KerwinBenson.com Hidden Gems of Martial Arts

Strategies You Can Use

That question was posed by Michael, from Florida.

I assume Michael is talking about the powerful, sweeping motion, that resembles a very low roundhouse kick.

Boy, those kicks are powerful. Thai Boxers practice slamming parts of their legs into trees and other hard objects.

They deaden the nerves in their legs. Not for me -- no blood clots for this puppy.

But, lacking any feeling of pain, they can power kick, with wild results.

So, if someone tried a rapid series of vertical punches, referred to as a straight blast, couldn't a Thai Boxer just plow through the JKDer's legs and drop the attacker to the ground?

After all, the knee would probably shatter like a dropped light bulb, right?

Well, not so fast.

Tactical Problems

And within the first hit, he or she achieves a wing chun distance -- in close.

A Thai Boxer would have a hard time leg sweeping a straight blast, because the blast wouldn't start, until the attacker was in close enough for good hand contact.

The JKDer would be past the legs, already. And the legs are usually checked with good foot, and knee, positioning.

So, a more appropriate question might be, "Could a Muay Thai Boxer sweep a JKDer who is attacking, BEFORE a straight blast starts?"

And as usual, that brings us back to a question of timing and distance.

Whose is better?

And that's probably as much a question of the individual as it is of the style.

End Note:

So, if someone were attacking me, I'd counter the attack with an offensive response, and let that hit be the first in my blast sequence. It's much easier to blast after you have created an opening than to try to attack someone on guard.

Besides, if I were to talk about using a straight blast as an attack, I would have to delve further than I would want in this article. We'd ahve to include discussions of ... creating openings, forcing timing, analyzing distance, etc....

Not this time.

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