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Matthew Page pushes Sensei Shontell Whalen |
A
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simple one handed push from the front can
sometimes be as dangerous as a kick or a punch.
“Really?”
you might ask. “Certainly being pushed by someone feels demeaning. I’d get
upset if someone did that to me. But dangerous? – that’s far from likely.”
Not
if you happen to fall as a result. You may end up with a broken limb, or worse,
you could strike your head against the floor. What appears to be a simple push might
also be a set up for a more dangerous attack to follow.
Today,
I want to look at a basic one handed push from the front. There are a number of
reasons for such an attack –
1.
To
intimidate you. A push acts as a physical warning – you must comply or else. The force is directed at your
centre of balance – and at the very heart of your self-confidence. It may also
be accompanied by taunts and verbal threats, by aggressive posturing and the
like.
2.
To
force you to move you into a certain direction either with the purpose of making
you leave or to contain you, unwillingly, in a designated space.
3.
To set you up, physically and mentally, for a
more serious attack.
There
are three basic ways to respond to a push from the front. All involve
redirecting the attacker’s force – shifting to the left, stepping straight back
or shifting to the right. Two other methods do exist….standing your ground or
pushing straight back against the attacker. Both of these involve the use of
“internal” power and/or “iron body” type of training.
Let's concentrate on probably the easiest method – stepping backward.
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Shontell steps backward, redirecting the attacker's force downward.
(I'm trying to be serious - but everyone keeps on smiling in these pictures!)
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1.
Let’s
imagine that the attacker is pushing with his right hand. Trap the back of his
hand/wrist with your left hand. (In realistic, “war art” Kung Fu and in “old
school” Karate, this trapping hand action would come down so quickly – and with
such a “whip like” quality to it – that even the lightest strike will do some
serious damage to the delicate bones of the attacker’s hand).
2.
Step
backward at the same time while bringing the full force of your right forearm
down across his forearm. Stepping with the direction of his force allows you to
maintain your balance while at the same time pulling him off balance. In a way,
you’re using the attacker’s momentum against him.
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The attacker is now on the ground and under Shontell's control |
1.
Once
his arm is struck, he’ll collapse downward. If you strike down on his arm and
curve your forearm toward you, you’ll pull his face within striking distance of
a knee kick. Or an elbow strike to the back of his head. If you target the
middle of his forearm with your downward strike (along the radius bone between
the thumb and elbow), he’ll experience a surge of pain and numbness – all good
things if you’re trying to get away.
There
are, of course, further applications. Folding his arm up (as you see in the
photo) can lead to a variety of locks…finger and thumb holds, wrist locks, techniques
on the elbow and shoulder, and so on.
Or
you may simply leave the attacker in the dust without hurting him. Perhaps, by
then, he’s learned his lesson, with his ego a bit diminished but his health
still intact.
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