Snake Slap

[flashlock]

When I was a boy, my father taught me a technique he learned from a Vietnamese friend of his--he called it snake kung fu (??).

Anyway, I've been playing with some of my father's old bar-brawling techniques, and thought I would share this one (ancient family secret).

The "Snake Slap" seems pretty unique. Instead of a jab, you WHIP your front hand forward with a very loose wrist.

You are striking with the very tips of your fingers (target the opponent's nose and eyes). After the initial strike, your hand will flap back and forth a little--that means your wrist was loose enough and you're doing it right.

It is lightning quick, and because you're extending your fingers, your range increases the length of your middle and ring fingers.

We used to practice on tree leafs, putting holes in the leaves with our finger flicks.

 

[MJS]

This is just like the finger whips that can be found in Kenpo. I agree, its a nice, quick, effective move.

Mike

 

[Flatlander]

I agree, its a nice, quick, effective move.

Indeed - the speed of the movement is due to the opposing muscles being relaxed, so you're not fighting yourself trying to get the strike out quickly, which is a common error among the inexperienced or newer folks. In JKD it's referred to as the bil-jee.

 

[gixxershane]

This is just like the finger whips that can be found in Kenpo. I agree, its a nice, quick, effective move.

Mike

my thoughts exactly... there are quite a few in finger set 1.

 

[arnisador]

In JKD it's referred to as the bil-jee.

Yes, that can be done in a spearhand fashion but in the first Wing Chun form there's already a back-and-forth raking motion. (Of course, WC has a snake influence!) We do the whip-style technique in JKD.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Very effective move and you can find it in quite a few martial arts.

 

[zDom]

Ah thank goodness!

Not what I thought this thread would be.

Off-topic comments can be found here:

http://martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=744399#post744399

 

[Touch Of Death]

I was taught a "Dragon" strike. It is axactly as you described but you first catch them with the back of your wrist and as there head snaps back your fingers loosly unfurl into thier eyes. The reverse of that would be to strike with the figer tips and have each knuckle strike the target to the back of the wrist, forearm, to the tip of the elbow.:mst:
sean

 

[bushidomartialarts]

it's a beautiful move to practice, and teaches the concept of relaxation > tension as effectively as anything i've ever seen.

i'm leary of trying it in real life, though. my fingers are awfully little to be zinging the tips of them at that sort of speed.

great party trick and teaching tool, though.

 

[tradrockrat]

You should see the Bando Cobra system...

Awesome...

It's the same concepts, but strikes are made with knuckles as well. We trained by hanging newspapers and splitting them with out strikes. If you muscled it, the paper would just tear or crumple without tearing at all, but if you relaxed and hit with ballistic speed, the paper would split downward and outward in a perfect triangle shape.

The really good guys could pop pingpong balls in the air, and the masters could pop unsupported ballons floating free.

(silly I know, but impressive none-the-less)