Offensive defense

The subjects of blocking and receiving have been a common theme element in my training lately, so I thought I would take a moment to put my thoughts down as to what these are and provide some insight into what makes them work.

Blocking is simply to provide a resistant surface to an incoming strike.  It can also be seen as "shielding", either with the body or with an object.  Receiving is the act of absorbing.  The two can be the same thing, such as you have to receive in order to block.

Then, there's the topic of soft and hard blocking/receiving.  This relates to how much you yield to the strike.  Hard blocks are less yielding, soft blocks are more yielding.  Yielding can be used to change the direction of the strike so that it travels off the support structure and causes a break in balance.  Not yielding can cause the strike to collapse, breaking the structure of the attacker.  Both require lots of development and conditioning to pull of in a real encounter.  But, there is a time and place for everything.

A third topic is not about blocking or receiving, but of attacking.  This is when you attack the strike.  In the Bujinkan, you see this alot with the kihon Jodan Uke, where you attack the weak parts of the uke's arm as it strikes out at you.  This can be done with the knuckles or forearm of the tori's forward arm.

The problem comes when people confuse these together and deliver a bad combination in their technique.  They try to attack the arm with the softness of a yielding receiver, or have the rigidity of a blocking action instead of a continuous strike through the target.  This creates ineffectiveness and holes in taijutsu for the tori.  Each action, whether blocking, receiving/yielding, or attacking the arm, has to be developed and implimented according to what they are.  Treating each one as a seperate skill set or tool will help ensure they provide the effects they were designed for.

When a strike happens, the body's muscles load up with energy then burst it outward towards the target.  In a series of strikes, this is a process of loading, firing, reloading, firing, and so on.  In defensive action, the blocking is a buildup of tension and energy to provide structural solidity, to aid in the body's ability to resist the impact of the strike.  In receiving and yielding, the muscles don't load or fire.  The body relaxes and molds with the energy of the strike and shifts angle to guide the direction of the strike or reduce the impact.

However, in striking as a defensive action, the muscles must load and fire just like any offensive strike.  This build up happens as the strike is coming forward from the uke.  This means movement is vital for the tori to avoid being struck.  The counter strike then happens when the uke's attack has fired and is in the process of reloading for the next attack.  The timing of this is crucial.  A muscle that has fired it's energy is weak, exposing the nerves and creating a soft target that allows impact to reach the bone structures within.  If the strike happens in the moment between firing and reloading, the uke's limb will be most vulnerable and it will have maximum effect.

When a muscle is struck in this important moment before it reloads, it sends shock waves and affects the muscle's ability to reload.  It is 'stunned'.  Blood will fill into the muscle tissues and it's ability to reload to full capacity will be affected.

This timing is something that has to be practices slowly at first.  The uke needs to move, then strike.  Move to avoid the tori's punch, then strike before the tori can retract and reload.  A mistake people often make is they receive, block or just move, but don't do anything else until the uke's muscles have reloaded.  In reality, to try and attack the limb or body would be at the same timing of when the uke can fire again.  This is too late.  The window of opportunity is before the uke can reload.

Another effect from this kind of 'counter offensive' is that any loading up that happens in the uke on the other side of their body will fire as a response to the uke's hit.  As the uke strikes out, he likely is also loading up the other side for a second strike.  Hitting the uke's expired muscles on the striking limb will cause the loaded up muscles of the other limb to fire, thereby greatly reducing the power of the second strike.  It also will cause a shift in the structural alignment of their body, which will also affect accuracy.

Something important to note here is that the 'counter offensive' action isn't limited to the striking arm.  It takes many muscles to load and fire a real strike.  You can also attack those muscles as well.  Having a good uke who can move slow and mimic the tension and firing of a real attacker will help identify those muscles.  For instance, watch what happens to the pectoral muscles when a punch is delivered and retracted.  You'll see an explosion of tension then release in one or both sides.  Hit that target the moment it releases and watch their body collapse in and their ability to take in a breath become difficult.  But, please be careful!

As the tori strikes out at the uke's expired muscles, causing a "misfire" in the remaining muscles that are loaded up, this provides excellent opportunity for the tori to then execute an action with the other side of their body - which is loaded and ready to move because it hasn't fired yet.  This timing can play into kata like Ichimonji no Kata.  The timing of when to counter strike with the forward hand jodan uke and when to close and strike with the rear hand shuto is key to understanding this kata.  It all happens when the uke has expired their muscles!

This same principle also applies to legs, hands, feet, facial muscles, torso, hips - everywhere!  Just pay attention to your own body when you do a strike or kick or even locks and throws.  Your body will teach you if you listen.  Your uke will also experience very similar things, so you'll have clues about your uke just by listening to your own body.  That's the beauty of proper Sanshin no Kata training...

I hope this helps, play with these ideas and see what you discover!

Gambatte!