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There will be no disclaimer on this
section due
to the nature of the information covered revolving around American
Kenpo
Karate training. Granted the concepts and principles will be
broken
down more than usual, however the tips described in this training page
will be Kenpo training in it's basic form. Some of the concepts
discussed
will come from SGM Ed Parker's books and reference materials, others
will
come from past and on-going Kenpo Karate training. When the tips
discussed are taken from SGM Parker's reference materials then the
quote
or concept where it can be found in the material will be placed for
further
study.
The world has changed. The most vile, perverse, and inconceivable
attack of terrorism on America has taken place, and it's effects at
this
moment are still not known. The true ramifications of this action
could be considered as inconceivable as the action itself, yet
hopefully
they remain just, and honorable on the side of our country. Now
is
the time however, when capitalization upon this event have taken their
course. Nevertheless, the editorials within this website will not
fall under the heading of capitalization, for they will take a
different
path. That of respect, and honor for those that have passed from
this world, and aid those who are still with us. Some people
paint,
some people sing, I write. I also train in the art of
Self-Preservation
and Self-Defense, and now, more then ever, both of these "hobbies" can
be put to good use for the good of our nation. I encourage all of
you reading this and the other editorials to do what you can in this
new
environment to help those around you. Not only is it the right
thing
to do, but it may save lives.
Now
let's get
to work.
The subject we are going to discuss for the
Empty Hand training
concept will be one I have been quite fond of for some time.
Environmental
Response Training, which is a big way of saying once you are aware of
the
aspects of your environment, you then train to utilize said environment
to amplify, aid, or otherwise improve upon your actions. Sounds
neat,
and with that out of the way, here’s what I’m talking about; for
Empty Hand Training anyway.
Environmental Response Training can start anywhere, and should be
considered
anywhere you find yourself. It involves training under different
conditions you could possibly find yourself in at any given time, and
finding
the most optimum, and efficient response to a given situation. It
can involve sitting at a table, relaxing or sleeping in a bed, resting
on a couch, riding an elevator, calling someone in a phone booth,.. you
get the idea. Really, the question here is, from anywhere you
find
yourself standing, sitting, kneeling, or laying down, if you need to,
what
can you do?
As a timely topic for conversation as an example, say you are sitting
in
a chair in a fairly confined space. Maybe at an event table with
people around you packed in closely (because I don’t like to be
obvious).
And someone next to you, off to your right flank, is in preparation to
attack you in some grievous way. So what can you do?
I say “can” because very few people in the world are able to dictate
exactly
what they will do in a live situation, let alone know the outcome of
the
event. Thus the need for training outside your comfort zone, so
when
situations arise you don’t freeze, or think. American Kenpo, as
with
any martial art, should be executed in a live situation at a
subconscious
level, without thought or planning. Thus you can flow with the
action
instead of fighting to make your pre-determined plan work. But I
digress.
Back to the question at hand, well there are many things at your
disposal
to do, depending on your level. To make things easy, I’ll take
three
self-defense techniques in an altered format. One from the yellow
belt list called Sword and Hammer, and two from the orange belt list
called
Twisted Twig and Shielding Hammer. Now we could go on all day
with
“what ifs” but we don’t want to re-write War and Peace. So we are
going to set up some training parameters to make this easy as
well.
One, the chair is easy to move from, so you are only hindered by the
space
around you, making kicking tough. Two, the attacker is, in some
fashion,
facing you, leaving a lot of yummy targets. Oh and he is going to
attack you, so there is no guess work as to intent and so forth.
This shall make things easier to move to the offensive and stop the
attack
before it starts. Three, the
attacker
is similar in size to yourself.
There is the set-up, now for the response. First we’ll use Sword
and Hammer. Instead of doing the technique “as written,” which
would
be tough given you are sitting, try altering the technique. Still
incorporate the check over your left shoulder, but start with the
Hammerfist
to the groin. This will probably function as more of an Outward
Hammerfist
then a Downward in execution of the strike. When the strike
connects,
we’ll say the opponent bends forward in response to the pain
induced.
Use this force to enhance your outward chop to the throat, now that it
will be in range. You can also use this outward strike as a
“feeder”
move, such as a fulcrum utilization grab and drop into a nearby, stable
landmark, like the table you would be sitting at. Since the
opponents
head would be nearby at the time, this could be very effective.
While this one you could do from a sitting position almost exclusively,
the other two could be done while moving forward from your seated
placement.
Take Twisted Twig for a moment, which will be seen more closely through
the “Rearrangement Concept”. Start from the same opening strike,
the outward hammerfist to the groin. From here, as the opponent
bends
forward in response to the pain, remove yourself from your chair and
execute
the upward elbow strike to the head. Targeting specifics are up
to
the situation and individual. The only remaining move would be
the
inward “clear” to the arms from the original technique, which now can
be
used and an inward hammerfist through your opponents face.
Now for Shielding Hammer. This one is a little different then the
other two due to the fact that it actually does start with an extended
outward block. So you are really already there. This block
can and for this situation should be converted into a outward
hammerfist.
Upon contact, remove yourself from the chair with an inward hammerfist
through your opponents face. The remaining move in the sequence
would
be to drop the outward elbow into place.
While the examples we used are two to three moves, you can have a
longer
Kenpo Playtime, should the situation require it. These are basic
training ideas taken from self-defense techniques already committed to
study. However, with all of the self-defense techniques, done
correctly,
most of the time you don’t get to play around very much.
Generally
a couple of moves and the show is over, which is exactly how things
should
be. Thus the need for diligent training in as many environments
as
possible. Quick, and accurate response to a live situation, no
matter
what or where it is, can do more to save your life then leaving your
skills
solely at the dojo.
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