I know many of you practice this against a right grab to the lapel. I was taught it originally against a right step-through punch to the face, but the school I'm teaching at now teaches this technique against a right step-through push to the sternum. Regardless, I think the motion is instantly recognizable and at least roughly universal to our disparate kenpo styles. Certainly this technique is basic enough that every style everywhere probably has some version of a basic lead side block/lead side counter combination. Here is how I teach this technique.
DELAYED SWORD
Attack: Right straight step-through push to the sternum
Direction: 12 oÂ’clock
Family of Techniques: Defense on the inside of the attackerÂ’s body
- Step back with the left foot into a right neutral bow stance, stepping out of range of the hand, moving the head first and letting the body fall into the stance. As you land in the stance strike/block the attackerÂ’s punch with a right inward block (hammering) striking the radial nerve and bring a left position check, palm facing 12, near your lower ribs under your right elbow to cover the lower mid zone.
- Execute a right front snap kick with the ball of the foot to the attackerÂ’s groin causing him to bend forward from the pain.
- As you land from the kick with a neutral bow knee check to the opponent's lead leg execute a right outward handsword strike to the right side of the attackerÂ’s neck, specifically the sternocleidomastoid muscle.
- After you connect with the handsword strike bring the right hand back to itÂ’s point of origin as an inward block to maintain the higher zone check and guard position.
This is one of the first techniques we teach at our school. When students learn this technique, they have usually only had two or three classes in the school, and this is their first technique that defends against a striking attack. This is also the first time they've kicked an opponent in a technique. When I teach this technique for the first time I begin by teaching it step by step.
- Step Back (head moves first)
- Right Hand Block (striking the radial nerve)
- Position Check (closing open zones)
- Front Kick (striking a major target)
- Outward Handsword (side of the neck)
- Return to Neutral Position (keep your guard up)
Once the students understand the six steps I break it down into three steps.
- Step Back/Block/Check
- Kick/Chop
- Return to Neutral
After that, we practice the technique as a single action in the air several times so that the students can begin to build the basic foundation for the movements. I then demonstrate the technique on the body slowly and at speed so that the students can understand the effect of the technique properly executed. Then I have the students practice the technique several more times in the air while I walk around letting each student practice the technique on me in turn so that I can make sure they have a basic understanding of the pattern and targets involved and so that I can be sure they can execute it safely with a training partner before I turn them loose on each other. I don't mind so much if I get hammered on the arm, kicked in the testicles, and chopped in the throat, but my student's safety is my primary concern. I want to make sure that when they do that to each other they can use control and train safely.
Once they've practiced it around twenty times in the air and several times on me I partner them up so they can practice the technique on the body with a training partner. It is important for them to understand how to properly dummy for the techniques as well, so I discuss that at this time while describing the effect of each of the strikes to their respective targets, as well as the combined effect of the strikes in sequence.
During this time I am pointing out important lessons contained within the technique and discussing them with the students while I demonstrate and they practice repetitions.
Lessons:
- Lead Side Block/Counter: This technique teaches a basic lead side block/jab combo with both the hand and the foot which is the simplest counterstrike and the basis for much of the further technique instruction.
- Defenses to the Inside of the Body: This technique teaches the student how to defend inside the arms and how to keep the inside position in order to target the centerline.
- Distance is Your Best Friend: By stepping further away, even if the attacker manages to strike you, the power of his strike will be greatly diminished because it was aimed at your original position, which you no longer occupy by moving backward (which is basically ghost imaging to be discussed later.) By stepping out of the way, you should not even need to execute the inward block and still be able to not get hit by the attackerÂ’s punch. When you control range and space you control time. By stepping back, you increase the amount of time before the strike reaches critical range and allow yourself more time to respond.
- Marriage of Gravity: Landing with a strike after a kick or other maneuver to add power to a strike by increasing the mass of the weapon by the added mass of the body as the practitioner falls into the strike.
- Anatomical Repositioning – Pain Compliance: In this technique the student learns how to affect the position of his attacker by causing specific pains to the attacker which will elicit specific reactions.
- Blocks are Strikes: The definition of a block is a maneuver with one part of the body that meets and displaces a weapon through impact force and deflection. The definition of a strike is an impact technique which causes blunt force trauma by moving a weapon through an unoccupied space at velocity until it makes contact with the target. Blocks can also be strikes, and strikes can also be blocks.
- Defending Pushes: In this technique we defend the push attack with an evasion and establish a strong base followed by a striking block to the attacking limb.
- Simple Combinations: In this technique we use a foot technique to set up a hand technique.
- Nerves in the Arm: Brachial Plexus to Ulnar/Radial Nerves.
- Kicks to the Groin/Bladder/Hip Girdle: The front kick to the groin in this technique can be used against alternate targets for similar but specifically different effects.
- Stun and Run: The two major strikes in this technique may be sufficient to disorient the attacker, at which point the student must decide whether to press or escape.
After another dozen or so repetitions on the body we practice the related drills. Usually the basics involved, especially any
new basics, are practiced before we learn the actual technique. Then we take the lessons and patterns of motion involved in the technique and practice those as isolated skills. Once each aspect of the technique has been practiced we return to the technique as a whole and practice it with a partner in a dynamic fashion.
Related Drills:
- Basics Practice:
Each of the basics in this technique should be practiced separately and in sequence in the air, on the pads and shields, and on the body, both sides. The students should practice stepping back into a strong Neutral Bow, Inward Hammering Blocks, Position Checks, Front Snap Kicks, Outward Handsword Strikes, and landing with a Neutral Bow Knee Check.
- Defending against Straight Pushes:
The students face each other in a fighting stance and practice alternating step through pushes while defending with stepping back and stepping back and blocking. As the students advance in skill, practice against jab and cross pushes. Advanced variations include parrying, blocking and parrying without stepping back, blocking and parrying while stepping in, stepping in without head movement and no block or parry, lateral stepping, and jamming actions. All can also be done sparring style.
- Stepping Back from Strikes:
The students partner up and practice stepping back from linear strikes with blocks and evasions line drill style. One student advances with front kicks and straight punches while the defender steps back with foot maneuvers and blocks. When the defender reaches the wall the students switch roles and he advances on his partner with linear strikes, who retreats with foot maneuvers and blocks until he reaches the wall. And so on.
- Block/Chop Combinations:
The students should practice the basic block/chop hand combination in the air and on the body. This should be done from static positions (horse stance, fighting stance) and from dynamic positions (sparring style). The students should practice altering the timing of the incoming punches so that the defenders have to maintain the inside position with blocks and checks while taking advantage of opportunities for counterstriking.
- Kicking a Moving Opponent:
The students should practice circle walking with a partner hunter/prey style with one student practicing kicks to his partner's groin/bladder/hip girdle. The uki should begin with dummying for the kicks as a simply moving target and then escalate to evasion and defenses against the kicks. At advanced levels the uki feeds a punch technique and the defender blocks the punch and counters with a front kick, which the uki defends and counters with a punch technique. And so on.
- Kick/Chop Combination:
The students should practice the basic kick/chop combination on the pads and with a partner. The students should alter their timing and targets with the combination based on their partners reactions to the strikes. This should be practiced static first as a dumb drill, then dynamic as a hunter/prey sparring style activity where one student feeds the kick/chop combination and the other tries to defend.
As the students progress through their training we constantly return to their previous material for further study and practice. At our school you have comprehensive tests at purple, brown, 1st, 3rd, and 5th black where you are required to perform the entire system up to that point in order to pass, and our students are encouraged to continue practicing their previous lists even when not preparing to test over them. I know that to many of you that sounds obvious, but I also know that in many schools that would be viewed as unnecessary busy work. I constantly drill into my students that all subsequent material is based on previous material. You are only as good as your basics, and that includes your basic techniques. At each higher level of skill, knowledge, and understanding the students are encouraged to explore further dynamic applications of the techniques. In spontaneous self defense, in sparring, against attacks other than it was originally learned for, using the Kenpo Formula, to all directions, as control techniques instead of striking techniques, at varying levels of intensity according to context, against weapons, with weapons in hand, against multiple attackers, and as part of a longer combination of movements.
Other good related drills for this technique are option drills where it is paired up with either another technique, say a punch technique like Attacking Mace or Sword of Destruction, or a kicking technique like Deflecting Hammer. Student A feeds either one attack or the other, and Student B responds with one technique or the other as appropriate. This is a great drill for lots of different techniques and helps the students to identify the differences in the similarities and the similarities in the differences.
That's just one class on one technique. Honestly, I probably wouldn't even hit all of this in one class. I tell my assistant instructors that when they teach a new technique they should try to think of three lessons from the technique to impart, and that they should draw from the patterns of motion, the basics and the targets involved, and the concepts and principles highlighted within the technique. Usually the first time I teach someone Delayed Sword I emphasize Distance is Your Best Friend, Blocks are Strikes, and Stun and Run. That's partly because they are still being introduced to basic self defense concepts at this time in their training. By the time the students leave that class, I would expect them to be able to put together a reasonable, recognizable, execution of Delayed Sword in the air and on the body, with the understanding that they are to practice it at home and in class
from now on, in order to develop real applicable skill. I wouldn't expect perfection, I've had this technique for fifteen years and I'm still improving, I'd simply expect that they understood enough of the technique to practice it on their own.
Usually this technique is taught as part of a larger class and only a portion of the class is devoted to the technique itself, with the rest focused on whatever basic we're working in the beginner class that week. But if I was going to teach an entire class just on this one technique, It would probably look something like this.
CLASS --DELAYED SWORD--
Warm Up
Stretch (knees and elbows)
Stepping Back (students practice stepping back into a fighting stance, establishing a base, and guarding/blocking in the air)
Shadowboxing from a Fighting Stance (students practice striking with the lead hand while switching stances and directions)
Basics Practice – Air, Pads, (inward blocks, front kicks, outward handswords)
Basics Practice – Body (inward blocks, front kicks, outward handswords, neutral bow knee checks)
Stepping Back from Strikes – Line Drill (with a partner, linear strikes, step back and block to the wall, alternate)
Kicking a Moving Opponent – Sparring Style (hunter/prey, front kicks to open targets)
Break
Curriculum
Delayed Sword (distance, blocks are strikes, stun and run)
Dynamic Drills
Block/Chop Combination – Partner Drill (pads, against punches from horse stance, dynamic sparring style)
Kick/Chop Combination – Partner Drill (pads, static on the body with a dummy, dynamic as an attack sparring style)
Spontaneous Activities
Defending against Straight Pushes (step-through/jab/cross, evade/base/block/counter, dynamic, alternating)
Technique Option Drill (Delayed Sword and Sword of Destruction, right push/left punch, defend appropriately, sparring style, alternating)
So that's it. Delayed Sword. At our school it's the fourth technique on the yellow belt list. I teach this technique about every eight weeks or so. How do you guys teach this technique and what lessons do you like to emphasize when you do?
-Rob
f course I requite my students to execute this technique from both sides nonstop in an explosive flow,exactly like I do with all my other techniques like Alternating Maces;we don't just stop on one side or with the groin kick and one sword hand. I'll have my variant of this technique up in about a week or so.
