First Grappling Form- Sixth Movement: Circling Arm

Hello, everyone!

Today's post is the last part of my breakdown of Wenhsiuquan's First Grappling Form.

In the form the movement is done once to the right, then to the left. The photos below is what you got in the book.

At first glance the photos seem to either show a double block/ stopping fist, but if you have read the text you would have found that it actually shows grabbing hold of an opponent;s arm and twisting it.

What I had in mind at the time looks something like this...

Yes. I know just grabbing an opponent's arm and twisting him around does not do much, but it can turn the tide of a fight. 

In a sport like boxing, grabbing an opponent's arm is not allowed at all. Sure! You are allowed to block, but both sides are allowed to keep their hands free so that both sides have a sporting chance of landing blows on one another.

That is all good for sport. If you actually have to defend yourself against society's less upstanding citizens, however, you do not want to give the scoundrel a sporting chance. He will definitely not give you one after all...

 Following a parry up with a grab and twist like this places you at an advantage in the following ways:

1. The grab eliminates the threat of one hand.

2. Twisting the arm turns the opponent's body away from you- eliminating the threat posed by the opponent's free hand.

3. In the moment of having an arm trapped and his body turning around against his will the opponent is preoccupied- leaving him open for you to strike.

For you to be able to pull this move off you need:

1. firm rooting- Your centre of gravity should be lowered and your shoulders relaxed. 

2. your grabbing arm to be bent while your opponent's arm should get  straightened at least beyond 90 degrees.

This particular move, however, only works if you use an outward parry that connects with the outside of the opponent's arm and that directs his arm across his centre line.

This happens when your left arm blocks the opponent's left arm or when your right blocks the opponent's right.

If you block the the outside against the inside of your opponent's arm, however, the twisting motion will not have any significant effect on the opponent.

What I did find, however, is that the same movement can be applied to perform a circular parry with an underarm trap like what is shown here.

This move does not take the opponent's free hand out of the picture like the one shown above, but it does set the opponent up for a counterattack and a throw.

If you told me decade ago that there are katas out there that contain throws and grappling moves, I would not have believed you. With the internet and knowledgeable instructors like Sensei Iain Abernethy, however, one suddenly realises that it is often those movements is Karate or Taijiquan forms that do not make any sense from a striker's point of view that have some awesome grappling applications.

This form contains no less than 5 different takedowns and two extra moves with which a clinch can be managed.

You are welcome try out the form and its applications and let me know how you experience it.

In my next post I will introduce a striking form that was made for my book on defense. Hope you can join me again then.

Train well and have a good week!