The TV series Human Weapon had a special show telling what the very best martial arts moves in the world are. They chose a strike with the arms, one with the legs, one joint lock, and one choke. They got three out of four right.
The show Human Weapon sends two good fighters around the world to learn the techniques and history of each country's indigenous martial art. Then one of those guys fights a top practitioner of that art. It's a pretty good show.
Their strike with the arms was a straight shot to the face with your elbow. The way you execute it is very much like the way you fasten your seat belt when you drive, if you have one of those across the shoulder seat belts. Picture it. Picture how you reach across with your right hand to grab the seat belt past your left ear, and picture how your elbow extends in front of you as you reach for the belt. That's pretty much the same movement as the elbow strike to the face, the single most powerful thing you can do with your arms as a strike, much more powerful than any punch. You can knock teeth out with that elbow of yours. Human Weapon got that one right.
The kick they selected was a spinning back kick. It's a move we practiced a lot in karate class. It requires good balance and technique, and can't be done correctly without a lot of training and practice. While it is true that the kick carries the force of a mule, this is the one technique that Human Weapon blew. This is most definitely Not the best kicking technique out there.
The best kicking technique is one of three things, all three being far superior to the spinning back kick. One is a simple knee to the balls. Another is a Thai kick to the chin, also carried out by the knee, but you first wrap both of your hands behind the other person's neck and pull down. The only other choice is if your opponent is down and you stomp on his head with your heel. Those are the three most powerful kicks a human being can do, the three most fight-ending kicks.
On to joint locks, they got that one right, a no-brainer. They selected the straight arm bar. I can't count the number of times Fedor Emelianenko used it to win a fight. So did Rickson Gracie. Here you have the two best fighters in recorded history, and they both rely very heavily on the straight arm bar, a devastating fight-finisher, a move that can enable a 95 pound girl to decisively win a fight against a defensive tackle in football. The power she generates from her pelvis arching upward is more than enough to snap tendons in his extended elbow and make him not want to play anymore, and rush his little tush to a hospital.
One of the best things about this arm bar is that it can be applied from any position. You're on top? Great. Catch his arm and snap that lock on. You're on the bottom? Great. Snap that arm bar on him. Rock his world in a hurry.
Then they said they were going to tell us the single most devastating thing you can do in a fight, a death choke. And they proceeded to demonstrate the rear naked choke. Yup, that is the single most devastating thing you can do in a fight. It is certainly a death touch. You prevent blood from going to the brain, it kills quickly. Basically, it is hanging the guy, only much quicker. The only drawback of the move is that you have to get yourself into position to apply it, and that means getting behind the other person. Who in his right mind is going to let you do that? So the hard part is the set-up. This move is also called the Sleeper Hold in professional wrestling. Nitey nite.
lfbno7 posted on Dec 08, 2007
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Comments
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CreativeWoman said on Dec 08, 2007....
I've seen the Sleeper Hold done in professional wrestling way back in the day of Baron Von Rashki. :-)
CW
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SeanRenaud said on Dec 08, 2007....
I'm somewhat familar with the Human Weapon series. While I'm not doubting yoru expertise I have to ask why did they choose the spinning back kick? Surely they'd heard of these other techniques and knew the strengths and weaknesses of each. Though to be fair I don't count the Thai Knee as a kick. It's a grapple maneuver. A kick should only involve the arms for balance reasons. IMO.I can't believe the rear naked won out over the guilotine. I've personally found the guilotine to be MUCH easier to apply in a much wider group of circumstances than the rear naked. That said cutting off blood is a must.The arm bar I can't debate at all. Though I'll be honest I'll be impressed when I see a 95 pound girl get it on a line backer. -
curmudgeon said on Dec 09, 2007....
Hmm - quite a few assumptions being made in these recommendations:How about an arm-bar in a bar fight with one guy and his buddies surrounding you? No thanks. In that case, perhaps a standing lock of some sort that enables you to throw him into the crowd so you can escape would be more appropriate.Spinning back kick was likely selected purely on the power generated. Whether it's "less effective" than the knee to the head is another story - at what distance?And as to the elbow, against a boxer with a greater reach, good luck trying to land it. Watch out for that jab. And the hook following it.A rear naked choke is fine so long as your victim doesn't use his bodyweoght to make you fall back onto a fire hydrant, or pavement, or the jutting corner of a building. Or he could simply reach back and gouge your eyes out or pull your ears off. Yeah - real effective, that choke.A 95 pound girl would have to get the linebacker to extend his arm straight in order to put pressure on the tendons. Good luck to her trying to do that while keeping him from rolling right on top of her. She'd be better off slicing his tendons with a kerambit."Most effective" or "deadliest" technique is a silly exercise to indulge in. Any martial artist worth his salt wouldn't go near this. You select the appropriate technique for the sitution. Here's the "deadliest" advice: Use what works.As for the Human Weapon guys, it's a fun show, but they'be been up against some really lame competition. Yeah, it would suck if they got their asses kicked from week to week, but how does it look for the arts they're covering if they can fight an "expert" to a draw after training for just a few days? -
SeanRenaud said on Dec 09, 2007....
The guys who came up with the Human Weapon are doing the same research as the guys who created the current Isreali and Marine Corps martial arts. Only the most effient moves. I don't question their credentials. Trust me a properly applied rear naked choke and the guy is out before he really knows what's going on.The arm bar can be applied from a number of positions. And most people like to punch. It ain't THAT hard. I'd still like to see the 95 lbs girl do it to the 250+ guy though.Even with all your friends surrounding me I'd still take an Arm Bar if I got it. Why? Cus in wrestling I apply it at half speed (maybe) cus I want you to tap out. In a bar fight I'll break your fucking arm in a blink, and then you're one less guy in the room trying to kick my ass. Not to mention I apply my Father's strategy to all fights where I'm out numbered. Pick one guy and make damn sure he'll never fuck with you ever again in his life. Hope that his friends see how badly you've managed to hurt him despite their presence and back off. -
lfbno7 said on Dec 09, 2007....
Curmudgeon, the problem that I see in your position is that you are not allowing anyone to analyze and compare moves. You just say that it is a silly thing to do. Also, you are too demanding of the moves. No move is applicable to all situations. You do make valid points about the limits of these moves, but we're just indulging in the exercise of comparing moves to each other.
Actually the best self defense technique I know of is to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the second best is to have an armed bodyguard with you. Third best would be to have an automatic weapon in your hands. I suppose we could quibble about the order of these three.
I'll do another post about real life women prevailing over male attackers.
The spinning back kick generates a lot of power. That show always emphasizes how much power a technique generates, and comes up with some wild numbers. But a knee to the balls is more effective than a spinning back kick to the stomach or ribs unless it catches just right and breaks a rib. Lucky shot. The foot stomp is the single most powerful leg attack, and can break the most bricks or wood. But the target would have to be sensitive, because people can withstand having their feet stepped on.
The competition in that show is usually pretty decent, actually. Sometimes it's lame but usually it's pretty good. The lamest one was when Fedor Emelianenko sent one of his students in to fight Bill Duff, and Bill kicked the poor kid's ass. I still feel embarrassed for Fedor on that.
I noticed the same thing as your last comment, that it is really pretty embarrassing for these arts when a couple of Americans can walk into your country, train for a week, and then fight your top guy fairly evenly. Just goes to show that all these arts have so much in common, and that if you are really good at MMA like Jason Chambers, or just a tough guy like Bill Duff with a background in a lot of this stuff, you can adapt to pretty much any martial art and use what you know. Like savate. Like that's so different from karate. I still haven't figured out one thing about savate that is unique to the sport.
Sean, I totally agree, obviously, on the effectiveness of the rear naked choke and the arm bar, and the fact that we have to apply the arm bar slowly in training but if you snap it on, that's another matter. Seeing your buddy get his arm snapped, and seeing him not wanting any more, is sure to sober people up. -
SeanRenaud said on Dec 09, 2007....
Not only in training. In MMA nobody breaks your arm. They simple lock it in hard enough that the other guy knows he's lost. You don't see that many injuries in MMA. Oddly enough comparitively Football and even Pro-Wrestling are more likely to get hurt. Repetitive chair shots to the skull is apparently bad for your brain meat. -
curmudgeon said on Dec 09, 2007....
Again - what's the point of "comparing" one move to another? The evolving situation will dictate which move will be most effective. It isn't the knee that makes a knee to the groin effective, it's the vulnerability of the groin. That said, the ears and eyes are even more vulnerable. Whatever strike hits those targets will likely be more effective than even a groin strike. Same goes for the foot stomp. They all have their uses. Do you prefer a hammer, or a mallot?The sambo competition was indeed embarrassing. The Filipino stick fighter could have really opened up on Chambers but it was obvious that he didn't. They put an 18 year old kid up as the opposition in San Da. The Savate fighter hadn't been in a professional bout in some time. These opponents are far from the "best" these arts have to offer. Chambers is a professional mma fighter. He should be put up against a top-ranked professional. That other guy has size, strength, dexterity and determination. For crying out loud, put him up against someone who can actually match him at least in these. About the only interesting bout was the Kyokushin tournament. At least these guys were really wailing on each other.You do have a point in that all these styles have similarities and given both these guys' ability to apply their strength, speed, dexterity, previous experience and so on they can give an opponent a good run for his money.I just wish the competition was a bit more challenging. Otherwise, what's the point of learning any of these styles if a guy can walk in off the street and win after a few days training?As to the auto / bodyguard etc.I find that keeping my eyes open, moving away from trouble and deliberately not escalating a street confrontation is all the self-defense I've needed so far. It can be a little scarring on the ego sometimes, because these guys get to vent their anger on you, but no one gets injured that way. -
SeanRenaud said on Dec 09, 2007....
The Marine Corp Martial Art is a good example of why compare moves. Largely so is the MMA. If for some crazy reason you had to teach somebody how to defend themselves and you would only have time to teach them a few moves (such as during 3 months of boot camp) what moves would you focus on and why? -
lfbno7 said on Dec 09, 2007....
A tv show is a tv show. It's for entertainment, and hopefully for education as well. There is so much that is phony about these so-called reality tv shows. They would more accurately be termed unscripted shows. A lot of the action is pre-planned and manipulated, but the cast members are not given a script to follow in terms of what they will say.
One thing I liked about Human Weapon was the chance to see different countries and different senseis. Well, that's two things. As for the fights at the end of the shows, they were all a bit pointless because they didn't prove anything at all. Some of them were entertaining, some were embarrassing.
It's a good thing that the Filipino stick fighter took it easy on Chambers. Years ago I went to the Dog Brothers website and looked at their photo gallery. Back then they weren't afraid to show the hand and finger and nail injuries. Those were even more gruesome than the body injuries.