JamesB
Green Belt
This came up in class tonight so I thought I'd try and get some opinions here:
We were looking at the "inward forearm block" and "outward forearm block" in the EPAK-24 system (blue-belt level). To a beginner these blocks appear to be similar to the regular inward & outward-vertical blocks found at yellow belt level. To get the ball rolling, this is how I execute the blocks from a horse-stance:
Inward: same circular motion as the inward block. Instead of extending the forearm out+away at 45-degrees (by punching the fist away from you), the arm is brought towards the center-line in a horizontal motion with the under-side of the forearm facing away from you (the soft underside strikes, not the outer edge of the ulna-bone.
Outward: same motion as the outward-vertical, but there is no rotation of the forearm around the elbow-joint. When complete, the arm is in the same position as the o.v.b but the upper-side of the forearm is pointing to your side instead of forewards+away from you. In both cases the fist+wrist are aligned in the same way you would execute a punch/regular block (i.e. straight - no bend at the wrist).
Would appreciate any comments on my descriptions..am I doing these completing wrong?
Moving on, my questions are:
1. where in the EPAK-24 kenpo syllabus do these two blocks occur (other than as a "basic")? My understanding is:
A. There is an isolated inward-forearm block towards the end of long-form-2
B. *Maybe* an outward-forearm-block as part of the initial defence in Entwined-Maces (the right-outward-forearm-block to the outside of the attacker's right-reverse-punch after the first inward block to the outside of the attacker's left punch). I'm unsure here my memory is a little hazy.
can't find any other usages (yet!)
2. What is a good scenario to apply either of these blocks to?
2. Are they really "blocks" - maybe a misaliging mechanism instead?
3. What is the correct method of execution?
4. Why choose a "forearm" block instead of the (as I understand) structurally stronger "regular" block?
5. When/where did they originate? where they imported from an older kungfu system to "bulk out" the kenpo-karate syllabus or is there more importance behind their existence?
6. Do these blocks exist in the SL-4 curriculum? (quite interested to have this particular question answered).
Just looking for some insights or ideas to play with...
cheers,
James
We were looking at the "inward forearm block" and "outward forearm block" in the EPAK-24 system (blue-belt level). To a beginner these blocks appear to be similar to the regular inward & outward-vertical blocks found at yellow belt level. To get the ball rolling, this is how I execute the blocks from a horse-stance:
Inward: same circular motion as the inward block. Instead of extending the forearm out+away at 45-degrees (by punching the fist away from you), the arm is brought towards the center-line in a horizontal motion with the under-side of the forearm facing away from you (the soft underside strikes, not the outer edge of the ulna-bone.
Outward: same motion as the outward-vertical, but there is no rotation of the forearm around the elbow-joint. When complete, the arm is in the same position as the o.v.b but the upper-side of the forearm is pointing to your side instead of forewards+away from you. In both cases the fist+wrist are aligned in the same way you would execute a punch/regular block (i.e. straight - no bend at the wrist).
Would appreciate any comments on my descriptions..am I doing these completing wrong?
Moving on, my questions are:
1. where in the EPAK-24 kenpo syllabus do these two blocks occur (other than as a "basic")? My understanding is:
A. There is an isolated inward-forearm block towards the end of long-form-2
B. *Maybe* an outward-forearm-block as part of the initial defence in Entwined-Maces (the right-outward-forearm-block to the outside of the attacker's right-reverse-punch after the first inward block to the outside of the attacker's left punch). I'm unsure here my memory is a little hazy.
can't find any other usages (yet!)
2. What is a good scenario to apply either of these blocks to?
2. Are they really "blocks" - maybe a misaliging mechanism instead?
3. What is the correct method of execution?
4. Why choose a "forearm" block instead of the (as I understand) structurally stronger "regular" block?
5. When/where did they originate? where they imported from an older kungfu system to "bulk out" the kenpo-karate syllabus or is there more importance behind their existence?
6. Do these blocks exist in the SL-4 curriculum? (quite interested to have this particular question answered).
Just looking for some insights or ideas to play with...
cheers,
James