| So you are studying martial arts and your | | | | WRONG. At best this technique will break the |
| instructor shows you a technique that you think | | | | nose, at worst you will catch your wrist on your |
| to yourself "hmm, that looks like it needs a little | | | | opponents teeth and drive them into your hand. |
| work.". Throughout my studies I have come | | | | You see this fails as a death strike due to the tip |
| across some pretty awful Martial Arts techniques. | | | | of the nose being made up of cartilage not bone. |
| Let's take a look at my top 5, see where they | | | | Behind the cartilage is one of the denser areas of |
| go wrong and find better alternatives. | | | | the skull so you are unlikely to break it with your |
| | | | palm. A more effective utilization of the palm |
| 1. Blocking a strike from a baseball bat/2x4/led | | | | strike is to hit the chin upwards to force the head |
| pipe with a single or double forearm block. No I | | | | back resulting in whiplash, or when to the side of |
| am not kidding I have witnessed an instructor | | | | your opponent aim for the ear area. |
| show this to their students. Staying in the power | | | | 4. Disarming a knife with a two handed slap. Just |
| range of the swinging weapon and using your | | | | before leaving a previous school, I asked my |
| carbon steel forearms to block the incoming | | | | instructor if he had any moves that will disarm an |
| attack! If you actually tried this in real life | | | | opponent with a knife. He came up with a 'move |
| obviously the weapon will most likely shatter your | | | | he had seen in a film once' involving using both |
| arm and continue on to hit more sensitive parts | | | | hands to slap the knife out of the opponents |
| of the body. The safer option? Move out of | | | | hands. This was hilarious, he got his favourite |
| range of the swing and then when you see an | | | | student to hold the knife very loosely in his hands |
| opening get in close to your attacker and proceed | | | | and then slapped the knife away. Unfortunately |
| with disarming and subduing your opponent. | | | | when everybody else tried it, nobody could get it |
| 2. Using a kick to disarm an attacker holding a | | | | to work! It is also easily countered by pulling the |
| knife. You may have seen it in a Bruce Lee film | | | | knife down which has a high probability of slashing |
| but I'm afraid this will probably fail in real life. | | | | the wrist. |
| Among the many problems with this technique is | | | | 5. The finger tip thrust strike. This is a move |
| a kick takes more space to execute, the | | | | where the very tips of your fingers do the |
| attacker has to be holding the knife loosely for it | | | | striking. I can see the logic behind it, all the force |
| to actually fly out of their hand and you have to | | | | of the punch focused on the much smaller area |
| be exceedingly quick and accurate to land the | | | | of your fingertips would result in a more powerful |
| kick. What is more likely to happen is your foot | | | | strike, that is if you don't break your fingers. You |
| lands on the blade or your attacker anticipates | | | | have to be incredibly accurate, fast and have |
| the move and cuts your foot. Either way you will | | | | exceedingly strong fingers to pull this attack off. |
| have trouble standing and fighting from that point | | | | There is no real world application of it in my |
| on. The best way to perform a knife disarm is to | | | | opinion as a punch is much safer for the fingers. |
| wait for them to make their move, block or | | | | If you break your fingers you can't form a fist or |
| avoid the blow and control the arm holding the | | | | grab if you need to so avoid this |
| knife using levers to remove the weapon from | | | | one!Unfortunately martial arts techniques these |
| their hand (if you can get a punch in at the same | | | | days have been watered down so they can be |
| time all the better!). | | | | taught quickly and efficiently to students in order |
| 3. "The Palm Strike of death" attack. You may | | | | to maximize a clubs revenue. It is a real shame |
| have also seen this one in a movie where a single | | | | so you need to be very careful when joining a |
| palm strike to the nose results in an instant kill. | | | | club to not get ripped off. |