Based on reading Maija’s books(ADHD has bad memory, so I have to re-read them to confirm) a big part of her system is being so good at defense that basically you can attack freely without worrying about getting killed, it allows for a focus on attack.
One of her biggest critiques of most weapon systems is they focus on hitting the person first, but then get hit on the way out, either their limb or another part of their body. First hit doesn’t matter if there is an exchange, and in blades it’s mutual kills.
She points out most duels involved mutual injury or kills, but the best dualists rarely got injured during duels or wars.
Musashi fought in both war and duels, and so did many european fencers. It’s obvious cutting someone down without being cut down yourself is a useful skill on both social and anti-social violence.
Here is a clip about attacking someone while still protecting your hand from a cut or strike.
Seems pretty straight forward right?
Thing is though, in martial arts not dealing with weapons, attacking without getting hit back rarely involves protecting the limb that is attacking. Usually when we attack without getting hit, it’s our head or core we protect. People will counter punches by kicking the legs, but not the legs when they are kicking. The tool used to attack is often not vulnerable in non-weapon combat.
Limb destructions are not a mystery, but they rarely are a game changing strategy for fighting in unarmed combat, even in systems like Silaat and FMA. And even then the limb destructions are a result of both arts having the weapon and empty hand system being largely the same that the tactic shows up. But panatukan or other FMA unarmed drills and fights don’t focus on punching the attacking limbs, it’s a supplemental tactic.
In weapons, ‘defanging the snake’ or cutting/clubbing the weapon hand is very important.
So if it’s important in armed combat but unimportant in unarmed combat, who cares? De-Emphasize attacking the limb when unarmed. Emphasize it when armed.
But the thing is, the concept still remains. People are able to strike at an attacking limb with a stick or knife regularly. Maija and Sonny spent hours making sure no one can strike their attacking limb because it’s so common. Many sword and stick fighters make careers defanging the snake.
In unarmed combat, most attacks on the striking hand are limb destructs.
But instead of trying to damage the attacking limb in an unarmed fight like we do a weapon, why don’t we turn it into a grapple? Sounds like trapping doesn’t it? And we all know that trapping often falls apart if used to try and catch punches out of the air.
But trying to hit the attacking limb without also focussing on striking or cutting the head and body is also a mistake. THe action of striking the attacking limb is just another target. It isn’t a strategy where you stake your life on, even if it’s common.
Rick B(my taiji teacher) and Rick Wilson my primary Uechi-ryu/Combatives teacher teach attack while evading. Not evade while attacking, but attack while evading. Often catching punches out of the air is a highly defensive thing. It’s defensive because it’s reactive, and it’s far quicker to act than react. This will never not be true because it’s physiology and brain chemistry. It’s simply how we are designed. The only time a reaction is faster than an action if you’re reflexes are unusually high, but that falls apart against someone equally athletic or gifted.
But what if catching the hand out of the air is not a reaction? What if it’s an act? What if catching the strike is to take initiative?
The drill in the video shows a man trying to land a strike without his hand being caught.
What makes this drill any different from throwing a jab, with your partner constantly trying to parry or palm it? Usually the fear of having your strike parried or palmed is the counter strike coming rather than the parry or palming itself. But with drills like stiking hands, or if you do Muay Thai or Lethwei that have a form of heavy hand fighting, the counter alone is not a danger, it’s the better position and control your opponent can take on contact.
I used to bother Rick a great deal on how to use our counter assault methods against a probing but damaging strike(bouncing jab that can knock people out but is fast, in and out)
Thing is Rick had given me the answer a long time ago. I just never realized it, I never had the means like today to try an drill it, nor the base of skill I have now to drill it.
But really nothing changes. You’re not catching the punch out of the air, you’re attacking the hand, and you’re not gonna give that limb back, it’s yours now.
As the whole club said once to my partner during my black belt test, nothing changes. They didn’t say it to me, but I should have listened.
You are not catching punches out of the air when you seize the limb. You’re attacking it.
It’s not simply trying to grab punches senselessly, such a strategy leads to failure. It should be just one of many possibilities, one opening of many, if your focus is to hit, tear, seize, you take what’s available. You’re not waiting for the limb. If it’s not there your punching the face, shooting a double, clinching or stabbing/cutting. IF the limb is there you’re defanging it or you’re seizing it with a stick. The mindset is different than waiting for someone to throw so you can catch a strike. YOu are not ignoring other means of defense or attack(Unless you’re doing a drill)
And the stupid part is, as long as you’re fighting fundamentals are present. It’s not hard to drill. Someone feeds strikes, they need to hit you without you touching or seizing their limbs the same as FMA weapon combat. The attacker learns how to strike in a ‘pure’ way that cannot easily be interrupted or turned against them. The defender learns to attack the weapon arm, learns to ‘see it’
Then simply make the drill more dynamic, add more targets. Allow Sen no sen to keep the defender from fixating on the limb. THe attacker now has to problem solve how to still get an attack off without getting punched in the face or his strike being used for control(Transition to CBI or sieze, rotate and step)
It’s not hard. And it benefits both sides doing the drill.
It’s basically the unarmed version of the drill in the clip.
Also what to do after the weapon arm is seized can be found in your system. But if you don’t know, check this out.
What's the deal with Adeel? 