When I was just a wee Kenpo laddie, I got to take a seminar or two with Frank Trejo (http://www.franktrejokarate.com). If you’ve never trained with Frank Trejo, you are missing out, and should do whatever it takes to train with the man. If you have trained with Mr Trejo, you know what a knowledgeable and entertaining Instructor he can be.
The first seminar was about Sticky Hands, and I’ll get into that more in another post.
The second seminar, I was somewhere around Green I think, and Mr Trejo started talking about boxing. Boxing? I thought. What does boxing have to do with Kenpo? Alot as it turns out. According to Mr Trejo, boxing formed much of the foundation of Kenpo. In fact, all of the Kenpo techniques can be broken down into boxing movements and combinations. And if you look at the Neutral Bow, you might even see a traditional boxing stance.
Frank Trejo’s boxing experience is exhaustive; his ability to not only teach it, but to relate it directly to Kenpo is second to none. Again, do not miss training with Frank Trejo!
Well, why do you want to turn your cool Kenpo techniques into mere boxing? Translating your Kenpo into boxing allows you to practice on the heavy bag, the double end bag (you do have access to those, right?), and use them in sparring. Boxing uses four strikes (jab, cross, uppercut, hook), all thrown with a fist. Not having to worry about proper hand position for the chop/ palm/ spear means you can focus on other things like proper footwork, power, and timing. Ever tried to hand spear a heavy bag? Don’t.
You also won’t get many volunteers to let you throw Snapping Twig on them full tilt. Dislocated elbows tend to dampen peoples philanthropic spirit.
Ah, but you can throw it full tilt on your heavy bag. There is a reason that boxers and MMA guys have knockout power that most pure-karate types don’t – the heavy bag. True, we practice ALOT on bags, pads, and shields, but many karate schools practice in the air, developing “technique”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for technique, but if you watch, say, Chuck Liddell KO somebody, his punching technique is anything but perfect. It is, however, incredibly powerful.
Working your Kenpo (self defense) techniques on a heavy bag allows you to build power, speed, and timing that you need for proper execution. I’ll break down two techniques here for you to get started with, and you can figure out the others on your own (or ask, that works too…). Let’s go with Snapping Twigs (since I mentioned it earlier) and Five Swords (since everybody loves that one anyway).
Snapping Twig Boxing
Okay, this is a cool technique that you can develop alot of speed with in the air, but the timing and power tend to leave a little to be desired. Dislocating someones elbow, while far from impossible, doesn’t happen magically when you slap at it. You need to have body position, torque, all the goodies. As I mentioned before, and Frank Trejo made quite clear in the seminar, some modifications are neccesary to make the transition, so bear with me.
First, don’t think of this as a defensive technique, think of it as triggered offense (an Idea I unabashedly stole from Dr. Bob Sprando, that will be addressed further in a later post). This means you go first, so we’ll swap a trap and break for a lead hand hook (I prefer a jab, but the mechanics are better from a hook). For the best development, you should start this from an “Idiot Stance”. For those of you that aren’t students at Charm City Karate, the idiot stance is the one most people begin a SD technique from – standing with feet together, hands down, balance shot. We call it an idiot stance because if you are that close to getting assaulated, you should have your blanking hands up, and your feet set. But you train from the stance so that IF you get caught off guard, you can still do something other than catch punches with your head. The bonus to starting from this stance for this training is that you will get a better feel for the torque generation on the initial move. Practice this for a bit, half power, until it feels good. Never work a heavy bag full power. Don’t.
Next, lets trade a crane and chop for a left cross (did I mention that you would be in a southpaw stance?), bringing your right up to protect your head. Good, now lets work that two hit combo on the bag until it feels solid.
Finally, let’s trade a hammerfist and an elbow for two lead hand hooks. I would alter the height of these (body/ head), but you can stay with the original intent and throw head/ head. Step in with the second hook, just like you would with the elbow.
Five Swords Boxing
Again, triggered offense; again southpaw stance (Right Neutral Bow to youse).
First, trade in your block and chop for a front hand lead (step with it). Really work the hard jab with the step until you feel solid and make the bag bounce a bit when you hit it (bag bounce is a reliable indicator of proper power and execution – bag swing means you’re pushing instead of hitting). Seriously, don’t fast forward this move. You want it solid.
Second, let’s trade that heel palm for a cross ( you could leave it as a palm, but stay focused here). Don’t try to use a full Forward Bow, pivot and weight change are what it’s all about, and you want enough of that to generate power – locking your knee in a stance doesn’t do anything positive. The bag should jump a second time here.
Third, we’ll trade a chop (left hand) for a cross…what? No, I didn’t skip the uppercut. As one of the four boxing strikes, it stays the way it is. Work on your stance and be stable when you hit. If an 80# bag is pushing you around, how are you going to beat up a 200# meth head? LOL. Okay, on to that cross, be sure to use your footwork and change angles, it’s important to not neglect your feet when you’re translating techniques. Bag work will help solidify your stances and footwork, if you let it.
Last, trade the final chop (right hand) for a hook. Stick with the foot work and good mechanics of your hook. If you don’t know, ask your instructor. If he (or she) doesn’t know…well, you must be at a different school.
Play with it, and let me know what you think.
Mr J