Ron "The Thug" Artest's Elbow Technique

[Bill Glasheen]

What can I say... As one of my former bosses used to say, "Sometimes even a blind squirrel can find a nut."

Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest before being suspended from the NBA for a year for taking a fight up into the stands) was being his normal thuggish self while celebrating a shot. So... he decided he'd let an elbow fly.

Take a look at the replay. He couldn't have landed a better shot if he tried.

..... Metta World Peace decks James Harden with elbow *

FYI, this resulted in a concussion. Under new NBA rules, James Harden won't be able to play again before undergoing extensive testing.

Ponder how a trained Uechika could set up a shot like that - without of course it being a cheapshot. (Don't ask me what I really think...) It's all about bad-breath-range infighting. It's also about positioning - something that escapes the vast majority of toe-to-toe fighters and sport fighters.

- Bill

* NOTE: Due to YouTube pulling down the original link, I steered you to an ESPN link with film and commentary.

[Bill Glasheen]

If you wonder why I'm so harsh in my word about Ron Artest, take a look at the video. This is the incident that caused Ron Artest to be banned from the NBA for a year. He has the kind of dangerous personality that can cause a riot.

..... NBA Altercation : Pacers vs Pistons (2004)

It's very subtle, but the myriad responses to his behavior don't lie. The three things to note are:

• The flagrant foul which started it all. Forget about the right hand going after the shooting arm. Take a look at the left hand going at the back of Ben Wallace's neck (replay @ 1:20-1:28). The announcers missed it; I didn't. Notice Ben Wallace's retaliation - a double-armed shove at Artest's neck. Tit for tat.
  ...
• The trash talking.
  ...
• Ron Artest charging into the stands to go after a fan who threw a beer at him. As if we didn't expect it... Some brave idiot totally got the dangerous behavior, and decided to throw a little street gasoline on the fire. And then what does Ron Artest do? Assault the wrong fan. As big as Artest is, he's lucky that he or someone on his team didn't get seriously hurt. Charging into the stands in Detroit? Are you kidding me?

In any case, we're all lucky that most NBA players don't have a clue what they're doing when they fight. Ron Artest however seems to have a predatory personality.

I fully expect him to be banned from the game. The cameras don't lie. There aren't many cities left now where he can safely play.

- Bill

[Glenn]

Did you see this Bill:

James Harden got a little revenge against Ron Artest

[Bill Glasheen]

Glenn

I've been pondering this video for a while. Very interesting...

Here's a little martial quiz for you.

1) Was that elbow intentional?

2) How was it different from the Artest elbow, and why did it still work?

- Bill

[Glenn]

1) Coincidence that his elbow was exactly where it needed to be when it needed to be to connect with Artest's face only 3 weeks after Artest decked Harden with an elbow? Maybe... We will never know for certain, but I think the odds are good that there was an intention component to it...and if so then it was better executed then Artest's earlier elbow to Harden in terms of appearing to be accidental. Players of their caliber have a well refined sense of what is where around them. Yes Harden was keeping an eye on the ball so as to not lose control of it during his behind the back move, but he also knew Artest had leaned in trying to steal the ball and would have a good idea where Artest's head would be without having to look. Harden actually does a good job of keeping Artest in contact, in a MA sticky hands kind of way, from the moment Artest makes his move to try to steal (possibly Harden was reading Artest's intent and baiting him) through when he pushes Artest away to the rear as he regains control of the ball and charges forward leaving Artest behind. That contact would have helped him approximate where Artest's head was. The question becomes whether he could process all that in a timely fashion to act on it, but again these players have some highly developed skills in adapting and executing quickly.

2) The way he swings that left arm out reminds me of the crane-wing clearing move that accompanies the turn between the first and second double 'groin' strikes in Seisan. It did not have the outright speed and power that Artest's elbow technique had, but it did have the benefit of both Harden's and Artest's forward momentum colliding at the right time and right place. All Harden really needed to do was stick his elbow out there, physics did the rest.

[Bill Glasheen]

It did not have the outright speed and power that Artest's elbow technique had, but it did have the benefit of both Harden's and Artest's forward momentum colliding at the right time and right place. All Harden really needed to do was stick his elbow out there, physics did the rest.

Pretty good.

For the record, I teach what Harden did.

First... the vast majority of power comes from the center. For an elbow technique, there are many ways to deliver the goods. You can do the Ron Artest thing and deliver it mostly with the upper body. That works... especially when you deliver the goods with the tip of a hard elbow to a vulnerable spot (the triple warmer). The problem with the Artest way is that the "speed" is easily picked up by peripheral vision which is more sensitive to dL/dt than to position. Faster is actually a drawback. But Artest made it work with his lateral move to a position outside the field of vision. He got away with movement that otherwise is very easy to detect.

Harden employed a method that I call jousting. You create forward momentum of all your mass with your legs. Then like a jouster, you just stick the pole out and stay connected from leg to elbow tip. The slow movement of the elbow allows it to fly in under the eye's radar. The response is too late. And a shot right under the tip of the nose is another one of those laser-guided-missile moves that provides a force-multiplying effect.

- Bill