Basics Are Your Best Friend

"Five Secrets of Japanese Goju Ryu.

Move quickly.

Sound, calm mind.

Be light in body.

Have a clever mind.

Master the basics."

- Gogen Yamaguchi

 

 

"Strike with the soul, and you will never miss."

-Kelly Bates

I have found in martial arts that our of the hundreds of moves and techniques a style may employ, there are a select few we use far more often, with far more faith in. And that out of all the multitude of techniques in existence across styles in martial arts as a whole, these same moves we rely on are an oft commonality no matter the style.

I would like to focus on two; The punch, and the front kick.

Why is it that these two moves can be found across styles? In Tae Kwon Do, Baguazhang, Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Shotokan and so on and so forth. I can name as many as twenty styles of martial arts I have experience with directly outside of wrestling and throwing, and none have been absent of the techniques save a handful; Xingyiquan, Taijiquan and boxing. Essentially almost every external martial art that utilizes 'strikes' as opposed to grabs or internal effort, contains the moves.

The punch comes in many forms of course. There's the boxer's punch, the Wing Chun Punch, and even the snapping punch. All use different mechanics. In Tae Kwon Do the forefront knuckle may be utilized while in Shotokan the front two are, while in Wing Chun the bottom three are. And yet for all the variations there exist in this technique, it is always a staple move which can be relied on. It is fast, and with expert training, one can do up to six or more in a second. In the time one blinks, you can strike as many as four times. Nothing I have seen is faster.



Front Punch in Shotokan and TKD



Proper Front Punch

Front Punch In Wing Chun

Train it well, train it slow. Train it strong, train it fast. Do it ten-thousand times, then do it ninety-thousand more. It may well save your life.
The other technique, the front kick, seems to have only major variations in the height and part of the foot utilized. I first learned of it when I was four years old as 'Ap Chagi' the Korean term for the front kick. Since then across multiple styles I have found it to utilize the top of the foot, bottom of the foot, and heel. I have found it can kick anywhere from the knee to the head. It depends on what you are practicing it for. But all of them utilize a swinging mechanic with the force centered on exertion through the foot, after a hinging at the knee to initiate. The higher one raises their knee, the higher the kick is always.

Baguazhang (Yang Style - Crane) Front Kick

Wing Chun Low Front Kick

Tae Kwon Do Front Kick

 
 














I use this kick predominantly even though my absolute favorite kick is the roundhouse or a variation of it. The reason is two fold; like the hand technique it create distance away from your body, allowing you to retain control of that space. It has a solid foundation against the ground, which stabilizes you. It is very fast. It takes almost as much time to employ as raising one's knee with experience. It is difficult to injure your-self with it when it is done properly. And it grants awesome reach; far more than you could have utilizing your arm.

Muai Thai Front Kick

If someone rushes you, like the hand technique it can easily jam them.

In most styles these are the first moves you learn, and for a reason; they work. Far better, and far more often than most of the other later techniques you will acquire. A person with five minutes of martial experience, or fifty years can both adequately use either in self-defense, given they have been taught it correctly.

It is simple; and the more simple, the greater the likelihood of success.

 

 

How To Use Front Kicks In A Fight

"If you have to think about a technique you haven't done it enough."

-Norman Harris