Kempo Principle: Breaking Balance

[Red J]

OK, from what I've learned from my training and the training of other kempo enthusiasts is that a reoccuring theme is that of breaking your opponents balance within the first defensive movement and subsequent movements until you have won that front. The principle here is that if you own their balance you own them. How does your system look at this and give one example of a technique that you like to use to establish the balance war in your favor.

[Red J]

One of my favorite opening defense moves is a "check" kick to the knee, thigh, or hip (depending on the attacker, size, and type of attack). This immediately takes the attackers balance and places it from over his feet to a position where his hips are back and his head and upper body are forward. From this position the attacker is extremely vulnerable and the counterattacker can finish with a variety of options.

[kempocos]

Yes , also if you take thier balance you have also taken 50% of thier power , sio if theyt do counter it is less effective.

[delta1]

a reoccuring theme is that of breaking your opponents balance within the first defensive movement and subsequent movements until you have won that front. The principle here is that if you own their balance you own them. How does your system look at this and give one example of a technique that you like to use to establish the balance war in your favor.

 

One of my favorite opening defense moves is a "check" kick to the knee, thigh, or hip (depending on the attacker, size, and type of attack). This immediately takes the attackers balance and places it from over his feet to a position where his hips are back and his head and upper body are forward.

 

Excellent point!

 

In AK, most of the things we do to an opponent takes his ballance. It is both part of our defensive theory and our dimensional control theory.

 

One example is a simple block. We don't just put up an obstacle to stop his strike. The blocks are designed to (among other things) either stop it at a point where his momentum is checked early enough to effect his ballance, or to help him overcommit, force him into an unballanced and vulnerable position, or drive his weapon back and pin it to his body, pushing him back off ballance. Actually, most 'blocks' are more useful as either a preemptive strike or to take advantage of his returning momentum after delivering a strike. Yhis is where they are most effective in taking his ballance.

 

AK is also drilled to check his base. This controls both his lower weapon(s) and his maneuverability. And, done correctly, these checks can do a lot of dammage as well as destroy his ballance. We also attack his base repeatedly, often at the same time as we attack his upper body in close. That has a seriouse effect on his ballance.

 

Other ways we take his ballance are to work with frictional pulls, yield to a strike which encourages over commitment, use our body as a weapon to occupy his space. We work off reactions that we force or set up. For example, an eye poke is often primarily to get his head to jerk violently back, effecting his ballance. If it does a lot of dammage, that is just gravy- the reaction is the meat and potatoes.

 

I could go on, but I think I'll wait and see what everyone else wants to discuss and get into particulars on how we all do it. I think you are right though, Red. This is probably a main principle and concept in most Kempo systems. Be good if we can get input from some Silat guys also, as this is one of their areas of expertise.

Edited October 31, 2004 by delta1

[longarm25]

One of my favorite opening defense moves is a "check" kick to the knee, thigh, or hip (depending on the attacker, size, and type of attack). This immediately takes the attackers balance and places it from over his feet to a position where his hips are back and his head and upper body are forward. From this position the attacker is extremely vulnerable and the counterattacker can finish with a variety of options.

I also like this tech however I prefer to use a little more power than what most would term a "check kick"

[Red J]

One of my favorite opening defense moves is a "check" kick to the knee, thigh, or hip (depending on the attacker, size, and type of attack). This immediately takes the attackers balance and places it from over his feet to a position where his hips are back and his head and upper body are forward. From this position the attacker is extremely vulnerable and the counterattacker can finish with a variety of options.

I also like this tech however I prefer to use a little more power than what most would term a "check kick"

 

Me too.

[Drunken Monkey]

"For example, an eye poke is often primarily to get his head to jerk violently back, effecting his ballance."

 

and this is something else that just sounds like wing chun.

 

the darting fingers thing is often done after or accompanying a jerk/tug/push.

 

part of the wing chun way is to work opposites

 

(to get that jerking motion).

 

i.e

 

i pull you into a punch

 

or

 

i push you then pull you back (into a punch or many as the case may be....).

 

what the jerking also does is to force you to commit to something.

 

i.e make you stiffen/deaden your stance

 

or

 

might make you step when you didn't want to.

 

in drills, if you're strong enough, you don't need to complete the attack cos your partner falls into it.

 

sometimes, attack isn't needed cos the jerk can completely 'shut you down'.

 

also,

 

what the eye poke can also translate to is, after (or instead) of aiming for the eyes, aim for his forehead and jerk/slap/tilt his head back to open up the throat.

 

step foward into his base to prevent him from recovering and land any type of elbow into throat.

 

oops.

 

got a bit carried away there......

[kotegashiNeo]

It may sound strange but we will use a outward middle block while transfering from one stance to another generating power with the hips this is done while being "in tight". And this all offensive none of it is considered defensive

[Sasori_Te]

kotegashiNeo,

 

Do you know the application behind this technique? Several come to mind but I'm always interested in hearing something new.

[aefibird]

One of my favorite opening defense moves is a "check" kick to the knee, thigh, or hip (depending on the attacker, size, and type of attack). This immediately takes the attackers balance and places it from over his feet to a position where his hips are back and his head and upper body are forward. From this position the attacker is extremely vulnerable and the counterattacker can finish with a variety of options.

 

I don't know if this is a general theme of Shotokan schools or of this is something that my instructor incorporates, due to his having trained in other styles. However, my sensei is into techniques like that and often incorporated what he calls "shock" techniques into our training. He isn't much of a believer in the 'one strike' theory common in some dojos and styles, but uses and teaches moves to take away an opponents balance and sometimes sense of direction (that sounds a bit wierd, but I can't think of another way at this moment to explain what I mean).

 

The "check" kick to the knee, thigh or ankle is a favourite move of his, as is pushing and twisting movements designed to unbalance an opponent. I was once slammed from the middle of the dojo into the end wall, thanks to my instructor demonstrating a push technique...

 

Actually, from what you kenpo guys have talked about, a lot of what we train in at my dojo sounds very similar to things that you all do. I don't think my karate instructor has ever trained in kenpo...but I'll make sure to ask him when I next train.