Elbows, Knees, Kicks

Elbows

Pak gwai jahng

contact punch with tan sao, then allow punch to roll arm over as jerk back by grasping and turning in stance (keep elbow down as armor and for power) and pull opponent forward. L hand performs wu sao to above his elbow to trap his arm as R arm executes a gwai jahng. Footwork is normal for pak sao: try to trap the leg.

Notes: use his momentum, don't interfere with it. Make contact first, don't sweep arm out trying to catch the punch. Use thumb in grab and pull. Stay in horse. Make certain wu sao hand covers ribs and fingers are vertical (if palm too horizontal, check if L elbow is too high). Elbow strike can be to face, front R chest, or their shoulder joint.

Tan lop pai jahng 5-17

R contacts with tan sao as turn R and L hand grasps (or is it wu sao?) above his elbow as step in deep and strike with flat forward elbow (pai jahng) to ribs.

Notes: step deep, knee by knee. Sink deep into stance as arms guide punch high (need to pull to straighten out his arm for clear shot), sinking into stance aids elbow's power.

Drill: do this against an imaginary opponent, jumping into a sitting low horse with the pai jahng (thighs horizontal).

Elbows versus kicks

The elbow is the strongest (mobile) joint in your body(?), use it. Versus kicks, remember the "four gates". If low kicks, use tan gerk or bong gerk. For high kicks, tan sao is good, but you may want the leg up anyway. For middle kicks, use the elbows, which only have a few inches to move, and not several feet, as with the kick. Aim the elbow for the shin (or up to the patella), it's not hard to target the bone. Can simply jerk the elbow outwards, drop it down onto the kick, do a (small) low gon sao, or tan or jumm sao crossing from the other side (if so, can use same-side arm as low gon to cushion impact if jumm/tan misses, and to guide his leg into your jumm/tan elbow).

Knees

Loy doy dock gerk 4-8, 4-11

Roundhouse knee strike. Inward diagonal move. In training, try to raise the ankle so the shin is almost horizontal as the knee strikes horizontally, ???allowing the mass of the lower leg to provide"follow-through" and avoiding a sideways twist of the knee from the inertia of the lower leg. Keep the foot at right angle to shin, do not point toe away.

A good usage is against a straight right punch. Raise R arm in tan sao to make contact, then lop as knee to abd/ribs.6-42, but calls it noy.

Tai sut (also called hay sut)

upwards knee strike. Like the kicks, do not point toe down, keep ankle @ 90 degrees. This keeps foot positioned for stomp kicks. Also: if using tai sut with double jumm (manual 5-37), foot can act as hook to drag a low kick upwards. If using tai sut with double jumm against a roundhouse kick, get tai sut up early to use as defense, not after jumm for shinbreak purposes. For followup, wang gerk (have already shifted into his attack).

Tan lop and knee strike (loy doy dock gerk versus punch)

An alternative to tan lop pai jahng. Make contact with a tan sao, then lop. As pull in, roundhouse knee strike for abdomen/chest. Off hand wus his lopped arm for defense.

Notes: keep standing leg down, do not come up on toe or lock out the standing knee. Doing either disturbs balance.

Kicks

Pak gerk

From stance: if a R punch comes, L hand comes forward and blocks, replacing R hand, as R foot comes up and stomps down on lead knee.

Notes: The block is more of a wu sao than a pak. The kick is a downward stomp, with the toes pointed outwards. Kick to the thigh in practice.

Jing gerk

Straightkick or frontkick. Toes rotate out like fingers on palm strike, using clock principle. Swing foot up like a high step until on target, then stomp.

Notes: on kicks, extend the leg fully but smoothly. Do not whip, do not cock the leg before or after. Step forward with the kick, driving in with body weight. However, avoid falling forward (keep balance) and avoid taking too large a forward step or drawing the rear foot too close. Do not lock out or hyperextend knee.

**Kicks can be done from same range as punch, and should close distance like a toh ma. So, anytime toh ma is appropriate, can substitute a kick. Also review double kicking discussion on 4-13 (change height and preferably kicks as well).

Comment heard elsewhere: only two styles have this kind of front kick (front heel thrust kick w/force as a forward step): wing chun and Togakure-ryu ninjutsu (ninpo).

Wang gerk

Horizontal kick or sidekick. Toes point 45 degrees across body, not away as in jing gerk.

Notes: use bong sao to cover when using wang gerk. Need to stretch more for this one, I can't get it right in the myj form.

Loy tiu gerk

Wing chun equivalent of a roundhouse kick. Inward arcing, use instep or toes as the contact surface.

Tan gerk (and vs. straight punch)

For an incoming roundhouse kick low, tan sao and lift the same-side leg simultaneously. Shin of leg should be 45 degrees to floor, foot 90 degrees to shin, not pointed down(unnecessary, and if kept bent, is in position for jing gerk). Shifting and raising leg guides a low roundhouse away. After kick is intercepted, shift back and jing gerk the supporting leg (do this fast).

Notes: Keep balance (helps to keep supporting knee bent, supporting heel on floor). Keep hands high to guard before, during, and after. The tan sao is in case the kick jumps up to high line(favored TKD move).

Need to shift much more, and shift back to come in on the original track. The knee should almost be touching the tan elbow.

Against a straight R punch, shift slightly and drive tan forward, not swat sideways. Against a straight L punch, same, you just tan the inside of his L arm.

Kick should commonly go to thigh/knee to check his momentum. Keep standing heel down on floor, power comes from rear heel up through forward heel. Keep torso vertical; do not fall forwards off-balance or lean backwards. Also-not bending torso means less telegraphing.

Bong gerk

As your opponent attacks with a straight punch, lift lead elbow into bong sao as shift inwards and wang gerk his leading leg.

Notes: Off hand wu sao. Most people will step with punch-side leg. Keep hands guarding. Balance. Keep supporting heel down, supporting knee bent.

Bong gerk can be thought of as the leg equivalent to bong sao: the leg is deflecting @ 45 degrees just as in bong sao. The bong sao hand should be inside/behind the bong gerk knee.

(8/31/94) use to jam an incoming side kick (one where he cross-steps behind his kicking leg to close). Lift knee up as skip forward, lifting his kick (keep ankle @ 90 degrees to catch if slides down your shin), then wang gerk to supporting knee. If do right, jams your shin/knee into his outer kicking thigh as a powerful check. knee comes up, then lead hand pivots into bong. Jam into him w/knee and elbow at same time. Need to practice this into the

Combination:

Jing gerk with lead hand punching or tan sao, rear hand wu sao at lead shoulder, then rotating hips and wang gerk (lead arm bong sao), use wang gerk as toh ma and pak sao as step forward.

In short: tan gerk (5-16)/bong gerk (5-23)/pak sao.

Notes: do not retract wang gerk leg before stepping forward.

Can do this combination a) as a technique, b) on wall bag, c) on wooden dummy, d) in the air as a drill crossing the room.

Tan gerk vs. front kick 6-47

As the opponent roundhouse kicks, use the same-side leg to intercept from the inside and kick outwards as choh ma to the attack, then jing gerk the supporting leg.

Notes: This is the leg equivalent of tan sao. Keep the shin angled outward, the leg will collapse if too vertical. Keep foot in normal position, do not point the toe (the hook of the foot can aid in hooking and lifting as well as staying in position for the stomp to the supporting leg). Keep balance on both parts of the move. Keep hands guarding. Your kicking-side arm does tan sao to guard against a sudden high roundhouse. Tan elbow and knee should stay close, or the kick can slip inside.

Loy gum gerk vs front kick 6-45

As the opponent does a front kick, lift the lead foot, point the toe outwards, and stop the kick.

Notes: essentially a jing gerk to instep/ankle top/shin of a kicking leg. Relies on the idea that his foot has farther to travel than yours. Foot sideways for wider catching area. Keep hands guarding. Don't anticipate.

Noy gum gerk 6-46

Turn the body inwards as lift lead foot, turning toe inwards, and stop the incoming front kick.

Notes: essentially a wang gerk to same target area. See above.

Gon gerk 5-42

Against a straight hand attack, double gon sao and start triangular footwork (seep ma). Instead of circling inner foot, turn rear foot into a roundhouse kick for his lead inner thigh. Let the leg fly outwards as a result of shifting and stepping. Do not reach for his kick with the gon sao. Keep both knees bent.

Gon gerk against front kick 5-43

Using seep ma footwork against a kick, gon sao as evade kick, then as step into him on central line, wang gerk his standing leg (remember to bong sao). Do not reach for his kick with the low gon sao. Have a high gon sao; do not forget it. Bring knee up on centerline for stomp of wang gerk.

Lon gerk 6-43

Lift shin into horizontal position and shift into an attacker's straight front kick. Shin is horizontal to provide more defense against the vertically-aligned front kick. Shift back to center as wang gerk the standing knee.

Gum sao against a kick (RJM 5/23/94) 5-32

Do not move directly back, he will just chase you down. In stance (R ft forward). He will front kick strongly. Step SE w/R into a NW-facing L leading stance (toy ma). R gum sao for protection. His momentum will end w/you facing him, on his L outside line.

Counter-attack w/a R rising kick (shin?) to his under-thigh or knee.

Notes: As R gum sao, L hand goes high wu in case he pops the kick high, or turns w/a L backfist or elbow. If you overshift (more than 45 degrees), you will end w/your centerline not facing him.

This toy ma footwork is very much like the defensive footwork in the 3-sectional staff class.

Gon sao and bong sao takedown against a roundhouse kick 7/9/94 CR

Against a R roundhouse kick: toy ma SE w/R to face into the kick and gon sao (R high), then low arm rotates into bong sao as high gon changes to grab behind his knee. Shift at him as twist lower leg and step in (N) w/R to take him down. You want to trap his foot outside of your shoulder, not let his ankle slide up to your neck. Stay tight or he can slip out.

If he retracts kick and R punches: L pak as curl R onto your chest and R loy tiu gerk.

Note: I kept not stepping back far enough w/toy ma, so kept ending up doing a roundhouse knee strike instead of loy tiu gerk. The R arm curls up (I think) to avoid it being thrown down as a counterweight to the leg (like a thai kick does). Keeping the R arm up and tight keeps it near the centerline for when you finish the kick and face opponent again.

Lifting kick (8/31/94 CR)

Skip forward, stepping w/rear foot to where front foot was, as raise knee abruptly into a front kick. Rear foot lands at same time as kicking foot hits. Keep the knee bent. Rear foot does not pass launch position of front foot. Can chase a horizontally-held bagwith continuous skips, don' t walk forward.

Jutt gerk followup to pak sao (9/4/94 CR)

Against a straight punch, use pak sao. If he blocks (oR-iL), instead of pak-tan-pak or pak sao-lop sao, can also thread L under and lop L-L as step SE w/R. L jutt gerk his R foot as L-L lop.

Notes: apply lop and kick at same time, in opposite directions like scissors. Do not lop towards you, that can pull him in to where he can grapple. Need to step enough back w/R to avoid kicking his R into your own, and enough R to carry him. Can do this as a loy tiu gerk to ankle or outside/back of knee.

Lifting w/wang gerk (9/10/94 CR)

Step NW w/L as shift 45 degrees L and raise R foot into dock lop ma (keep ankle bent 90 degrees) to lift/block an incoming kick. R Wang gerk NE and step through. Hands: double gon on step out, same-side gum sao w/kick (off-h in wu sao).

Move around poles for practice. I think this is the kick from MYJ set 3.

a stop-kick (10/6/94 CR)

Against a R punch: lean back pivoting on L hip to move face back as R leg swings forward in a stop-hit (jing gerk). Hands: L high wu (does not need to contact punch), R gum sao.

Followup: step in deep w/ pak sao (turn to L to lead w/strong side, smash in w/R arm). I got the followup better when I thought about driving the elbow through on a fun sao-like move.