snap punches

hi guys
a thought just struck me today
i personally think its quite ok to counter a roundhouse punch or any kinda punch that is "telegraphed" to you(eg big windup before throwing a roundhouse...leaves tons of openings or i could choose to deal with it like a yokomenuchi)...but say someone and me were having a verbal confrontation where me and him were close...closer than arms length perhaps. Lets just say things heat up, he escalates the conflict and throws a really fast snap punch from the waist or something...i wont have the distance to counter that in time i believe...a swift tenkan might do the trck i thought...but the thing is....can i react fast enough...we havent be taught to deal with punches im only 5th kyu ...any comments?

I'm not sure what you mean by a 'snap' punch, perhaps this just means a fast, straight strike?
First of all, if somebody becomes aggressive verbally first then you have to think about distance. Be either too close to hit or too far away to hit. Usually people can still strike but trying this it would make it more difficult for them and less likely that you will get really hurt. I understand that a good idea when moving close is to put your hands at your waist, just above their hands so they don't sense you touching them but you can feel and stop their hands coming up.
This is not aikido in the real sense but can be valuable against the 'sucker punch'.

Often, self-defense comes down to basics and I have known people to employ basic entering exercises to real life with great success.

I hope that through practising tanto avoidance I would be okay with a straight attack.

Finally, as always, it is better to have some ability and not need it than wanting to test yourself and being hurt - I personally wouldn't hang around just to see if I could do some aikido.

Originally posted by arvin m. ..a swift tenkan might do the trck i thought Absolutley correct. You could do a maware (spelling?) too, but it's a bit trickier. ...but the thing is....can i react fast enough

Probably not, but oneday you will. Until then, stand back?

andrew

Hi,

Snap punches are very hard to deal with however:

(i) you should move off centre line as soon as attack is imminent. Reading the aggression is one aspect of aikido. Also, you don't need to deal with the arm that is doing the snap punch to do aikido, and it is a fallacy that you cannot initiate the attack in aikido.
(ii) rokyu is a good one against snap punches. Other possibilities are irimi-nage (where you don't necessarily need the arm) and ude-garami.
(iii) you should be able to take a few snap punches; however an atemi of your own should induce a block of some type which you can take advantage of.
(iv) remember that 80% (give or take) of aikido is atemis!

Ian

Keep your hands folded in front of you a la Seagal. That should give you adequate space and time to catch or deflect a strike from their waist, without the appearance of hostility or preparedness. Really, you should not stand so close to someone that wants to beat you...I would punch them in the neck immediately when they enter, if they are stupid enough to keep their hands so low. As the saying goes, "when the opponent moves, I strike first." Or, as a training partner of mine reminded me last weekend, "this is a martial art, not basketweaving."

ma-ai

Before, during, after

always ma-ai

If there is even a hint of something getting out of hand.

ma-ai

Originally posted by PeterR always ma-ai

I completely agree! Proper ma-ai is the key for 99% of the situations. Unless the other person is insane (and therefore unpredictable) or you receive an out of the blue sucker punch, keeping ones distance will solve most problems. I believe ma-ai may also involve removing oneself from the developing situation.

Yours in Aikihood