Many also consider moving out of the way to be the equivalent of blocking. Some systems don’t really think of what they do as blocking at all.
The lowest level is the hard blocking system that is seen in most Karate, Kempo, Tai Kwon Do systems taught. It is what would be taught to beginners.
The idea with a hard blocking system is to break what you block. Therefore the block is really seen as a strike.
The next level of advancement for this approach would be to use the block to set the opponent for a following strike. You could think of it as using your block like a fork to hold your food in place while you cut it with a knife.
The level after that is to block and strike at the same time. Stepping out of the way as you strike, accomplishes the same thing as blocking and striking together.
This is an example of the basic hard blocks used by many Kempo, Karate, and Tai Kwon Do practitioners. This particular approach is put together as a blocking system in some Kempo systems. Though it looks linear, if you look you’ll see it is just blocking on four points of a circle with each side. After the basic blocks I’ve included some different methods of training with the system from a horse stance.
Another blocking system that some Kempo systems teach next is the ten point blocking system. A couple of things with this system is that while it can be done as a hard blocking system, it can also be done as a soft system. Another thing of note is that it is put together using both hands all the time (though you could pull out and use an individual block by itself). As I said before blocking and striking at the same time is a few steps up from just blocking.
After progressing through the ten point blocking system, some Kempo people advance to the Plum Tree Blocking system. You’ll notice this system is a soft system. Of course they can each be practiced with different flavors.
The above systems/approaches are all from what would traditionally be thought of as external systems. When you start looking at other systems including internal systems the approach tends to change. This doesn’t mean that some of the ideas like blocking and striking at the same time don’t apply. That would be a common concept in both Tzu Men, and Wing Chun. However you see more sensitivity training going on. Examples would be Chi Sau in Wing Chun, or push hands in Tai Chi. Bagua and Hsing-I also have two man forms that help to develop sensitivity as well. There are many examples of these training methods already on Youtube to watch compare and learn from, so I won’t put any links in here. I think that the methods used by such systems need to be addressed in another post.
Mike Murphy
Defending yourself against multiple attackers
Defending yourself against multiple attackers is a serious problem. If you have to defend yourself against multiple attackers, the odds are in favor of it being more then just two attackers. Something to keep in mind is that attacks involving multiple attackers are more likely to result in serious injury and/or death. This may be due to the pack mentality.
Before things escalate into a actual physical conflict, there are other things that you could do, or consider as an option first.
Number one don’t put yourself in the situation in the first place. I consider avoidance to be the higher level skill. So stay out of places where trouble is common. If you have to walk through questionable places, and you see a group of people gathered on the sidewalk, cross the street and avoid them. Never walk through the middle of the group.
If however you couldn’t avoid being confronted there are psychological/verbal responses to consider using before a physical confrontation.
Whether you know the group you have to deal with, or don’t you may be able to reason with them and talk them out of a confrontation. There is generally a leader, and if there isn’t you can help them elect one by directing you conversation to one of them. Once you know who the leader is you can try to convince them to make it a one-on-one fight (presuming you couldn’t talk them out of a fight). You can do this by calling their leaders manhood/ honor in question, and suggesting that they should be able to handle you one-on-one unless the leader(person your talking to) is a coward. Try to get the gang to buy into it. If that doesn’t work you can tell the leader that no matter what happens your going to get him first. This my cause a weaker minded person to have self doubt, and maybe back off. At least cause them a hesitation.
While I’ve successfully used the above methods on many occasions, I’ve also found a percentage of groups aren’t distracted by such ploys. Especially those with trained members, and/or a lot of experience. If you’re dealing with people with intent that know what they are doing, using the above methods could possibly provide a warning that you will defend yourself. Which could take away your ability to launch a surprise first strike.
My approach to training is that you should always train for the worst case scenario. In other words “prepare for the worst, and hope for the best”. So to me that means that you need to know how a trained group of attackers will approach the situation. In order to train a realistic defense.
When two attack one person they should approach together, then spread out until they are on opposite sides of the person they are attacking. The idea is to force the defender to face one, while exposing his back to the other. Working as a team one should attack low while the other attacks high. They can either use a signal, or the person to the defenders back should attack the legs. Of course with more attackers you end up circling the defender. Under no circumstances should they attack one at a time. The whole idea is to work as a team.
With with the above in mind, you need to do everything possible to keep from getting flanked or surrounded. Take advantage of your surroundings. Use a building, sign, car, or anything else you can to put your back too. If you’re in doors, you might be able to use doorway or hallway to limit the attackers ability to flank you. Make sure you don’t put yourself in a corner. You need to always have an escape route.
Proper use of peripheral vision, mobility, knowing when to hit, and positioning are extremely important in this or any situation. Please see my earlier posts when to move, eye training, and positioning.
A concept that you need to think of when working against multiple attackers is the idea of stacking your attackers.
The idea is to fight them one at a time by positioning the attacker your dealing with between you and the others until he is done, then you move on to the next. Visualize staking them in the same way airplanes get stacked up waiting for their turn to use the runway. The best place to be is at the back of the person you’re engaged with so you can finish them, and they can’t harm you. So get behind them or turn them if possible. Obviously mobility is key here, because you will have to keep moving in order to maintain proper positioning (with your attackers stacked) since the other attackers will be trying to flank you to attack.
In closing I want to repeat one last time, that defending yourself against multiple attackers is a very dangerous, and risky thing to do. If there is anyway of avoiding it, or escaping altogether, choose that option.
Mike Murphy
Two Man Training for striking arts – Two step sparring and beyond
After people have spent time training “one step sparring”, they can move on to other methods of training with a partner. This doesn’t mean you ever out grow, or stop doing “one step sparring”.
“Two step sparring” is the next move. With “two step sparring” the first level is to have one person attack with the technique or principle they are working on, and the other person defends using the defensive move or principle they are working on. You can go back and forth occasionally switching roles. Again you can get feedback from each other as you progress.
After working back and forth in a linear fashion you can start moving around in more of a free sparring environment. Have one person work on their technique either for offense or defense. The other person either only attacks or only defends, depending on what their partner is working on.
After that you then can progress to moving freely while one person works their offense, and the other person works their defensive counter. You switch roles from time to time.
The next level is “free sparring”. I strongly recommend going through all the steps from “one step sparring” through “two step sparring” before engaging in “free sparring”. The reason for this is that if you start sparring prematurely without developing proper technique, strategy, etc. you may limit your eventual level of attainable skill.
Mike Murphy
Two Man training for striking arts – 1 step sparring
Systems that focus on striking arts normally start with “one step sparring” techniques. As a rule each system has a preferred method of punching in.
Traditional karate, TKD, kempo systems, etc. normally have someone half moon in and punch in a traditional karate stance, with a lead hand punch. They stop their punch just short of the target.
The pro’s to this type of training are that you can work on timing and basic defensive techniques, as well as techniques using a far more complex flow as you see with many kempo systems. Since your attacker isn’t really trying to hit you, it is safer for beginners, with less risk of accidental injury.
The con’s to this type or training are that your distancing is off. In a real fight someone is going to punch through you, not stop just short/out of range. Some talk of punching six inches through their opponent. Others say punch elbow deep, and kick knee deep through your opponent. As you can see your distancing and positioning would be much different under those circumstances. Another issue is that no one in the western world attacks anyone with that type of strike. Training against an unrealistic attack, can be a waste of good practice time.
Aikido practitioners tend to have the attacker throw a downward hammer fist from overhead. They over commit throwing themselves off balance as the go through where their opponent was at the beginning of the attack. This is because Aikido originally had the attacker simulate a sword attack. People fighting with swords fight from a further distance apart then empty hand people. The other method they tend to work with, is having someone come in and grab them, and continue to hold on while they execute their technique.
Pro’s to this method are that the attacker does commit and strikes through their opponent. Timing, distancing, and positioning need to be correct training this way. So not only do they develop these skills, but if you’re incorrect you get immediate feedback in the form of being hit.
Con’s are that people don’t attack using that kind of strike very often, nor do they generally throw a completely over committed off balance attack (at least not trained people). People that grab a hold of you probably won’t really hold on without releasing before letting you just completely off balance and throw them. This can lead to practicing and developing techniques that may not work against most attackers in the real world.
There are also some kempo people, and perhaps others that use a similar method of punching in as Aikido people. The difference is the tend to use punches from an on guard position as they charge through the defender.
Always have your attacker really try to hit you, never have them pull their punch.
A good approach to “one step sparring” is to have your opponent throw a right hand, while you practice your technique. Then have them throw a left hand and practice your technique. After that do the same with right, then left kicks. Once you’ve worked these have your attacker throw anything they want (anyway they want, and from any on guard position) as you respond with your technique. After all to my mind any legitimate technique should work against anything thrown at you. The worst case scenario if you are following good principles, is that you don’t get hit. Most of the time you should achieve the desired outcome. The more you practice, the more often that correct outcome should happen.
Another good thing you can do in “one step sparring” is develop a stronger attack.
A method do this is have the defender stand on guard at the distance you want to attack from. They can either block or move out of the way as you attack. Untrained or unskilled fighters telegraph their movements when they attack. You can have the defender look for the first thing they see move as you start your attack each time, and give you feedback. Telegraphs could be anything. Examples are tensing all or part of your body, changing any facial expression, shifting weight, holding or exhaling your breath, etc. You want them to look for anything that gives you away.
After this you can move on to “two step sparring”, etc.. I’ll cover more in another blog.
Mike Murphy
Chen Practical Method Yilu 5-22-10
I think that using a video camera is one of the best teachers you can have. It doesn’t lie, or sugar coat anything. It is a great reality check. This form as all my forms are a work in progress.
Mike Murphy
Hsing-I 5 Elements and Linking Chain
Here is each of the five elements (metal, water, wood, fire, earth) done individually. Followed with the five element form, and then the linking chain form.
Mike Murphy
Tien Gunn Applications
Tien Gunn
Here are some of the 25 tien gunn exercises. Tien gunn is used for developing fundamentals for Hsing-I and Bagua. I develops body integration, and root. It can also be done as a chi kung if you slow it down.
Mike Murphy
Two Man Training for systems that focus on close in fighting
Working with a training partner is a very important part of martial arts training to develop your skills. There are many ways of working with a partner, and each method has it’s pro’s and con’s. Therefore most people train in more then one type of two man training.
Judo utilizes two man training in several ways. Standing they work with a partner “fitting in”. For this you start out in Kumikata (standing together). Normally you start standing together with one hand grabbing a lapel, and the other grabbing a sleeve. There are different methods of standing together, depending on what you are working on. Uchikomi (fitting in) is good for working with someones real body weight and size. You get to practice setting up the throw using Kuzushi (forcing your opponent off balance) and stopping just short of throwing them to the ground. Of course after warming up with that, you would normally take turns throwing each other as well. I think actually practicing the throws to completion does more for developing skills. After you’ve done that they would Randori, which is the judo form of standing sparring, where each is trying to throw their opponent, and countering any of their opponents attacks.
Most traditional Chinese internal, and some external arts do different levels of two man training as well. They generally have a form of sensitivity training such as push hands in Tai Chi, or chi sau in Wing Chun. You can develop many skills using this type of training, such as sensitivity, finding your opponents center, unbalancing/uprooting your opponent, and finding when/where to hit/ throw them, etc.. There are also two man fighting forms in most of these systems. Hsing-I, Bagua, and Tai Chi are examples of systems with two man fighting forms. After skills are developed at these training methods, free fighting can also be added.
I feel that some form of the above training is a must for any serious martial artist. The above skills help greatly once you’ve closed the distance and are touching your opponent, or in range to do so.
Some systems such as wrestling, judo,some styles of Jujiitsu, and Tai Chi tend not to spend much time defending against realistic attack scenarios involving punching and kicking. I’ve heard practitioners of each of these systems say that you need to be willing to take a shot to close the gap.
To my mind that is very dangerous. There are people out there that can knock you out, if not kill you with a clean shot. If they can rock you with the first strike you can bet many more are immediately following. So while the odds may be highly in their favor for success, I liken it to Russian Roulette. There might only be a bullet in one of six chambers, but I wouldn’t want to take a chance like that myself.
So with the above in mind, I think you need two man training against people that know how to attack using punching and kicking techniques as well. I’ll write another blog on that topic, which will cover other training I feel is a must to be a complete martial artist.
Mike Murphy
Belt Rank and Titles in the Western World
There seems to be a phenomena going on in the world today, with rank and titles in the martial arts. It is especially prominent in the western world. I think there are many reasons for this, some good, others maybe not so good.
While some people believe their own press (true or false), other people are using rank and titles for business purposes. After all if a perspective student who doesn’t know anything, looks for a school and finds one with a 1st degree black belt running it, and another school with a 10th degree black belt running it, or a school that doesn’t use uniforms, or belts at all, which school do you think the student will join? Since they are not masters themselves how could they tell skill, knowledge level, and the teaching ability of teachers using belts, other then by rank? They don’t know that all Black Belts aren’t equal. In order to know how to select a teacher that doesn’t use belts, may require that the student already has enough knowledge to know what he is looking for.
Before Jigoro Kano created Judo at the age of 24 in 1883, the Japanese used the menkyo system. Menkyo kaiden is a “License of total transmission”. This is the highest level in the system. Someone who receives this, may be designated as the successor to the system. The person receiving the menkyo kaiden, would normally receive a certificate, or scroll. This system is still in use today by some traditional Japanese martial arts.
Traditional Chinese systems approach rank in a similar manner as the menkyo system. It is not uncommon for someone that is a practitioner of a traditional Chinese system, to be told to go out and teach when his knowledge and skill become high enough. This might be without receiving the certificate or scroll. They may receive a certificate some years later from their teacher. After all it is knowledge and skill that count. I think we’ve all been told, that belts just hold your pants up? Since the Chinese haven’t widely adopted the belt system to date, I won’t go into proper titles etc. in this blog.
Jigoro Kano created the kyu-dan belt rank system for Judo in 1883, and had the first people wear black belts in 1886. The kyu-dan rank system was later adopted by other budo in Japan.
In April of 1924, Ginchin Funikoshi awarded the first black belts in karate to 7 men. Funikoshi under the sponsorship of the Butoku-kai and the Japanese Ministry of Education, adopted the ranking system then officially sanctioned by Japan’s greatest martial arts entities.
Funakoshi’s own rank was of no consequence, since it seems that belt ranking was really just something for the students, not for headmasters. There is no evidence that I’m aware of, that Funikoshi held any official belt rank.
The Butoku-kai issued instructor’s licenses based on old military titles granted by the government: the titles renshi (the lowest), kyoshi, and hanshi (the highest). I can only think of one person granted renshi, and one kyoshi in the last century by the Japanese government/ board of education. I’m not aware of anyone being granted hanshi. Of course this doesn’t mean it couldn’t have happened, but I caution anyone considering training with someone using the title to verify the source of such claims.
I suppose titles may now be, being adopted by none traditional martial arts, trying to sound or become traditional? By the way if the founder of the art is alive and the one teaching it, how could it be a traditional martial art? To be traditional, wouldn’t someone have had to create the system, then teach students, that now teach their own students at a minimum to be a tradition? So again I would definitely do a background check on anyone I was going to train with, making such claims. The improper use of titles may not be intentional? Or it could be they are changing the meaning and use of the titles?
In the late 1930s, each karate group was called upon to register with the butoku-kai for official sanctioning, and in 1938, a meeting of the Butoku-kai’s official karatedo leaders was held in Tokyo. The purpose was to discuss the standards for awarding rank within their arts.
Attending, among others, were Hironori Ohtsuka of wado-ryu, Kenwa Mabuni of shito-ryu, Kensei Kinjo (Kaneshiro) and Sannosuke Ueshima of kushin-ryu, Tatsuo Yamada of Nippon kempo, Koyu Konishi of shindo-jinen-ryu, and a young Gogen Yamaguchi of goju-ryu. Most of these men were founders of their own styles, and as such automatically became the highest rank that their agreed-on respective standards allowed.
The belt rank system wasn’t fully adopted in Okinawa until after WWII. After WWII in the 1940-1950’s there were many kai formed to sanction rank. These filled a void created by the Butoku-kai.
There was and probably still is, an issue with westerners getting promoted to higher levels of Black Belt in relation to practitioners of the same system, that are from and live in the country of origin of the art. This lead to other issues.
With the above in mind there are many martial artists outside of Japan, that feel they should have higher rank. This has lead to different sokeship councils, and other groups recognizing rank. After all the fastest/easiest way to get rank is to create your own system. This automatically makes you 10th Dan? This could explain the use of titles such as hanshi, soke, and grand master, by so many people today.
So in effect people that seek out these councils, see themselves in their own way following in the footsteps of those that have gone before them. Others confident in their own knowledge and skill don’t engage with such groups. Believing their knowledge and skill are enough. They believe they don’t need a group of others to acknowledge them.
One difference in these new groups and individuals is that they don’t have government involvement. There are arguments on both sides for the merit of large bureaucracies, and government involvement. While these large groups can help with standardization, the larger a group is the lower the standards may become. Not to mention with more people involved, politics can have a negative impact on an art. This isn’t always the case. There are great organizations like the Kodokan that exemplify the positives in a large organization. There are also McDojo’s as an example of large numbers of students in a organization, where some, question quality control. Form your own opinion, and look closely at any group you think you may want to get involved with before doing so.
I’ve practiced Japanese, Korean, Chinese, as well as hybrid systems based on arts from these countries.
I lived in Japan and trained there in the late 70s through 80. While I was there someone who ran a school would be called sensei. Or if you went to some place like the Kodokan where many teachers would come, train and teach you might hear them referred to as sensei. You certainly didn’t refer to all the other Black Belts in the room as sensei.
I never heard a teacher refer to himself by that or any other title. If they introduced themselves it was by name alone (no title tacked on it). If they were in a large organization, regardless of what dan they were, position they held, or any other title they had, it was always sensei.
I never heard anyone in any style, using any other title while I was there. That doesn’t mean that some didn’t have other titles that might be used by someone else, writing about them in a historical manner. I met and was introduced to many different practitioners up through 9th Dan, and people that practiced systems that didn’t use the belt system created by Jigoro Kano. By the way I was told while training judo in Japan, that 9th degree was the highest rank a living person could obtain. 10th degree was something you had to die to achieve. Other systems didn’t necessarily follow that opinion.
Another interesting thing I’ve noticed people doing these days to gain legitimacy is getting a PH.D. You’ll see them putting Doctor before their names, and PH.D. after their names, sometimes they use Professor. By the way putting Dr. before your name, then PH.D. after it is not proper, it would be redundant. The correct method would be one or the other. So a medical doctor might say “Dr. So and So” or “So and So, MD.” This format applies to PH.Ds as well. Most of these PH.Ds are in martial arts.
I’ve searched the Internet and can’t find any college that gives out a PH.D in martial arts in this country, this includes accredited, and non-accredited schools. The only place I found a legitimate school granting PH.Ds in martial arts was in China. There they have a school right next to, and as large as other colleges/Universities. They have a real curriculum, and a real degree program. There may be schools out there I missed, but I’ve looked on and off for years to find them.
I was mystified that I couldn’t find a school that grants a PH.D. in martial arts, so I asked someone that says he has several, how and where he got them. I thought the answer strange.
“I think there is a college located on the east coast, but I don’t remember it’s name. There were some articles written on it in the martial arts magazines some time ago. My PHD’s were issued only as a result of recommendations from several of the World Martial Arts organizations I became a member of when I was inducted as a Hall of Fame Member. They reviewed my credentials, did background checks, sent their representatives out to view me, etc and once I submitted what they requested of me, attended the required functions, they formed their options, did their recommendations, and the rest is history.”
I still don’t know how you can get multiple PH.Ds and not know from what schools you got them? Wouldn’t you have a diploma?
Some people get their degrees in various topics, from what would be considered a traditional brick and mortar accredited school. Others get them from none accredited schools. While I don’t want to get into the merits of each approach here, I’d like to suggest that if someone is saying they have a PHD. but doesn’t name the school they earned it at, something may be amiss. Degrees in other disciplines then martial arts help make you a better rounded individual, but not necessarily a better martial artist.
I think that if they won’t name the school, either they don’t have the degree, or they don’t believe the degree to be real themselves. After all anyone with a degree from Harvard, or MIT brags about it. Anyone with a degree from any college should be proud of it. Anyone such as a Doctor, Lawyer or other professional using a degree to practice, has their degree displayed in their place of business.
My thought about PH.Ds in Martial Arts granted outside of Asia, is that they may be the result of a group of martial artists deciding to award each other these degrees. I hope this isn’t the case. To me this is equivalent to any group of people deciding to award each other degrees, without going to school.
Could you imagine a group of farmers, that some may or may not have graduated from High School, let alone college, deciding that because they worked in their profession for 20-40 years they deserve a PH.D in horticulture? Then just granting each other one? Then all these farmers going around telling people they have to address them as doctor from now on? This is just an example, and it could be any group of people, with any degree. I certainly don’t mean to suggest anything disrespectful of farmers, or any other group.
Black Belt Halls of Fame groups, are another interesting way in which people look for recognition, and sometimes rank. There seems to be some groups which are awarding rank based on the sum of a persons background, and not in a specific system, or criteria. The individual I asked about the PH.D is calling himself a 10th degree Black Belt/ Grand Master, but he can’t tell anyone what he is grand master of. Some of these Hall of Fame groups may be at the heart of the mystery PH.Ds? I think Black Belt magazine came out with the first “Black Belt Hall of Fame”. They have a very impressive list of inductees. Their inductees all are famous to some degree.
Many others have sprung up since. These are generally pitched as a “Hall of Fame” for martial artists that aren’t famous, but deserve to be. Being recognized by these groups can give you something to hang on your wall, and can be used for advertising. These groups are not all the same. They do all tend to be a networking tool for members. You’ll also see many of the same names appearing in multiple groups. They also appear to have different standards then Black Belt Magazine for induction.
Many of these groups have some big names on their inductee lists, but most of their inductees are people no one has ever heard of. Many of the big names on these lists may not endorse the group that inducted them, but just smile or say nothing about them. Some of these groups use unusual titles for their inductees such as “Supreme Grand Master”. I would suggest that you google the inductees, and see how many of them you can find, and what their backgrounds are. See if they use the same title the Hall of Fame uses for them, and if you can find them, do they list the Hall of fame on their site.?
While there are many hard working martial arts teachers involved with these groups, there are also some people to be very wary of. If you search the Internet I think you’ll find a group was founded by a guy, that was falsely claiming to be awarded the “Congressional Medal of Honor”, and learning martial arts in the orient. My understanding is there is no record of him receiving rank other then the certificate he wrote himself. He had been falsely representing himself, and joining groups for decades. A guy running another had claimed to be awarded his 10th dan by a specific person in Japan. When the person in Japan was contacted, they had never heard of the person making these claims. There is a long list of examples, but this blog has gotten too long already. So with the Internet people that have, let’s say exaggerated their backgrounds for decades can now be exposed. This can cause embarrassment for people associated with them.
The reason I wrote this blog is to provide perspective for those that train, or want to train in martial arts. There seems to be a communications gap between those using belt systems, and those not using them. Hopefully this will provide a frame for people with different backgrounds, and especially new students to be able to better understand the different approaches. Hopefully this will help new students find the right type of people and organization for them, without going through many groups and years, to find what they are looking for.
I have peers from the 90s that when we left our groups, and teachers of that time, took different paths. Each of us followed the path that was best for us. Many of these people sought out Sokeship, and Hall of Fame groups. Heck I even have a grand student that is now in a few of these groups.
One last thought before I close. To my mind extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Do your due diligence when looking for a teacher, and organization to join.
I’m not going to provide any links or references on this blog as supporting documents. I don’t want anyone to take my word on any of this, because I think every martial artist needs to learn the history of the arts he studies as part of his training. Do your own research, besides I could be wrong;-)
Mike Murphy
Murphy Martial Arts 