striking with the forearm (not the elbow)

[chrissyp]

So I've been practicing with striking with the forearm, not the point...It's an interesting technique, that I don't see used in many combats sports like kickboxing or MMA, and I assume it is legal, but why the lack? I do see it in muay thai some, it appears they mainly use the point and not the forearm

From my personal observations, it has a good flow, specially into punches and elbow strikes, as we all as strike deflection and sometimes a strike all in one.

My other question is what is your personal opinion of this technique, and for those who do use this, whats some of your favorite set ups? Any advise on using this would be greatly appreciated

For those not completely sure what i'm trying to say, here's a video explaining it.

 

[dvcochran]

So I've been practicing with striking with the forearm, not the point...It's an interesting technique, that I don't see used in many combats sports like kickboxing or MMA, and I assume it is legal, but why the lack? I do see it in muay thai some, it appears they mainly use the point and not the forearm

From my personal observations, it has a good flow, specially into punches and elbow strikes, as we all as strike deflection and sometimes a strike all in one.

My other question is what is your personal opinion of this technique, and for those who do use this, whats some of your favorite set ups? Any advise on using this would be greatly appreciated

For those not completely sure what i'm trying to say, here's a video explaining it.

Great video. Really takes me back to my Kali days in Nashville. I am not sure if he made a point of it but it has a lot to do with distance. The short arm, forearm, elbow are quality strikes, but similar to a punch they need either speed or torque from another part of the body to be really effective. It looked like some of the things he was doing would be good as a parry or counter, but would not have a lot of striking force. Kali lives so much closer in to the opponent than many other styles it took me a long time to get used to.

 

[chrissyp]

Great video. Really takes me back to my Kali days in Nashville. I am not sure if he made a point of it but it has a lot to do with distance. The short arm, forearm, elbow are quality strikes, but similar to a punch they need either speed or torque from another part of the body to be really effective. It looked like some of the things he was doing would be good as a parry or counter, but would not have a lot of striking force. Kali lives so much closer in to the opponent than many other styles it took me a long time to get used to.

Kali is an art I have zero experience in, but as my training evolves into a bare knuckle/ Pugilism style, Kali might be a good one to look into for my personal system!

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

The head lock is to use your forearm to strike on the back of your opponent's head. When you get a head lock on your opponent, you have 1/2 way knock him out already.

 

[drop bear]

Cross face, framing and clinches are forearm strikes. It is like the John Jones oblique kick. It works but it doesn't have the game ending superiority that people say it has.

 

[Deleted member 39746]

First time i have seen a video on forearms in FMA.

 

[hoshin1600]

i love forearm strikes. as was mentioned the distance is really short. a lot of styles are not used to such close distance. but if you train being on the inside they work well.

whats some of your favorite set ups?

i would not advise being on an outside range like in TKD then trying to move in and hit with a forearm. you have to be there to begin with. i work with a few different clinch positions. from there i can fire off a quick shot then come back into the position or switch to another. the forearms work well for this because when your nice and tight even punches and elbows need you to create more space. space means your gonna get punched.

Any advise on using this would be greatly appreciated

It works but it doesn't have the game ending superiority that people say it has.

most people cant naturally generate enough power at this range. is something you really need to work on and understand the correct mechanics for. even then there is a very low probability of ending a fight with a forearm. but it does jostle around the brain and opens up other opportunities.
in the clip he shows a forearm to the bicep. meh ... but if that strike is used as a checking strike to cancel out your opponents strike, you could follow up with something else and in that case it would work well.

 

[Buka]

I like striking with the forearm. Can't say I ever actually planned to do so, it just happens sometimes when flailing away "in the kitchen". (in close quarters)

 

[Danny T]

In the Pekiti-Tirsia International's abecedario de mano curriculum we have 24 forearm attacks.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Cross face, framing and clinches are forearm strikes. It is like the John Jones oblique kick. It works but it doesn't have the game ending superiority that people say it has.

Agreed. I think maybe the biggest advantage a forearm strike has is that it's very forgiving. You can hit from a short distance (the short stroke when stepping into a clinch, for instance) and shake things up a little. If you miss, you probably still hit, unless you miss by a huge margin. Not a power strike in most cases (except in the WWF), but a handy bit of kit.

 

[kunetao]

Oh forearm strikes are very effective. They are versatile also, not only can you cause damage you can also drive them back with minimal effort. they are one of those things where you cant appreciate them until you experience them ... like open hand hits.

 

[Christopher Adamchek]

Forearm strikes are quite versatile as a mid range technique
A few usages i particularly like:
- the ridge hand motion: if im far its a hand strike, if im near its a nice arm blow to the head, if im too close its great to transition to a shoulder wheel like throw
- throwing a jab/punch either aiming next to their head (which makes it hard to block) or to their head and they parry it, continue forward momentum striking with the back of the forearm to the face/neck
- can be done with a parry but using a hammer fist like motion and striking with the middle of the ulna down on an incoming punch to the nerve between the extensors in the forearm

 

[wab25]

I took a shot while sparring, that was exactly like the one demonstrated at the 26 second mark in the video. It knocked my jaw completely out of place. If I clenched my jaw shut, my left upper and lower molars would be tightly clenched together... I could put my index finger between the upper and lower molars on the right side. This was a fight stopper for me, but more because we were sparring in class and I didn't want to take another shot with my jaw so far out of place. I could have continued to fight though, if needed.

I do remember that my face hurt for days, even after getting it put back into place. My jaw still locks up or goes out on the right side and its been almost 15 years now since it happened.

 

[Yokozuna514]

In Kyokushin, we call these types of strikes 'kote uchi'

. Although this video demos the strike from the inside of the forearm, the opposite side of the forearm can be equally effective. Here is another clip from Human Weapon showing the effectiveness of kote uchi from an Okinawan Karate perspectivehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2wWN4zOSHA

 

[FriedRice]

Kali is an art I have zero experience in, but as my training evolves into a bare knuckle/ Pugilism style, Kali might be a good one to look into for my personal system!

The reason they're doing that is because Kali's main thing are their weapons. Most to all of these techniques are how they train to strike & slash with knives and sticks. Their kata is like a 2 for 1 training. But some of their moves (w/o weapons) will get you KO'ed by good Boxers & Nak Muays.

 

[geezer]

Josh Kaldani, one of Wing Chun /MMA coach Alan Orr's "Iron Wolves" has had success integrating a Wing Chun flavored frontal elbow into his MMA mix. It's a forward hacking or chopping elbow delivered a bit differently than wat you typically see in MMA, Muay Thai, etc. If you watch the following clip from about 4:50-5:20, you'll see that it can equally land with the point of the elbow or with the forearm depending on distance and position, and it is effective both ways.