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"Read and learn. You'll have an advantage over those who won't or don't."

"Can you believe there is a discussion forum that criticizes those who would learn from articles and books? Even as supplements to their regular training."

"I shudder when I think that some younger martial artists might believe the forum."

"It's my pleasure to be able to offer you the following articles. Enjoy."

--Keith Pascal

Training to Counter An Eye-Jab Block

By Keith Pascal If you punch, you should also consider eye jabs. While eye jabs don't necessarily have the power of a solid punch, they certainly have the speed of a fast punch. Eye jabs give you a little more reach. And they can be very damaging. But what if your eye jab (or punch) is blocked?   If you are right handed, you lead with the right foot .... If you are left handed, you lead with the left. That's the Bruce Lee way. So, if you are right handed, you want to eye jab with your right hand. But what happens if your opponent solidly blocks your eye jab with his or her left hand? You saw the opening up through the center. Your opponent's arms were wide, leaving an opening. So, you jabbed upward, on the inside.   Your opponent blocks from outside to inside I have many efficient responses to a block of this type. For the fun of it, I decided to train one response to the point of automaticity. Here is the process I went through: 1. I practiced the technique on my own first. In this case, I wanted to retract the eye jab, after 'it' felt the block. It was important that I only retracted it enough to clear the blocking arm. (For a detailed explanation of this type of retraction, see "10 Days to Better Knife Fighting.") I practiced pulling the eye jab, and then immediately coming back in with a fist. The same hand eye jabs and punches. The check hand ... checks at the same time.   2. After practicing the motion over and over on my own, I changed the exercise a bit. In the first stage, I simply eye jabbed, then retracted and punch-checked for my second motion. This time, I eye jab, and I lightly hit my own eye jab down (on the forearm) with my open check hand. This tap with the check hand helps to refine my timing. It also teaches me to react to pressure by retracting and coming back in immediately over the top. This is for training a reaction only -- never in a real encounter. I spent a couple of days practicing stage one, but only one day practicing the hit-respond sequence in stage two. In retrospect, I think I'd switch that around, and practice more of the reaction response, or maybe give equal time to both.   3. The next stage involves a practice partner. Work the sequence over and over. You eye jab; your opponent blocks, and you respond with the sequence you have practiced. Vary the rhythm -- make your attack a surprise.   Where do you go from here? You tell me (no, don't email): * Practice what to do if your opponent blocks with the right hand instead of the left hand. * Practice your follow-ups of what you'll do after you punch-check. * MIx it up. Add other possibilities that you have to react to. * Figure out your response if your opponent softly checks the eye jab and moves off on a tight angle, instead of solidly blocking.   Improve your punches with The Punch Papers