I was thinking the other day on the different reasons we don't grab when doing locks and throws, and even pins. In the beginning of training, we do learn how to grab the opponent to conduct various techniques, but as you improve, you are admonished not to grab. Instead, you are told to hook or use other means to control the opponent. Why is that? Here are a few reasons why we don't grab:
1) When you grab, that's all you can do. If I grab and then want to strike, I first have to let go the grab(of course if you are grabbing the chest or throat, it is possible to strike from there, I am thinking of where you are grabbing their elbow in let's say an arm bar and want to hit their face from there) before I can do so.
2) Grabbing requires grip strength, and strength fails eventually. Of course the people who created the martial arts were in shape, they used weapons and tools since a young age, and trained their bodies to be tough. Yet they still realized that brute strength had a finite capacity. There are ways of hooking and clamping that use more tendon strength than the way most people grab(using muscular strength), that are as or more effective and don't tire out the muscles as quickly.
3) We are taught to respond to grabs, and when you grab, you send a signal to the opponent that something is wrong. It is entirely possible and plausible to control them without sending the same signals, thus preempting his defense. Just as weapons should be felt before they are seen, locks and throws should be near completion by the time they know they are about to go for a ride. If somebody grabs you, it triggers a reaction, usually to resist or to strike out.
4) Grabbing is slower and requires more effort. Though it is more intuitive and primal, you lose time and energy by grabbing. It also requires more intention.
5) Grabbing means you lose freedom. Similar to the first point, when you grab, you lose flexibility. Take a sword grip for example. The pinky and ring finger help lock the sword in place with the palm heel. This is leverage and allows the sword to move freely. The grip is like wringing out a towel, not like gripping it into a fist. If you tried the latter, you would not be able to cut as effectively.
In Kukishinden and Takagi especially, there are some arcane throws and variations of basic lock techniques(oni kudaki for example) that require you to move around the opponent in seemingly inane ways. If you try to grab their elbow and wrist while doing such techniques and "put" the lock on, you will find that there are times when it is impossible to do the technique properly. 9 times out of 10, it is because your grabbing action is actually blocking the technique, taking the opportunity to use your elbow and body to help with the throw.
I will try to find some videos that illustrate this point, as it is a bit hard to imagine by words alone.
Forgetting the differences in how you may have learned this technique, the obvious errors we see are him lifting the hand over his head when he enters and relying on grabbing and dragging the arm to take the opponents balance. All of the exertion and displacement of the attacker is excusable for a beginner, but greater effect can be had with simpler technique. In the time it took him to grab and physically move his opponent around, he could've been countered or struck. Though his technique appears fast, it is actually pretty slow comparatively.
1) When you grab, that's all you can do. If I grab and then want to strike, I first have to let go the grab(of course if you are grabbing the chest or throat, it is possible to strike from there, I am thinking of where you are grabbing their elbow in let's say an arm bar and want to hit their face from there) before I can do so.
2) Grabbing requires grip strength, and strength fails eventually. Of course the people who created the martial arts were in shape, they used weapons and tools since a young age, and trained their bodies to be tough. Yet they still realized that brute strength had a finite capacity. There are ways of hooking and clamping that use more tendon strength than the way most people grab(using muscular strength), that are as or more effective and don't tire out the muscles as quickly.
3) We are taught to respond to grabs, and when you grab, you send a signal to the opponent that something is wrong. It is entirely possible and plausible to control them without sending the same signals, thus preempting his defense. Just as weapons should be felt before they are seen, locks and throws should be near completion by the time they know they are about to go for a ride. If somebody grabs you, it triggers a reaction, usually to resist or to strike out.
4) Grabbing is slower and requires more effort. Though it is more intuitive and primal, you lose time and energy by grabbing. It also requires more intention.
5) Grabbing means you lose freedom. Similar to the first point, when you grab, you lose flexibility. Take a sword grip for example. The pinky and ring finger help lock the sword in place with the palm heel. This is leverage and allows the sword to move freely. The grip is like wringing out a towel, not like gripping it into a fist. If you tried the latter, you would not be able to cut as effectively.
In Kukishinden and Takagi especially, there are some arcane throws and variations of basic lock techniques(oni kudaki for example) that require you to move around the opponent in seemingly inane ways. If you try to grab their elbow and wrist while doing such techniques and "put" the lock on, you will find that there are times when it is impossible to do the technique properly. 9 times out of 10, it is because your grabbing action is actually blocking the technique, taking the opportunity to use your elbow and body to help with the throw.
I will try to find some videos that illustrate this point, as it is a bit hard to imagine by words alone.
Forgetting the differences in how you may have learned this technique, the obvious errors we see are him lifting the hand over his head when he enters and relying on grabbing and dragging the arm to take the opponents balance. All of the exertion and displacement of the attacker is excusable for a beginner, but greater effect can be had with simpler technique. In the time it took him to grab and physically move his opponent around, he could've been countered or struck. Though his technique appears fast, it is actually pretty slow comparatively.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire