Eric wrote in with his own sequence for dealing with someone reaching in with arms wide. He likes my idea of pounding the solar plexus, but then our opinions differ.
Does the following sequence seem efficient? Cool? Worthy of a Wesley Snipes movie?
Well, it makes me uncomfortable. First, take a look at the series of moves:
"Or if you want to get fancy smancy.., slide in turn to face 6 o clock with your opponent at the 12. Drive an elbow to the plexus of the solar, let your hand drop to the groin with a hammer fist the groin, let the elbow travel back up to the descending chin ...
"spin with a back knuckle to the jaw, then a ball, or side kick to the body or face which ever is at an appropriate height as you clear."
"Pretty fancy smancy, huh :o)"
"A complex maneuver is only simple maneuvers joined in a chain."
I am not in favor of it. Don't get me wrong, I use many of the moves in my own repertoire. But in this sequence there are some details, or lack thereof, that make me uncomfortable.
Here's what I mean:
1. I don't like the idea of sliding in without an attack as I enter this close range. Remember, the attacker's arms are on either side of you. I want to distract or hurt before or 'as' I slide into range.
2. The idea of turning to the side, for no reason other than to elbow, seems ... well, uh ... very dangerous (to my well-being). Here I am trying to focus on centerline -- why would I turn off line, and give my attacker an advantage just for an elbow strike? If you get forced into a turn, then that elbow could become necessary, but voluntarily turning ... bothers me. And again there is a turn and THEN a hit. You know me -- hit first! Turning takes too long.
3. Let the hand drop to the groin. Yes, I like that idea. Well, except, if you shot a solid elbow into the solar plexus, my guess is that you wouldn't be able to reach the groin as easily as you think. You elbow strike -- the attacker slumps forward, gets knocked backward, or drops in pain. In all case, the groin is out of reach.
4. And for the elbow traveling back up to the chin ... there seems to be a lot of first strike high, then hit low, then strike high, then .... I guess if you have to travel these great distances because of what's opening, but I prefer to work an area for speed hitting ... from that very first hit. If my fist heads to the stomach, then it might continue speed hitting the stomach, until another 'opportunity' presented itself.
And that also is a major difference. I wouldn't plan this many moves in advance. A fight is dynamic. It changes. My techniques are malleable -- they change as necessary. I would adapt. How about you?
5. A spin ... Oops. Did he just imply that he was going to take his eyes off his opponent with a spin? Bad idea. Well, if the attacker is so beaten that you are safe in spinning for your technique, then why bother. Either be efficient and continue a barrage of strikes (without taking time to spin), or quit hitting. You have beaten him to a pulp.
6. A kick to the face? Show off! Actually, I do like the idea of kicking as a person clears -- a lot. But I would go for a shin or knee kick. Actually, if all of the other techniques worked, then a knee level kick would be appropriate ... since his face would be down at that level. Otherwise, let's not expose our groins in a real confrontation. Low kicks, please.
And there you have it.
This is only my opinion. This is the way I tweak my own system to make it ever more efficient.
It may not be fancy, but it does plug some holes.
Readers who enjoyed the above article also liked the following article:
FREE
Martial Arts
Weekly ezine
Mastery