Can you block a punch?

Can you block a punch?
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As an experiment, I told one of my students where I was going to strike him, which hand I was going to use, and the type of strike I intended to try and hit him with. I asked him to block it….. Nine times out of ten, he couldn’t.
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In the dojo, you know a strike is coming… outside of the dojo, you do not.
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Action is always faster than reaction, even when you’re anticipating it, and this couldn’t be more true than when applied to a real self-defense scenario.
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No matter how much you train, 90% of the time, the person who gets the first punch in, is probably going to succeed in a non-consensual fight.
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By the time your attacker has made the decision to punch you, he’s already gone through his “strike analysis”. He knows HOW he wants to hit you…WHERE he wants to hit you…and WHEN he wants to hit you. All that’s left is to simply HIT YOU!
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By the time YOU see the strike coming, you’ve barely begun your own “blocking analysis” of how you’re going to not get hit. You’re most likely NOT going to be able to block a punch, at least not in the “traditional” sense.
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So blocks are ineffective? Why?…. Because they are not blocks at all…. One of the most commonly mistranslated and misunderstood words in karate is “uke.” The word “uke” is actually a shortened form of the word “ukeru,” which means “to receive.”
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So if we can’t block what can we do (if we can’t escape)?
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We have an in built defensive mechanism programed into us…. the natural reaction of MOVEMENT (or flinch response).
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Once your eyes and brain identify that a strike is coming, your natural reaction (instant response/flinch response) is to simply MOVE (the hands can move too)…..
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Remember the best way to not get hit, is to NOT be where the punch is. So the sooner you can identify a punch is coming, the sooner you can MOVE to nullify that punch (or launch your own “first strike”).
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Learn to identify your attacker’s body language that signals a punch is coming… Be aware, anticipate, move….. don’t rely on blocking that punch. ??
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One Comment Add yours

  1. I like this post, enjoyed this one thanks for putting up. “I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.” by John Keats.

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