Spearhand block

[joesteph]

This is something new for me, one of the basic self-defense techniques that I'm practicing at my new school. I haven't seen it in any other martial art I studied or was introduced to.

A punch is incoming, say his right is coming to the left side of your face, and you shoot out a left spearhand while stepping back with your right leg. The written directions say "shoulder high," but Sempai was having my hand go just above that, so there was an angle to the block.

It's not just a defensive move. Once I've stepped back with the spearhand block, I immediately thrust out two spearhand strikes, first with my right hand, then with my left, to the attacker's throat. They go for the jugular notch or just above it. Poking at my own throat, it seems that the area just above the notch feels it more than the notch itself.

It's a fast block, and I noticed that when it's done with an opponent in mind, you can't help but "tilt" a bit with that step back, moving your face/head a tad bit more out of the way of the incoming punch.

I'm familiar with a more "precise" move, to shoot your hand straight out against the shoulder of the punching arm, kind of jamming it at the root with the palm of your hand, but this spearhand block requires less precision to execute it successfully.

Has anyone else used/seen this block, particularly as a self-defense move?

[tonydee]

I'm having a little trouble following your description. Describing martial arts things in a way others can follow is a real art form!

So, we've got a spearhand thrust blocking some kind of same-side punch, finishing just above shoulder height, executed while retreating with the opposite leg. Is the application countering a linear or hooking punch? Are you deflecting/stopping the attack on your inner forearm (i.e. thumb side), outer forearm, triceps or biceps? (All these options can be made to work in specific scenarios). Keeping your body square or angled when you step back? Do you stop your fingertips outside the attackers shoulder, near the shoulder, or already near the throat? (You say you follow it with two thrusts from the other then the same arm, implying that the first thrust isn't simultaneously an attack?)

More generally, it sounds similar to the punching block in early/ITF taekwondo, and to many of the intercepting strikes in wing chun and Jeet Kun Do (which I recall you've studied). So, hoping you can explain what's different about this move. My studies of the little-known art of Hwarin-Mu also heavily involved simultaneous counter-strikes that fit your general description, generally delivered concurrently with a second strike with the other hand.

Cheers,

Tony

[joesteph]

It's against a linear attack and the outer edge (little finger) side of the forearm is used. The step back is angled; in application there's more of an angle than when just practicing in place. You're not trying to spear his throat with that block; your fingertips will be near his shoulder. The throat strikes are from your other arm first, and then what was the blocking arm.

Edited May 25, 2010 by joesteph

[Toptomcat]

Buh. So a spearhand thrust functions as a block against a linear attack? Whatever that is, it doesn't sound like a 'basic' anything...what do the 'advanced' self-defense techniques look like in your school?

[joesteph]

So a spearhand thrust functions as a block against a linear attack?

Yes. It's one of the basic blocks taught. On another martial arts forum, a member posted that he teaches that very same thrust as one kind of block that can be used. He considers it a fast one to execute, and in practicing it I agree.

what do the 'advanced' self-defense techniques look like in your school?

I'm a white belt in what is a new school to me, so I'll be learning the basics there for quite a while. I'm unable to answer that question.

[Toptomcat]

Have you tried something resembling it in a resistant drill, or just in one-step situations? Because in my experience timing a thrust to act as a parry and counterblow at once is possible, but extremely difficult.

[tonydee]

It's against a linear attack and the outer edge (little finger) side of the forearm is used. The step back is angled; in application there's more of an angle than when just practicing in place. You're not trying to spear his throat with that block; your fingertips will be near his shoulder. The throat strikes are from your other arm first, and then what was the blocking arm.

The step back is angled to form a more closed/narrow stance, or a wider stance? Former sounds better, if not taken too far, in that the groin isn't opened up and mobility is less compromised, but it also steps into the attack more, making adequate deflection/avoidance more difficult. Still, the move sounds suspect to me... if it's not simultaneously hitting, then you're left in a pretty bad position with your front ribs unprotected, limited ability to hit meaningfully hard with that front hand until after you've first retracted it again, and it's easily grabbed/locked/trapped by the opponent. As toptomcat says, it's hard to even block like that reliably against an attacker whose style and technique is either variable or unknown to you (i.e. you have to tailor your distancing, relative angle and timing carefully in response to the exact punching technique used by your attacker, especially against a larger, stronger attacker). So, I hope that if the technique is taught and practiced much in the school, that it's just a stepping stone to an advanced version that will later be introduced that does strike simultaneously (best) or in a chained movement (marginal), reducing the counterattacking opportunities and giving some reward for the extra difficulty and risk taken.

Cheers,

Tony

[sensei8]

I'd say, blocking above shoulder height is ok. It's not textbook, nor is it pretty. Who cares? Just block the darn thing that's coming at you. If the only thing that your doing is blocking above your shoulder height, yet everything else is correct, then block. How else you going to block something from someone who's taller than you.

It's either block the darn thing or duck!

Just for grins and giggles. In Shindokan, we don't back up to block. We stand our ground or we go forward or we angle forward/to the side. I'm not saying that blocking while stepping and/or moving backwards is ineffective, it's not. It's just not our way. Either way, above shoulder height isn't the end of the world, it's another way.