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Old 11-02-2004, 10:53 PM   #52
CNYMike
Dojo: Aikido of Central New York
Location: Cortland, NY
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,005
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Re: Boxing type punches

Quote:
Chris Sacksteder wrote:
Interesting that many of the responses to the question have drawn upon what other arts have developed.
Yes, but hopefully instructive.

Of course, I reread the original post, and the question IIRC was someone doing both boxing and Aikido who wondered what in Aikido could be used against something like a jab. The proper answer is "not much," especially if he'd be sparring in a boxing ring in accordance with boxing rules. (Helps to really read the original post, doesn't it?) That doesn't mean that an Aikidoka can't adapt his game to deal with a jab. And that certainly doesn't mean the original poster won't benefit from doing both boxing and aikido, although the benefits will probably be a lot harder for him to quantify and might not be what he expects. But for the situation he seemed to be describing, probably can't help much. And even if he did try something on someone who was also an MMA player, he'd be toast, because they train to combine kickboxing and grappling and he'd be improvising.

Quote:

I've seen a few comments about how boxer's aren't used to dealing with kicks (which I agree with) and just take their legs out. How many of you folks train in aikido dojos were much time is spend developing your kicking skills to the point where you can let loose with a string, balanced kick to a moving targt that's trying to hit you? I can't say that I've been to any dojos or seminars where this subject was covered. We did some of this training for a while but then the class moved on to other concepts and the atemi training has gone by the wayside.

Chris
I agree. The strategy is even riskier considering that boxers don't sit in one place -- they also use evasive footwork and move around. Just tonight, my Kali instructor described boxing as being all about angles, and said they are very good at hitting you even when you think you can't get hit. So clearly, an aikidoka who knows nothing about boxing facing a boxer has his or her work cut out for them. A Thai Boxer could pulll it off, but they train to do something like that.

If all else fails, an aikidoka in that situation -- or facing any other attack they haven't formally trained against -- will have the best chances of not getting his or her block knocked off by following these three steps:

1. DON'T PANIC! Or at least stay as relaxed as possible with your flight-or-fligh reflex in overdirve.

2. Get off the line/evade AND bring both hands into play. One thing I've appreciated about Aikido since resuming it is the emphasis on having both hands active even if only one hand as been grabbed; the tenkan and irimi drills we've done are good examples. Now, whether fully extending your arms like that would be suicidal against my Kali instructor is another question (if so, the last thing you'd hear before splatting into the floor would be "thank you,") but in general, I think it's having both hands on the move and "live," especially when on what Filipinos call the Female Triangle (which Aikido people use all the time without knowing it) is not necessarily a bad place to be!

3. If you've made it through 1 and 2 without being clobbered, then find something, ANYTHING. Don't plan ahead, just take what is offered you and use it.

It's just my opion, but I think that when one reads anecdotes about an Aikido instructor "winning" a challenge from a kickboxer or Judoka or whatever, the above things are what saved that person's gravy -- keeping a relatively cool head, evading and getting both hands involved. The joint lock or throw would be gravy; the first few seconds of the encounter, IMHO, are the critical ones.

Just my 2p. FWIW.
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