Martial Arts: Part 1 Knowing your built-in weapons
By Thomas Rye
This is the first in an intended series of posts on Exploration & Explanation. The first set is Martial Arts. I will be detailing my experience and exploration in martial arts and self-defense.
I decided to put on Bourne Supremacy today while I did some things around the house. Only minutes into the movie, I remembered my deep love and near obsession with all things “Spy” (See my favorites list on Spy Movies). If you’re familiar with the Bourne movies you will remember that amongst the secrecy, sniper-shots and fast car chases there is a good amount of close quarters hand-to-hand combat (also see Nathan’s Ten Steps: Being a Spy). Bourne and his Treadstone counter parts are all well versed in using their hands, feet and entire bodies to quickly incapacitate their opponents.
Part 1: Knowing your built-in weapons
The human body has been used since the beginning of time as a weapon potent enough to kill. And through the ages many methods and styles have been developed to hone this ability. Some focus on blunt force requiring great strength or multiple strikes to vulnerable targets. Some take a knowledge of anatomy and use of body mechanics to break bones or dislocate joints using leverage. Then there are still other styles that take the knowledge of anatomy to pinpoint pressure points and exploit weak areas of the body into submission.
Today we will start with the basics, though. Striking. There’s 1001 ways to hit a man, but the ones that are extremely efficient comprise a much shorter list. Here are 6 basic strikes to make your hands more useful in combat:
| Strike | Best Target |
Foreknuckle Punch  |
Solar Plexus |
Half Fist  |
Trachea |
Knifehand Chop  |
Brachial Plexus |
Reverse Knifehand  |
Filtrum |
Palm (Straight Strike)  |
Solar Plexus/Pubis |
| Palm Heel (Downward Strike) |
Bridge of the Nose |
More to come about Martial Arts exploration. If you have a punching bag at home or want to position a good thick pillow against the wall, you can practice familiarizing yourself with your built-in weapons.
Category: Exploration & Explanation, Martial Arts | Tags: Bourne, Martial Arts, punch, spy 5 comments »
5 Responses to “Martial Arts: Part 1 Knowing your built-in weapons”
Leave a Reply
January 22nd, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I am really starting to like this blog.
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Glad you’re enjoying! You’ve certainly been a great influence and inspiration to this Social Media / Blogging push.
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I like how the hands look covered in blood…very kung-fu’ish
when are you going to demonstrate the five-point palm exploding heart technique??
<3
February 6th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
[...] Thomas Rye recently posted a detailed piece on self-defense and martial arts. I think this to be the perfect follow-up reading assignment for anyone that hopes to defend their man-bag from the forces of darkness. [...]
February 18th, 2010 at 9:05 am
I’m working on the next article. I’m sorry it’s taken so long. A little preview though… it’s on kicks.