More hand techniques

[cathal]

Hey all,

Just curious, when do you introduce techniques which do not use fists or sword hand? My first sensei introduced them early on, my second one only concentrated on fists & sword hand. She only worked with the other hand forms very rarely.

I like to speak about them all the time, especially during bunkai classes. But when I mentioned this to a colleague he favours not speaking about them, or teaching them until much later in student's training, close to the black belt level. Just wondering what your thoughts are on this.

[joesteph]

When I was a white belt in Soo Bahk Do, Cathal, the defense against the wrist grab introduced palm heel strikes to the nose and a slap to the groin that, if you were an adult, was followed by a further hand technique.

After my first promotion, another of those wrist grab defenses introduced a ridgehand to the neck. A backfist to the nose and a hammer fist to the groin were also introduced in a wrist grab defense, as well as a hammer fist strike to the collar bone in a form, but I don't know if they fall under the fist category you mentioned.

If you're also referring to techniques using the elbow or a joint lock, Cathal, I have to return to white belt, where the wrist grab defense introduces two joint locks and an elbow strike (actually, one to the side of the opponent's head when close, the other to the midsection with him behind you). There's also a head butt.

Again, after my first promotion, the wrist grab defense introduced a different joint lock and continued with another elbow strike, this one to the back of the neck (or the upper back if less impact is wanted) of your bent-over opponent.

Edited September 21, 2009 by joesteph

[cathal]

Not really, I suppose I should have been more specific. I'm referring to techniques which use the wrist, for example. As well, two finger tips, bear claw, tiger paw, finger nails, etc.

[JusticeZero]

I presume the question asks about diversifying hand positions more than those specific ones, since those two are the rarities for me; usually I teach open palm and wrist, I sometimes gloss over other ways to use the hand to everyone there, but don't devote a lot of training time to it. "Oh and you can also do this, this, or this from that position. Back to our regular drill."

[tonydee]

Spearing with fingertips appears in the ITF 7th gup pattern (10th gup being white belt, 1st gup preceding 1st dan, so 7th gup is typically 6-12 months into training). I personally also feel the ridge hand is a very important technique - allowing good reach, power and minimal telegraphing when attacking from the side - and while the first ridge-hand block appears at 4th gup, the first attack isn't until 1st gup. A pressing palm appears in the 2nd gup pattern. Lots more appear in blackbelt patterns, but I think it's fair to say that the variety in colour belt patterns is more in the fundamental movement (i.e. X blocks, wedging blocks, twin blocks, double blocks etc) that tend to be either knife hands or fists....

Cheers, Tony

Edited September 23, 2009 by tonydee

[cathal]

Thanks Tony

[bushido_man96]

We do a lot of palms, ridge, and knife hand strikes, but not many others. Some of the black belt forms do have techniques like an ox jaw, and an eye gouge, but nothing like that in lower ranks.

Personally, I like the simpler strikes better, anyways. They are usually nice gross motor movements, and are therefore easier to pull off when you need them, so I don't mind the simplicity behind them.

[Dark Planet]

In MooDukKwan style, we use closed fists for 10th and 9th gup, but in my school 8th gup begins training open handed for drills.

All blocks through 3rd gup are closed fist. Though tigers mouth and palm strikes are used in the 8th and 7th gups, respectively. And there are knife hand strikes in the one-step counters for that ranking. The open hand techniques are used more past 3rd gup and increase.

There is also a two finger strike employed as an eye-gouge in 1st gup one-steps.

The on finger strike is not used until 3rd Dan and the Ox Jaw is used in a 4th dan form, though none of this includes the chilson forms which are entirely different in their structure and are not currently placed within the advancement curriculum.