Class notes: Bong sau, grip breaks and boxing combinations

3 drill warm up:
Martin was running a little late so the eight of us got into our 3 drill. I was working with Trist on angles of lap, forward energy, use of the bong sau in the final defence and looking at different/wider range of attacks on top of the 3 basic ones. It was nice to have some time to be creative, explore and play.

Martin's 4 key elements/fundamentals of the sound fighter:
Footwork
Power punching
Tight and small movements
DWL

Bong sau:
Bong sau is passive and done when energy is on the outside of the are. It is really important to work it in the 3 drill because it gives the opportunity to feel the energy and develop the bong sau.

Bong sau drill: I left jab then he paks off and hit with his right cross. As he hits after his pak you do you bong sau. They key is the pressure on the arm and this will dictate the move. After a few reps you can add you looping hook punch. My mistake when doing this with Ayyaz was that my bong was folding into too much. I was not maintaining the 135 degree angle. After some corrections it felt better. I was folding the arm from the elbow not keeping the 135 shape and folding from the shoulder and then turning the shoulders. Another key point is to wait for the energy.
Several times tonight Martin reinforced the idea that we should not create the shape in the hope that it is needed. It is energy and sensitivity directed. Furthermore to feel the correct energy the attackers needs to throw the punches to the face.

Grip breaks against 4 main common grips (same side hold on top of wrist hands pointing down

And the the opposite so that the hand under the wrist so hands point up, on both side of the body)
The first thing to consider is: are you really bothered about it? Let him worry about grabbing you and using up time, energy and concentration.

Rule 1 of grip breaks is always grab the grabber: rev the wrist and this will pull your elbow back and extend him plus more than likely root his weight through his legs, then grab.

We worked putting the 4 grabs on then swapping sides. Getting lots of reps in.

When you rev the wrist, this isolates his arm. We have to be aware that he might not be grabbing with 100% so you still have to go for the movement. Stay away initially from elusive grip breaks as he will follow your motion. The universal grip break (UGB) will give you resistance in his body to work against. When his arm is lengthened using the UGB his is pinned, little finger towards yourself, Martin used the analogy of the little finger chasing the thumb (looks like a fook sau). Ensure the top of the ulna is against his thumb so when rotate back using the hip and thus using body torque you can turn the hand out of the grip.

We then looked at folding techniques to break the grip, this was making sure the elbow goes forward. This will affect his structure and grip ability.

Sensitivity drill - guiding down the powerlines
Double lap
Arm drag to double lap

Underhook counter - the cricket bowl into chicken wing or DWL. Key points in DWL detail: 1. squeeze the arm by trying to pin your elbow to your side. 2. elbow on his shoulder. At time it can get jammed at the top of his tricep and the DWL is very tough to complete. 3. Punch the hips through.

Grappling flow drill sneak preview

Gloves on:

Jab, pak and counter jab warm up.

Jab the hand (held close the head and head height) - he will counter jab so you go to the protective shell cover, but do not lean back. It looked like a tight and small roll. Load the right handright right - throw right hand. Add movement from the pad holder in all directions

As above but add on the cover right head as he throws a left hook to which you counter with a left hook.

Jabs to the body only sparring.

Hands to the body sparring, my minor development was getting the rear hand pak and hit off in terms of timing. Really good working with Trist and Darren with alive footwork and movement. Thanks to Big Ron for his accuracy in making his rear pak and hit off work whilst hitting to my body. I never knew my eye ball was part of my body!!

Class notes: standing grappling workshop

3 drill:
Applying the Bong sau. See it's use and application as links in the pressure release valve on the outside of the arm. Ideally have a 135 degree angle. Incidentally you can practise this every time you walk through a door. Push the door open and as you walk through let the pressure release points in the arm happen at the elbow, shoulder and turn turn. Remember that the elbow is higher than the wrist.

Within the drill get used to counting 6 numbers - 1, 2, 3 attacks, 4, 5, 6 absorbtions/blocks. You need to bong on the number 6 as this will give you the gap to get the other hand out to block the palm strike.

Pak sau - hit towards him, encourage towards me.
Lap sau - does not go in one direction. You can push it towards his hip (evasive), into his void (pulling), up to the side even like the beginning of an arm drag. It is all about feeling the energy and exploring its use. So, stop thinking about lap going in one direction. Likewise with the double lap. PLay around with it.

We then looked at using:

Absorb relax and explode with different speed and rhythm. Relax on the defences and speed up on the attacks. Exploding with attacks only can happen if you are relaxed as there can be no acceleration from tension.

How to stay soft, relaxed and strong at the same time? constant forward pressure from your energy. Absorb his energy like a spring then send it forwards with your attacks.

We did loads of changes with everyone to feel the different energies in action and to have a go at absorbing and exploding in the 3 drill.

DWL:
Drilling the position and tightness.
Transition to chicken wing and back again. In reality you really turn fast and throw the hips through as you pull your arms onto his back and shoulder.. We need to do it a lot slower as the pace will tear the shoulder. Even at a more 'understanding' pace you can still feel the incredible potential of what can happen to the shoulder using the DWL.

In the chicken wing, when his hand goes on the floor, hand on the face, turn it away and then up. This is nice as it can keep you mobile in combat. If at any point it is not working then go back straight to the DWL. Remember to keep your hands linked. To tighten the chicken wing aspect of the move, grab the back of his arm.

The other version is peel off the DWL to the chicken wing, push the arm through so the neck is on the fulcrum of your forearm and you can add knees to the mix.

Another tip: don't let yourself get disconnected with the DWL. Squeeze your elbow to your ribs - this will trap his arm. Pull the wrist tight into your chest and own the arm. Do not be in a hurry to get it. If he does not let you get the strong grip you can peel of to the chicken wing.

Keep gaps to the minimum.

Hand on hip - reverse rev, grind the tricep into the chicken wing.

Hand on hip - reverse rev, grind the tricep, weight on his upper arm so he goes down, fold him into the chicken wing.

Several times tonight Martin talked about being creative, not only with the DWL and thinking outside of the box and where the DWL can be applied.

Sensitivity drill: Stay out of range of the punches as you guide down the powerlines, don't push back or use too much energy.
Kau sau (hook)into body clinch by stepping into his hip as you clasp the far side hip. This then led into head and shoulder rev leading to knees to the face.

Double lap mechanics - wrist and elbow and pull down at the same time as you grab. Bend both legs and send the arms down. A common error is to bend the hips to lap. Instead, use gravity and sound body structure.

Final thoughts at the end of the session were:

1: Be creative, have fun whilst you are learning this and ways to explore how techniques can be applied.

2: As you go along you path in the martial arts, choose a few moves and make them yours. What is it that works for you? What is it that you love to do?

Again, another tremendous session tonight.