How to Improve Your Martial Arts By: Randy Brown

(photos courtesy of Max Kotchouro)

So often in the fighting arts, we lack principles or framework to improve our skills through critical analysis. A few artists/fighters/boxers, mainly those willing to take some beatings, are able to improve their skills, while others are left feeling like they just don’t have what it takes. When you take your training to the sparring phase, whether on the mat, ring, or cage, if you find that you are not getting better, or are not improving as fast as you’d like, this manual can help. Understand the liability, pluses, and minuses of your position and movements. Increase your level of skill through easy to understand diagnostics. Turn your failures into success. Train Hard. Train Smart. Respectfully, Randy Brown Black Belt (6th degree) ­ Mantis Boxing Purple Belt ­ Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

The 12 Basic Fighting Principles These 12 Principles will lay a foundation for you to improve from. Once you have mastered these you can explore the offensive side of each principle where relevant to trip up your opponent. Learn the rule. Know the rule. Then you can break the rule. A note regarding 3 Way Blocking We use a blocking system known as 3 Way Blocking. It consists of Upper Blocks, Middle Blocks, and Lower Blocks and allows you to cover all ‘Zones’ while keeping ‘Doors’ closed. I highly recommend using the following 3 Way Blocking System to work from when using/applying these principles. Efficient Blocking System for Martial Arts This blocking system is the best I have found for martial arts/fighting. Work from here and later you will “break the rules” and apply even better defensive options that you find in martial arts. Table of Contents

Rooting Speed/Power/Skill Guard Principle (One In/One Out) Zone Defense Closing Door Rule of Three Change Levels/Vary Targets Centerline Principle Range Focus Principle Effective Strike Emotional Control

Rooting Rooting is an essential part of everything you do when fighting. If you are unbalanced, too upright, and disconnected from the earth, then you will be on the verge of falling over, ineffective in your fighting, and susceptible to throws/take downs. How to Root Lengthen your stance and drop your pelvis closer to the ground by bending the knees. This will assist in stability and not falling down or being rocked when blocking, striking, or being pushed/pressed. Everything comes with a price in fighting. In order to gain one advantage, you must give up another. It’s the nature of the beast. There are three heights you can use in your stances: High, Mid, Low, and each has it’s pros and cons. High Stance

A high stance does not mean you have to sacrifice your rooting. Bend your knees slightly and drop your weight. Keep your body weight on the balls of your feet for maximum stability/mobility. I’ll explain that further in a moment. This stance should be used when you are trying to A) get in and out quickly on an opponent. B) are still outside Critical Distance (see Range Principle). C) in need of an escape with faster footwork to get away from your opponent and create space. Mid Stance A mid level stance is the best of both worlds. You have a bit more stability without completely compromising mobility. You cannot move as quickly as in a high stance, but you are fairly functional. This is a good stance to use once you have passed ‘Critical Distance’ (see Range), or are in mid range and engaged in striking. Low Stance Low stances are great for digging in. Once you have moved into close range, drop your stance for the best stability. Think about wrestlers. Mobility is severely decreased here but once you are in grappling range you are extremely vulnerable to throws, shoots, and takedowns so a lower entrenched stance is a must. Balls of the feet Keep the weight centered on the ball of the foot. Flat footed means you can’t move quickly. <HINT>Catching an opponent flat footed is a good opportunity for an offensive attack. The heel should be light but not overly high off the ground; an inch or so. Keep your weight off the toes as they are

meant to balance, stabilize, and propel, not support your weight full time.

Speed/Power/Skill Three traits that give one fighter an edge over another fighter, but don’t necessarily decide the victor. Speed Some are faster than others. He/she who hits first, can gain quite an advantage in a fight if they know what to do. Someone distracted by the first punch or two, will have trouble defending against the next 3 to 5 punches in a solid combination. Power Some people are bigger than others, some are stronger than others even without being bigger. Power is another attribute that can vastly affect a fight. If someone hits harder than the person they are fighting, it could mean the end quickly without a good defense/fighting strategy. Remove for Training When training, keep the speed slow for learning, and fast for testing. This will reduce stress and reliance on natural attributes that can unlevel the playing field. These attributes will come back into play during sparring sessions where you are testing your skills. Power is difficult to remove but staying light and learning proper technique will make a stronger fighter even better. You already have the strength... Connecting Principles: Focus, Emotional Control See more information in Speed Kills ­ Your Martial Arts

Guard Principle (One In/One Out) Guard principle defines proper defensive positioning of the hands and arms. A good guard position reduces the number of available targets that you present to an opponent. It also protects you while you are striking. During striking or blocking, always move the other hand back to a defensive position (one hand out, one hand in). If you extend two arms simultaneously (two out), you will not be able to block your opponent's counter­strike. The Guard Defined ­ With your body in a bladed position (see Blading under #8 Centerline Principle), your hands naturally stagger one in front of the other. This allows for you to gain range on your opponent with

your lead hand; making it easier to reach them with an initial strike. You also protect your centerline from attacks to some of the ‘Effective Strike’ targets that would otherwise be left open if you faced off with your opponent square. Do not let your elbows wing outwards, so they can protect the ribs and maximize the strength of the arms. Be sure that you are not cocking your wrists, which will mask incorrect forearm alignment and slow the arms down. Plus it looks goofy. Line your hands up with your opponent's shoulders. If your hands are too close together, you open up targets on the outside where we are anatomically weak. If your hands are too far apart, it will be difficult to block strikes to the center and your delayed response will cause you to get hit. Shoulder width is a good spot. The height of the hands is determined by A) the height of your opponent, B) the range to your opponent, and C) where you can comfortably keep them so they can react quickly against incoming blows. Hold your hands up to roughly the eyebrow level of your opponent (with fingers relaxed but straight). If you do not hold your hands up high enough, you will not be able to block upper strikes effectively. If you hold your hands up too high, you will expose body targets and weaken your arms. NOTE: Yes, you can always compliment your blocks with slipping and ducking later on, but it is good to hone your blocks to the highest degree so you know they are dependable. Guard Hand ­ the effective use of the Guard Hand while striking can maximize your defense while taking offensive action. Be sure to return your non­striking hand to the guard position while your other arm is striking. Connecting Principles: Zone, Door, Range

Zone Defense The body is divided into 9 sections (see diagram 1) called zones. These zones help define a system of where your hand should and should not be while fighting. Zone Principle can be divided into offensive and defensive categories. Practitioners should only learn defensive side first, then later add the offensive. In order to effectively defend as many doors (potential openings for opponent to hit you ­ see 'Door' principle) as possible your hands should not pass between more than 2 zones. **assumes the student understands 'Basic Fighting Position' taught in the first level. Left hand covers left side. Right hand covers right side. Either can go into the center zones. Never cross more than 2 zones (includes the one you are currently in). Example: Right hand is in top left quadrant in diagram 1. Opponent throws a round kick at lower right quadrant. The right hand would have to cross 2 zones to get there and is therefore out of position and unable to return to the top left quadrant to defend the the open door which is now available for opponent to strike. Drills 3 way blocking random ­ slow, medium, fast. Once the rules are understood then minor adjustments or exceptions to the above rules apply. In order to cross to the middle zone to defend the groin against a strike coming from below (scraping fist or palm), you should change the height of your zones. In other words crouch lower in your stance. In order to cross to the low zone to defend a kick to the leg, you should change the height of your zones. The only time you should do this is to affect a throw by grabbing the opponent's leg, or neutralizing an opponent shooting for a low takedown. Otherwise, never bring your hands down to the lower zones.

Closing Door 'Closing Door' is the principle of keeping as many doors closed as possible while fighting. Doors are openings for strikes and kicks to walk through. This principle is heavily connected to Guard Principle. A proper guard will close down many open doors.

Elbows In ­ keeping the elbows in allows for the ribs to stay protected and the upper block to function with proper strength. Hands in line with Shoulders ­ Forces opponent to go around or inside your arms to hit you. Also assists the upper block in having the strength to function. Liability ­ When striking ­ you naturally open doors. To minimize the potential negative effects of this be sure to apply zone, guard, blading. Neutral Position ­ this is the position you want to work from early on against an opponent. Your feet are lined up with their feet. When they circle, you match. When you have a bladed stance (see Centerline Principle), and move to match their stance, you neutralize advantages they may gain from angles. This increases the effectiveness of our blocking system, and shuts down access to certain vulnerable targets. This is worked heavily in Mirror Drill.

Rule of Three The rule of three states that the first two strikes can be effectively neutralized by even a somewhat unskilled opponent. You have two arms, and your opponent likely has two arms. You punch with two arms they block with two arms. However, a less­skilled opponent will not return their first blocking hand to the correct guard position, and will thus have created a hole in their defense, i.e. what we call an [open door]. Therefore, on our third strike or higher, we have a higher probability to penetrate their guard and land a strike. Practice combinations containing at least three strikes in the air or on a heavy bag to get this down. There many combinations that can be thrown with just three punches. Start there, and work yourself up to a higher number as you grow comfortable and find your hands going back home to ‘your’ guard position between strikes. A higher skilled opponent will be able to block more than three strikes in a row. Over time, your objective is to string more and more punches together so that eventually your opponent will make a mistake and be out of position. At which point you can capitalize on the open door. The more skill, the higher the number of strikes to open doors without the use of more advanced tactics. However, the converse also applies to the aggressor; the more punches you string together, the more likely that you will fail to guard correctly and be unable to block your opponent's counter (see Guard principle for decreasing this risk). (see number 8 Centerline for more information on Rule of Three)

Change Levels/Vary Targets Changing levels refers to varying the targets of your punches between the head, body, groin, and legs, to avoid predictability and confuse the opponent’s defenses. The less­skilled fighter will typically focus on the head for psychological reasons, and because it takes a little more practice to locate effective targets on the body. Head­focused striking is easier for an opponent to block with their hands up. He or she knows where the punches are going, and they do not have to travel far to block them if they simply put their hands up in a defensive posture. The less­skilled fighter will not be able to block shots to the body effectively; even if they do block the lower shot, they will probably not return to correct guard position and will be open for a head shot. By intermixing high and low shots during

combinations, the opponent is forced to move up and down with different blocks, increasing the difficulty of the defense and increasing the likelihood they will violate 'Zone Defense' and open those 'Closed Doors'. This type of variation is what leads to holes, or doors, in the opponent’s defense and is the foundation for ‘Effective Striking’ principle. Vary Targets Vary Targets is used in conjunction with 'Rule of Three' and 'Changing Levels' to confuse your opponent and lure them out of position with their blocking arms, thus opening doors. When applying this, use combinations that change not only from high to low, low to high but outside to inside, inside to outside.

Centerline Principle Centerline Principle is protecting your centerline by blading and circling so you do not end up square to your opponent. Square ­ The body is turned facing toward opponent giving each arm equal striking range and strength. Vulnerabilities are ­ increases access to effective strike targets to include groin. Allows opponent to use ‘Three Up the Middle’ (see below).

Blading ­ The body is turned to a 45 degree angle (shoulders and hips) to deflect punches from vital targets, facilitate a 1 in and 1 out with the arms, help with rooting, create a smaller target. Deficiencies with this stance ­ decreased power with the lead hand. Three Up the Middle ­ When an opponent is square to you and their arms are up, fire a 3 punch combination up the middle changing levels, and you will hit them with at least 1, if not all 3 strikes.

Range Range is absolutely crucial in fighting. It means the difference in getting hit or not, blocks working properly, elbow and knee strikes going live, grappling, clinches, etc. Paying attention to and learning range can make you a highly effective fighter, offensively, or defensively. Critical Distance The line that separates you from being hit or not being hit by your opponent. Critical Distance is determined by the range just outside the reach of your opponents longest weapon ­ their rear leg. Ranges

Long Range ­ this is the range outside critical distance or right on the edge of it. It is where there is no fight, or the beginning of a fight where someone uses a bridging tactic to enter the circle.

Mid Range ­ this is a where the fight takes place, and where you spend most of your time training. Kicks, punches, some knees, are all open game here. Some grabbing and seizing will take place at this range as well.

Close Range ­ this is the stand­up grappling range. Close range is extremely important. Where you need to change your blocks, have a good shoot defense, know the clinches (neck, body, mantis holds), and grips or how to defend against them. Throws, trips, and takedowns are in play. Elbows and knees are in play.

Bridging Bridging is an art in and of itself. (see The Science of Bridging) When you pass critical distance on the offensive, your opponent has the advantage. While you are focused on moving in and striking or attempting a takedown, they are just waiting and watching for an opening to hit you or counter your takedown.

Later you will learn more in­depth bridging tactics (double kick, flying knee, superman punch, fakes, feints, etc.). For now, focus on using your long range weapons (kicks) when closing distance. If you are inside ‘Critical Distance’ and you aren’t striking, grappling, kicking, clinching, throwing, then you are in trouble and waiting to get hit.

Focus Principle Focus Principle is how you neutralize your opponent's speed so you are able to block their punches in time. When your opponent is within striking range you are reacting to their action, so you are always behind. Using your peripheral vision to counter your opponent's speed while maximizing your reflex time for blocking is what focus principle comes down to. By all accounts you seem superhuman after you learn to do this. When you stare at a punch coming at your face and then try to block it, you will fail and get hit in the face. If you are looking off­line and seeing the punch with your peripheral vision, you will have the reaction time to block it. Maintaining focus principle while fighting is another story. One must attempt to stay in focus principle when on the defensive, ignoring the motion of their opponent, and getting back to peripheral vision after getting hit. To do this, we cross our eyes and uncross them quickly to get back into focus, or rather, out of focus.

Effective Strike Effective Strike (Xiao Da), is the principle of striking to vital targets, or targets that have more destructive impact than other areas of the body. This is a common concept in many styles of martial arts. Below are the targets and their desired effect. For more information you may want to read ‘Xiao Da: The Truth on Effective Strike’ Head Targets

Throat ­ Crush the larynx making it difficult to impossible for opponent to breathe

Side of Neck (Brachial Stun) ­ Knock out blow, or excrutiating pain at the least Back of Neck (Occipital Lobe) ­ Knock out blow Jaw ­ Break or Dislocation. Extreme pain. Nose ­ Pain. Bleeding. Watery Eyes causing reduced vision. Eyes ­ Loss of sight. Extreme pain. Ears ­ Tear them off for extreme pain. Temple ­ Knock out blow. Extreme pain. Disorientation.

Body Targets

Shin ­ Extreme pain and discomfort.

Knee ­ Break/Dislocation. Extreme pain. Loss of Mobility. Outer Thigh ­ A solid kick to this target can cripple a fighter and make them think twice about

closing distance. Inner Thigh (Femoral Nerve) ­ Identical to the Outer Thigh, this target causes excruciating pain. Groin ­ Extreme pain and discomfort. Potentially cripple opponent. Bladder ­ Pain and discomfort. Possible bladder release. (you figure it out) Rib ­ Break. Extreme pain and discomfort. Possible breathing effects. Kidney ­ Potential knock out as well as extreme pain. Liver ­ Knock out blow. Extreme pain/discomfort. Stomach ­ Knock out blow. Extreme pain/discomfort. Solar Plexus ­ High concentration of nerves. Also the meeting point of the heart, liver. Collar Bone ­ Break. Extreme pain. Loss of use of arm on that side. Harder target to hit and not

effective on everyone.

Emotional Control The final principle is ‘Emotional Control’. This is an often sought after and rarely attained side effect from martial arts training. We envision the wise old master sitting quietly in meditation only to turn into a verifiable badass the moment the movie needs an action star. What we don’t see is, that emotional control doesn’t come without sparring/fighting, and yet, it doesn’t come with sparring/fighting either. It really comes from proper training and constant diligence in applying that training. Being hit is a very emotional act for many people. For others, the act of hitting someone else is emotional. If someone studies martial arts but never spars, they will never know what it is like to function under that stress until it is too late. On the opposing side, if someone spars all the time, and isn’t taught to control their emotions (rage, fear, jealousy, inferiority, retaliation, pity, etc.), they will not develop this emotional control attribute either. Emotional control does not mean you don’t feel fear, anger, or other emotions while in conflict. It means that you feel those feelings and you function without letting them control you. Rage and anger can cost you a fight. So how can you build emotional control without putting yourself in the fire? While sparring with one another, talk about a movie, game, the weather, what you did this weekend. Build a repoire with the person before you begin. Get to know your partner. By talking, you learn to stabilize the emotions while getting hit or hitting someone else. Removing the stress from the situation allows the brain freedom to learn, and the ability to maintain a good speed for advancing skill. If you feel tensions rising while you are sparring, stop and take a breath, and keep your partner in the loop. Focus on relaxing and gaining this emotional control. Later, when you have achieved this and sparring is less of a stress to you, you can focus on trying to fix things while sparring. You’ll be in a different place skill­wise by then.

Resources:

Efficient Blocking System for Martial Arts Speed Kills ­ Your Martial Arts The Science of Bridging ‘Xiao Da: The Truth on Effective Strike’