Both traditional martial arts and reality-based self defense (RBSD) systems often talk about “fighting dirty” in self defense. By this, they are generally referring to doing things like gouging the eyes, striking the throat or groin, pulling the ears or hair, stomping the knees, etc. All of these are perfectly valid fighting methods, of course, but many people have a […]
If you frequent many online martial arts forums, then you will be familiar with the “Orthodox vs. Southpaw” discussion. It usually begins with someone who is relatively new to the martial arts, or someone who has a boxing background. The question can vary, a bit, but it always has the same general theme–trying to figure out what the benefits are […]
While karate strikes primarily target the head and body, it also includes strikes to limbs. In my recent article about cutting lines, I mentioned that those methods involve striking the limb as you attack. That is a byproduct of cutting the opponent’s line of attack or defense, but damaging the limb isn’t usually the intent. In this article, we will […]
Centered Punch by Hironishi Motonobu (L), Off-Centered Punch by Funakoshi Gichin (R) When practicing kihon (basics)–which carries over into kata practice–there tend to be two schools of thought on where to aim punches. One says that you should aim to the center, as if your opponent were standing directly in front of you, so that you can work on your […]
