Do you this know this technique?
Do you know that technique? How many techniques are required for that belt?
What is that technique for? Oh, and by the way what the hell constitutes a
technique anyway? We use the term technique on a daily basis In Kenpo. Ask
any Kenpo stylist what makes our system unique and he will quickly answer
"the techniques". But what makes a technique different from a
series of movements or combinations of movements?
In order to be a good instructor
or for that matter an effective martial artist, you must be able to answer
those questions. And what is more, you must be able to answer from both the
physical and philosophical perspective. Grand Master Mitose stated that
there are three physical disciplines as well as three philosophical
disciplines in Kenpo, namely, the War Time Arts, with which we are
all familiar, the joint striking and Push Pull Arts, Jujitsu If you will,
and the Evasion Arts, which all prudent martial artists should endeavor to
master.
Regardless of the discipline you
are using, there are certain elements which must be present to constitute a
technique, These are:
1. You must NEUTRALIZE the
attack.
2. You must POSITION for
advantage.
3. You must then administer some
sort of SOLUTION.
4. And then you must ESCAPE,
NEUTRALIZE: To neutralize
you must block, parry, evade, break the opponents balance, in the case of a
hold, or strike the opponent first. When you strike first, you strike to
Injure, disable or to kill. if you do not neutralize the attack then none of
your other skills will do you any good.
POSITION: To position for
advantage you must move to a spot where you are on balance, so that you can
generate power, and in a position where you can strike with minimal
probability that you will have to endure a strike.
SOLUTION: This can take
the form of a strike to injure, disable or kill. Or you may disable by
breaking a limb or joint (we do not use pain compliance in Kenpo) or
rendering the opponent unconscious by choking or through a nerve strike.
ESCAPE: In Kenpo we
always finish any technique by disengaging contact with the opponent. We do
not hold on, no matter how effective the hold, due to the possibility of
additional opponents attacking while You are engaged. By the way, you can
use this part of the technique, evasion, to neutralize, position, solution
and escape all at once if you wish and if it will provide an acceptable
resolution to the confrontation.
Those are the elements that make
up a technique, So then we come to my favorite question, when have you
finished a technique? I hear martial artists complain that "I did all
the movements but he kept coming at me." Or better yet "I couldn't
finish my technique, he went down on the first strike." I have visited
schools where they will fall a student on a belt test If he does not
"cover out" when he finishes the technique, to which I ask again
"When have you finished the technique?"
The answer is that you have
finished the technique when the opponent Is on the ground, drawn up in the
fetal position, and he has stopped quivering. But honestly, you may have
done all of the movements in a technique, or you may only be part way
through and the conditions change due to his maneuvering. This necessitates
the administration of what Is call FREE FORM or TECHNIQUE
BLENDING, You simply transition to movement that will be effective
against the conditions then facing you and keep on striking until the issue
Is resolved. Then disengage and prepare yourself for whatever else may come,
Remember, what makes Kenpo
unique and effective Is the fact that we have a response, a technique, for
every conceivable situation, unlike boxing, wrestling, Jude, Kickboxing, or
even "reality based fighting" all of which predispose that you are
facing one opponent In mutual combat in a finite arena. Self defense, as I
can attest to from numerous experiences, takes place against any number of
opponents, anywhere, at anytime, using any weapons and the only prize at
stake Is your life.
