Sounds pretty esoteric but I think this phrase often used in Chinese Martial Arts paints a good picture of what I would like to discuss in this post.
Essentially what we are talking about is damaging or destroying the opponents weapons or his desire to use those weapons. When i talk about weapons here i am talking about their body weapons, eg. Punch, palm, elbow, shoulder, headbutt, kicks, knees etc.
Its a pretty big subject so i aim to give a brief overview of what I think about the subject and also a couple of examples of methods that can be looked into and tried out.
AIMS & GOALS.
‘To remove the opponents desire or ability to use their primary weapons against you’
There are several ways to achieve this goal. Some can be used against semi aggressive attackers or people you do not wish to seriously damage, some can be used to mechanically destroy the opponents ability to use the weapon. Lets look at the options for achieving this goal.
1. Shock the system
Here we are aiming to shock the attacker into rethinking their choice to attack. This is one of the most useful primary methods than you can begin to work with as it is not a destruction but a much more light method. It can be used to strip away an aggressive persons intent and is linked directly to the opponents thought processes.
Often Termed ‘shocking the guard’ as it is commonly used to attack the opponents guard in some way, this method is all about ‘sharp pain’ and ‘shaking the centre’. The damage may not be great but we need the opponent to feel as though they have been shocked with electricity when you attack their guard. Once you have shocked their guard you need to leave room for the opponent to think ... this is where people often get the method wrong. It is in that thinking space that you follow up should come if that’s what your trying to achieve with your shock. Shocking the guard is very much like physically asking a question, as they think about the answer ... whack!
Of course you can also ask .. ‘are you sure you want to continue?’ ... if your shock is good enough they will more often than not say ‘no thanks!’.
2. Split the muscles.
This is a combination of shocking and partially mechanically disabling. The aim here is to target the muscles that connect to the body weapons and that are utilised in their deployment. For example you may Target the Bicep just above the elbow joint.
When we say split the muscle this is really what we mean! Usually you will use a single knuckle or the knuckle ridge to achieve the sort of penetrating force we require to achieve this. We want to hit with enough force that we actually damage the muscle tissue and cause a great amount of pain in a localised area. We also want this damage to partially inhibit the ability to use the limb.
There are a few very nice methods that can be used to split or damage the muscles, my teachers have shown me some of them to great effect!
3. Separate the tendons & Ligaments.
Next we move to real incapacitation of the attacking limb. Here we are talking about destroying the supporting structures of the joints in the main often without breaking the bones themselves. I know from personal experience that a separated, split or disconnected ligament or tendon can be much worse in the long term than a bone break.
These methods are normally applied in joint manipulations but can equally be applied when a joint is turned and then struck. This is a particularly violent way of incapacitation and is much more likely to separate the ligaments or tendons than a joint manipulation.
When applying joint manipulations in this instance there needs to be a strong, shocking or explosive force behind the method. You often see ‘wrist twists’ or joint ‘locks’ in JuJutsu, Shoalin Chinna etc but we are talking about something different here.
For example, if you get a wrist twist, the aim is to turn the hand around without affecting the rest of the opponents structure. Rather than the more classical, twist the wrist to take them down, type of force. This level of force requires a very strong pulse from the whole to achieve the method.
There are certain styles that will also specialise in gripping certain tendons and ripping them from the bone, although this is not a speciality of what I train I am reliably informed that these people can disable your arm very quickly.
4. Shatter the bones.
Finally there is the practice of shattering the bones, or as is said in The Chin na of Xing Yi ‘Turning their bones to dust’.
Here the aim is to actually break the bones in and around the joints or to break bones that will hinder limb motion. For instance, to disable the arm, you may strike the collar bone to smash it to pieces.
These methods can be linked very closely with separating the tendons as certainly if your breaking a joint you will often break or stretch the tendons and ligament of that joint. But mainly we are focusing on again, applying a very powerful full body movement against a single weak point on the opponents weapon structures.
Typical methods used are:
- Locking in place and striking through.
- Striking through (trust kick to the knee is a good example)
- Locking and crushing the joint.
- Striking associated targets (Collar bone etc)
Summary
These methods are very useful provided you are able to apply them in a live environment. I know fighters who can apply elbow strikes to the face of an incoming fist at full speed, this obviously takes time to achieve, but is very valuable.
Most of these methods, especially ones that involve locking or breaking should not be sought after but should be utilised when the time arises.
Many of these methods are psychological in nature, an opponent had the desire to attack you, you strike their limb with such force that the decide to re-evaluate that decision.
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