Combined Arts Training and Tactics Foundations: Hand Strikes -- Jab and Cross Punch

C.A.T.T. hand strikes -- boxing adapted



Hooking Palm Strike

 The basic hand strikes in the C.AT.T. fighting system are based on one of the most effective striking systems in history (for hands anyway): Boxing.

We utilize the four basic boxing strikes: Jab, cross, hook and uppercut. The punches in my system are essentially the same as you see in any boxing class, except for one major difference -- we use a closed fist, but will also throw them open-handed, as palm-strike variations. But I'll talk more about that in a future post.

There are other strikes, but these are the foundation hand techniques. Remember, these are the basic techniques that you practice constantly and consistantly until they are second nature.
These are the hand strikes you work on every time you train. Every time.

So let's break down each strike:

Jab -- Well, if you've been reading this blog at all, you've seen my previous posts about the jab and how important it is. Simply put, it is the foundation for all the other strikes, including kicks and even setting up takedowns. A good jab is vitally important in my system, it will set up everything else. Check out my post on the jab for basic guidelines: http://martial-arts-fitness-stuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/jab-elements-of-effective-strike.html

Cross (straight) punch:

• This punch fires off the back leg, with the rear hand.
• Open up your hips and shoulders.
• Rear shoulder and hip shoot toward the target as you punch.
• Rear foot pivots toward the target.
• Rear heel lifts slightly, pushing your entire body into the punch.
• Strike with the big knuckles.
• Don't lock your elbow on impact.
• Keep your chin down and tucked into your punching shoulder
• This is a power punch, more so than the jab.
• Since it comes off the back side your body, it has more distance to travel in order to build power and momentum, and the entire rear half of the body -- from the foot, through the hip and the shoulder -- pivot toward the target.

The jab and the cross are the classic one-two of punching and, when thrown as a proper combination, will have more effective elements of speed and power than any other two strikes in your arsenal. Also a perfect combination for setting up power kicks off the back leg.

Here is a movie with a little C.A.T.T. boxing:

Next up: Power punching with the hook punch and the uppercut.

Combined Arts Training and Tactics: Basic Stance

The C.A.T.T. basic stance looks like this (that would be the picture at right).

I also call this the natural fighting stance. Natural because that's what it is--if I dropped my hands it would sort of look like I'm just standing there, not aggressive, not looking for a fight, just standing there, all natural-like.

This is the stance I use to launch my kicks and punches. Both hands and feet can easily be put into play from here. I can move in any direction--to the front, back and both sides with equal ease.

Elements of the basic stance:

• Weight is equally distributed on both feet.
• Feet are positioned at about shoulder-width.
• Front foot is pointed toward opponent. If you drew a line from my front toe, it would split the middle of my opponent's stance. I just have follow the direction of my front foot to land a perfect jab.
• Rear foot is pointed at an angle, away from opponent (for traction and preparation to turn the hip into a roundhouse or side kick).
• Knees are slightly bent.
• Hips and shoulders are directly over the feet.
• Lead shoulder is pointed slightly toward opponent (easier to defend than facing completely forward which opens up vital target areas. Also puts your jab closer)
• Hands are up--rear hand as high as your eyes, front hand just below eye level, pointed at target (nose, most likely).
• Elbows are close to the body (ready to fire a quick elbow strike or to tuck in tight in order to absorb a body shot).
• Chin is down and tucked in, eyes centered on opponent's chest (easier to see all peripheral movement and not be distracted by antagonist's eyes).

When I was a Tae Kwon Do and tournament fighter, I used a more sideways stance, so I could utilize a quick kick from my front leg or a fast backfist. For self defense and real fighting, I like to open up a bit more, keeping my "guns forward", that is, all my weapons in a position to easily and quickly fire.

This is not my only fighting stance, by any means. If it looks like the other guy is going to shoot in, I may get wider and lower for stability, prepared to fight off a takedown. And If I have a weapon in my hand, my stance will be quite different.

But this is the basic stance, the first stance, and everyone that learns my system would have to understand it completely, with all of its subtleties and nuances.

Here's an example of striking from the basic fighting stance:

Next: Hand strikes.

Combined Arts Training and Tactics

The C.A.T.T. Martial Arts System

Origins
I figured it's time to start chronicling my defensive art. It's called Combined Arts Training and Tactics (really, I just wanted to name something the C.A.T.T. system) and it's actually a subset of my original style, Freewind Martial Arts, so I suppose I should talk a little about that.

Freewind Martial Arts
I developed Freewind with a solid concept in mind: maintain a core style as a foundation and add essences of other arts, distilled down to their pure effectiveness. The foundation was Tae Kwon Do and all of my students were required to learn the forms and requirements of that style. On top of that, I added elements of Kenpo, Filipino arts, groundfighting, Jeet Kune Do and boxing as sort of electives. The concept was simple: a solid, well-practiced foundation with peripherals chosen purely for their usefulness and functionality.

Keep It Simple Stupid
What I wanted to do with the C.A.T.T. system was to strip everything down to a core of effective, simple techniques that can apply to a variety of situations. Too many martial art systems are bloated, in fact, most of them are. I wanted a system built around a few proven and effective techniques that the practitioner trained with constantly and consistently until they were quick, powerful and second-nature. I call these the foundation techniques--a package of strikes that one can always fall back on. When in doubt, go to your foundation.

A Need-To-Know Basis
On top of that, I added need-to-know techniques for joint-control and manipulation, grappling and weapons (the knife, the stick and the staff) as well as an array of secondary strikes. There are no Kata or forms to speak of (by that I mean that I incorporate drills and bag work which, in reality, are forms by any other name).

So Lets Get To It 
Over the next several posts (interspersed by whatever I feel like on any given day) I'll be covering the foundation techniques of the C.A.T.T. system:

• Stance
• Hand strikes
• Kicks
• Knees
• Elbows
• Footwork

Let the fun begin!

The Secret To Life

Busy Busy Busy
I haven't posted for awhile and there are reasons for that--I've been very busy and lately it seems as if something has been going on every weekend, which happens to be when I do most of my writing. My stepdaughter is very involved in dance and we are in the middle of dance competition season and recently I had to go to Houston for a week, attending a conference for work (I wasn't all that impressed with downtown Houston, by the way, not much in the way of character or soul).

Age Catches Up
Work is really the problem right now. I'm an IT manager for a small, international company that supplies chemicals for the semiconductor industry.The dynamics are crazy and it's a busy and stressful job. Now, whenever I was young and energetic I thrived on such work. At 59, I ain't so young these days and my energy guage drops down to zero alarmingly fast. At the end of a workday, I have no energy for anything besides staring at the TV or reading, not even enough left in the tank to sit at my laptop and write. It often feels like work is actually sucking the life out of me. But such is life, ya know? And that's sort of what this post is all about.

This post isn't about aging, I have plenty of others that complain about what a bitch that is. But let me just say that this has been a tough year for me--I'm feeling old. Each workout is a chore and I often have to drag my ass down to the basement and tell myself, "just start, just start and do the best you can." That's the trick to getting a workout in when you don't feel like it--just start.

What Is the Secret  To Life?
Anyway, I've already gotten a little off track from the point of this post--the secret of life. So, what is the secret to a happy, successful, rewarding and satisfying life? What is it that will give us what we ask for in life?

I know the answer to those questions and have known for many years. There is only one secret and once you understand it, you can actually can move toward all your hopes and dreams.

So here it is. Are you ready? The secret to life is...

Work.

Life is work. Period. That's all there is. Nothing more. Sorry, but that's it. Once you get that concept, when you understand what that means in every facet of your life, you will have a shot at the best life you can possibly have.

If you Want It, You Gotta Work For It
I have had to work for every good thing that has happened in my life. Martial arts didn't come easy for me, I had no natural talent for it but worked my ass off and had a successful career. Successful enough anyway. Then I decided I needed to make more money in order to have the things my family and I wanted and needed. A martial arts studio in a small town does not provide for a great living and I always had to work in order to augment my earnings and continue my dream of owning and operating a martial arts studio (See? My dream took a great deal of work to achieve and maintain).


I worked at some crappy jobs while running my studio because I had no real skills, so when I decided I needed to have a career and make more money, I enrolled in the local community college and worked toward a degree in computer science while working full time and operating my martial arts organization. I worked and studied and work for three years, putting in 12-16 hour days (between work, school and martial arts teaching) and sometimes going for several months in a row without a single day off.

Hard Work Pays Off
It paid off. My hard work was noticed and after graduating I continued on at the college as a part-time computer science instructor, which evolved into a full-time IT tech position and then a technology trainer. My wages increased with each new position. New jobs came throughout the years and now I have a well-paying job that I plan to ride right into retirement. But even with a successful career I kept my martial arts school going for over twenty years, working during the day and then teaching at the studio each evening, getting off work and then going to work.

Pride and Accomplishment
For years my days were long and tiring but also satisfying--a job well done is intrinsically rewarding. Few things are more satisfying than accomplishing something through your own sweat equity, when you can say, "hey, look what I did" with a measure of pride and self-satisfaction.

A Good Relationship Required Work Too
Nothing, absolutely nothing, was ever handed to me, but everything that I have wanted, and then worked diligently for, I have gotten; even in relationships--it took a long time to find the wife who was perfect for me and I had to work very hard to make that relationship a reality, but reality it is and I have never been happier with anyone in my life.

Work=Reward
My job is stessful and tiring and drains my energy, but it provides for my family and give us the funds to do things that we enjoy--take trips, go shopping, buy a 60" wide screen TV (I love my TV!).

The next thing I want out of life is to become a successful writer and I've been working toward that for the last few years. I've been published a couple of times and made it to the finals in a few contests. I will get there sometime, not sure when, but sometime. Hard work towards a goal requires sacrifice and I have had to sacrifice many hours on weekends and evening as I work toward my current goal. There is no other way.

With a path to your goals and dreams squarely in mind, hard work + sacrifice = an enriched life.

So there it is, work is the secret to life. It always has been true and always will be. The old saying is that you get out of life what you put into it and that's true, but I would change it slightly--you get out of life what you work to get, nothing more, nothing less. Sorry, but the odds are pretty stacked against you to win the lottery.

Now get out there and get to work.