Page 23 - Beyond Basics_Neat
P. 23
BEYOND BASICS
occurs when the arm is in a 90
angle and neither the biceps nor
the triceps muscle is stronger than
the other. This 90 position is ideal
for most bent arm blocks such as
the inside-outside or outside-inside
blocks.
Blocking positions which exceed
90 are effective, because the
Triceps muscle engages to provide
forward force against the attack, as
with the upward and downward blocks and some knife hand
blocks. One potential drawback to the block being greater than
90 , is that you become susceptible to being pulled off-balance by
a forward pull of the arm.
When one has reached maturity in the
art, one will have a formless form
Conversely a block less than 90 will be ineffective as the Triceps
muscles cannot provide enough forward force to be as effective
with stopping an attack.
?
"Too much horsing around with unrealistic stances and classic
forms and rituals is just too artificial and mechanical, and doesn't
prepare the student for actual combat. A guy could get clobbered
while getting into this classical mess. Classical methods like these,
which I consider a form of paralysis, only solidify and constrain
what was once fluid. Their practitioners are merely blindly
12
