I've been considering defenses from a prone position.
In the version of American Kenpo I was taught a technique called Encounter with danger where an opponent pushes you to the ground, and you execute several kicks to his groin, leg, head, and body as you rise to your feet.
Additionally, we had a number of drills we practiced for defending from a prone position.
1. Defender lays down on the ground, Attacker circles him. The Defender laying on the ground tries to rotate on the ground to keep his legs between himself and the Attacker while the Attacker tries to get into a position to strike the Defender's head. This is a non contact drill, the students only circle and rotate.
2. Multiple attackers holding shields surround a defender laying on the ground. Attackers constantly move in towards Defender while Defender strikes out with arms and legs against the shields, driving Attackers away. This is a medium contact drill against shields, but special attention must be used to avoid accidently striking Attackers legs with force. This drill can get very intense. Even against shields the Defender may feel highly threatened and can lash out unconsciously without an instructor's attentive direction.
3. One attacker pulls a Defender down and backwards from behind and strikes them to the ground, then begins stomping and kicking the Defender. The Defender must protect himself while moving to a less disadvantageous position and return to his feet. This is an advanced drill simulating an ambush style attack. Both students need to stay focused to avoid injury, and instructors should pay close attention to the level of force being used.
4. Multiple Attackers force a Defender to the ground and attempt to both grapple and strike the Defender into submission. The Defender is to defend as possible, while attempting to extricate himself as quickly as possible. This is an advanced drill simulating a group assault. The Defender is in a deeply disadvantageous position and is likely to be overwhelmed. The instructor must encourage the Defender to protect himself carefully while looking for opportunities to isolate and disable his attackers.
These are just some of the drills we used. There are others, but what drills do you use?
Secondly, in MMA you often see an attacker kicking the legs of a prone opponent. In a fight, I would stomp rather than kick, and I would only stomp the legs enough to move past them to the body. But my next question is on the defense of this attack.
When being struck in the body, I was taught to tense the muscles in my abdomen to absorb the force of the blow and protect the organs beneath. While this does protect the organs, tense muscles are more dense and as such expose more overall surface area to the force of the strike.
When being kicked in the legs, there are no organs to protect, the leg itself is the target. It would seem then that it is better to keep the legs loose so that less muscle tissue is exposed to trauma, tensing only to strike.
I know some of you probably know more about anatomy then I. What is your perspective on this defense?
-Rob
In the version of American Kenpo I was taught a technique called Encounter with danger where an opponent pushes you to the ground, and you execute several kicks to his groin, leg, head, and body as you rise to your feet.
Additionally, we had a number of drills we practiced for defending from a prone position.
1. Defender lays down on the ground, Attacker circles him. The Defender laying on the ground tries to rotate on the ground to keep his legs between himself and the Attacker while the Attacker tries to get into a position to strike the Defender's head. This is a non contact drill, the students only circle and rotate.
2. Multiple attackers holding shields surround a defender laying on the ground. Attackers constantly move in towards Defender while Defender strikes out with arms and legs against the shields, driving Attackers away. This is a medium contact drill against shields, but special attention must be used to avoid accidently striking Attackers legs with force. This drill can get very intense. Even against shields the Defender may feel highly threatened and can lash out unconsciously without an instructor's attentive direction.
3. One attacker pulls a Defender down and backwards from behind and strikes them to the ground, then begins stomping and kicking the Defender. The Defender must protect himself while moving to a less disadvantageous position and return to his feet. This is an advanced drill simulating an ambush style attack. Both students need to stay focused to avoid injury, and instructors should pay close attention to the level of force being used.
4. Multiple Attackers force a Defender to the ground and attempt to both grapple and strike the Defender into submission. The Defender is to defend as possible, while attempting to extricate himself as quickly as possible. This is an advanced drill simulating a group assault. The Defender is in a deeply disadvantageous position and is likely to be overwhelmed. The instructor must encourage the Defender to protect himself carefully while looking for opportunities to isolate and disable his attackers.
These are just some of the drills we used. There are others, but what drills do you use?
Secondly, in MMA you often see an attacker kicking the legs of a prone opponent. In a fight, I would stomp rather than kick, and I would only stomp the legs enough to move past them to the body. But my next question is on the defense of this attack.
When being struck in the body, I was taught to tense the muscles in my abdomen to absorb the force of the blow and protect the organs beneath. While this does protect the organs, tense muscles are more dense and as such expose more overall surface area to the force of the strike.
When being kicked in the legs, there are no organs to protect, the leg itself is the target. It would seem then that it is better to keep the legs loose so that less muscle tissue is exposed to trauma, tensing only to strike.
I know some of you probably know more about anatomy then I. What is your perspective on this defense?
-Rob
