Defence Form- Movement No. 4: Lower Parry and Uppercut

Hello, everyone and welcome back.

I am sure that many of you who do Karate, Tang Soo Do, Taekwondo, Wing Chun- or any kind of Asian striking martial art that has forms- would find a move that looks like this in one of their forms.

During the early stages of my Karate training I was told that this is two blocks, executed simultaneously. As I progressed, however, our Sensei began teaching us how either the low parry could be a midsection punch while the other arm is blocking or that the high forearm block was either a vertical backfist strike or an upperut while the other arm was actually executing a lower parry.



In my form it is either a lower parry combined with an uppercut or a lower parry combined with an upside down fist punch to the midsection.

The very first application that came to my mind, which is not shown in any of the gifs here, is attacking a stationary opponent that was standing in a typical kamae. An example of Ken No Sen as described in the Book of Five Rings. In Karate the kamae, or fighting stance most often seen is one that has a higher extended guard and a hand that is ready to punch, waiting at the hip.

So- if you are going to suddenly close the gap between you and such an opponent you can expect pass the extended guard and expect trouble from the fist at the hip so, whether the opponent attacks or not- I use a lower parry to immobilise that fist while I push through with my uppercut.

What the gif does show below is a for of Tai No Sen- attacking after the opponent has spent his attack.




Here the punch is blocked inward with a forearm block as I shift my weight back. The lower parry is just to open the opponent up for the uppercut as my weight shifts forward again. You may note, however, that this is not exactly what the Form shows us.

Well- it is not supposed to be...

You will most likely face an opponent who does not even know about this form, so don't get too hung up on one application or one particular situation shown in any form you see.

Now- onto the more familiar application that is shown in this gif.

Lower parries and front kicks have a long history together in Karate. While Western writers and critics present a host of arguments against these two being together, the practice of blocking a front kick with a lower parry is a mainstay for most styles of Karate.




I would not use this type of block against a side kick or back kick, because the mechanics of those kicks don't allow for a lower parry to stop and divert them the way it does against a front kick.

One of the first things there is for one to know about blocking a kick is that arm movement is not enough. The leg is stronger than the arm and just jamming your arm in the way of an approaching kick is asking for a fracture.

You will need to move your body.

Now- many of you will think that the best direction in which to move would be away from the kick. Well... maybe that is the case if you intend to either follow up with a kick or you don't want to attack at all.

To counterattack- you will need to get closer.

So- that means moving forward into the kick, right?

Well... yes, it does...

You see, kicks actually leave the kicker vulnerable at two stages:

1. While the kicking leg is raised, but not yet extended- in other words: while the kicking knee is still bent;

2. When the kicking leg is extended, but has missed.

Option 2 is the safest for side kicks and back kicks so far. Option 1 works best against front and turning kicks.

While the kicking leg raises you can either shoot forward to stop the kicking leg short with your arm and lead leg before it straightens or you could turn your body to an angle that allows you to squeeze past the kicking leg as you sweep it aside and counterattack. This will of course be an example of Tai Tai No Sen. The idea of both of these approaches is to get your counterpunch to land while your opponent is still on only one leg. Although one legged punches exist most opponents would rather follow through with punches after kicking when they have both feet on the ground again. This is also why I am not too fond of retreating away from a kick. I really want to catch my opponent before his kicking foot touches the ground.

Well... That is it for this post. See you next week when we look at the 5th and second-last movement in this form.

Until then, enjoy your training and have a good week! :)