A student asked me last week about the fundamentals of striking. My responses surprised him in some respects. What about you?
- Platforms – your platforms (and how you arrange them for optimal collaboration) create the basis for developing speed and power in a combative. Essentially, your shoulders, hips and feet must support & transfer weight, rotate (in some instances), and move within a structural blueprint to generate and deliver power with speed and balance. This is often the cause of sub-optimal delivery of a combative.
- Sequence – the way we coordinate and move very often dictates if a combative will find its target. In Krav Maga, we describe this sequence as movement by “hands / body / feet.” This sequence is not intuitive, and the discipline needed to learn and execute this process is substantial. Very few people – even instructors – ever learn to move in this sequence.
- Release – if the combative is delivered properly with the platforms and in proper sequence, the combatant must learn how to “sit” and “snap” (in most cases) to release the power the body has generated into the target. To do less is to court failure and waste an opportunity to secure his/her safety.
In the end, these three fundamental aspects of striking are essential to optimize the probability of success and leverage opportunity in self-defense. Think through these concepts, and find an instructor that can articulate the “how and why,” as well as, teach these concepts in an accessible way.
As always, walk in peace…
Michael Macek
Thanks, Chief. Indeed, the hands-body-feet sequence has been a challenge to implement, but I am improving. I appreciate your confirmation that it is not intuitive, and that it can be difficult, even for someone at the instructor level to correctly execute.