Bruce Lee and Jim Maloney

[AE Moores]

Yes round house kicks are my favorite for a reason. I have yet to be on the receiving end of Jim W. kicks and I'm hoping to keep it that way.

Those that think front kicks are the end all be all need to watch a full contact tournament or a MMA fight and count all the front kicks that are thrown and land how they are intended to..... then compare that to round house kicks. Not even a close comparison.

Heading to Nova Scotia with Fedele for three hard days of training..... "who's coming with me?"

[Bill Glasheen]

I've enjoyed my roundhouse kicks. Back in the day, my roundhouse to the head was my ippon technique of choice.

But I have aged, and I have evolved into a better martial artist.

Those that think front kicks are the end all be all need to watch a full contact tournament or a MMA fight and count all the front kicks that are thrown and land how they are intended to..... then compare that to round house kicks. Not even a close comparison.

You are correct.

However...

To start with, I came to martial arts from baseball and then track. My legs were strong and my forte. And I even choreographed my own kicking form because I wanted my students to know all the kicking basics.

In my experience and in my opinion, most people don't know how to throw a good front kick. Why? Because believe it or not, a good front kick requires more complex motor coordination than a basic roundhouse kick.

Why do most people on the street throw looping haymakers when a straight shot is quicker to the target? Because a straight punch involves more complex motor coordination. That's less possible with someone who has less training and/or who can't handle loss of fine and complex motor coordination under the Survival Stress Response. Looping punches and kicks are easy techniques that are thrown with the large muscle groups. They're easy to thwart (if you know what you're doing), but also do a LOT of damage if you land one.

If you put your time in, straight shots of any kind can penetrate inside the offense and defenses of an emotionally hijacked thug and a scary banger in the ring. But that's a big "if."

In the end, it's all about execution.

Heading to Nova Scotia with Fedele for three hard days of training..... "who's coming with me?"

Sounds like a plan. Have fun!

- Bill

[Van Canna]

Good stuff.

The kick that is now my favorite one for defense...is the roundhouse/hook kick low into the the legs, preferably inside the opponent's shins. And if thrown to the quads, giving it a 'quartering down' slice...that will, cut the muscle, if executed with a well conditioned shin bone, something that I do daily four/five times a day.

My body feels like I am about to kick a soccer ball...

Next is the 'torpedo' as taught by Art Rabesa...from a walking stride..turning your foot to the right [kicking with the right leg] and impacting with your heel, leg going straight...targeting the pelvis area. The bag is placed on the floor for that practice...the power of that kick is awesome.

[robb buckland]

Being a big person of advanced age kicks to the head are to slow for my tastte now....but the neck and legs now thats a different story

[Van Canna]

Being a big person of advanced age kicks to the head are to slow for my tastte now....but the neck and legs now thats a different story

Advanced age? C'mon Robb..you in the prime of your life.

[robb buckland]

Alright so more bag work you say..........

When I sparred alot with Jimmy Witherel we did high kicks but nowadays I work with National Guard and MMA guys with no real core attributes (tma backgrounds) ..they tend too be a little lazy with the flexibility if ya know what I mean...

[AAAhmed46]

One wonders a lot of things, Van, like the Seisan bunkai "groin strikes" technique. Bullhockey! The groin strike isn't the technique, and the circle isn't a block. The groin strike is a setup, and the circle is a KO.

Probably you've described this KO before, and I surely do get that circle "blocks" are strikes, grappling, or clearing techniques (i.e., almost anything but blocks), but could you elaborate on this application a little bit for my benefit?

Sure.

I won't say that the Seisan bunkai technique is "wrong." It works, and particularly if someone's grabbing you from behind. But it won't take them out.

Picture instead facing someone. What is the natural reaction when you get your testicles whacked? If you don't get hit hard enough to drop you (likely), it will make you bend forward. And oops - there it is!. They will be exposing the back of their neck (cervical spine) to you.

If it is the first groin strike - which is off the rear leg - what's your next move? You turn around and swing the arms, right? Well... embellish that a bit. All you need to do is turn 90 degrees and do a hammerhand to the back of their neck. My cousin who teaches jiujitsu in the Air Force likes this application.

If it the subsequent groin strikes - which are off the front leg - what's your next move? You circle, right? Well... put some whole-body caffeine in that circle, and lead with the shuto (hand blade). Connect the hand on the back of their neck. Some Russian martial artists prefer instead to connect with the elbow (pulling wauke down) instead of the hand blade. Whatever floats your boat.

If you prefer grappling to striking (such as Rory), then these are setups to headlocks. The circle goes around the neck, and you do your grappling thing.

- Bill

Sounds similar to what rick teaches for seisan.

[Van Canna]

Rick knows his stuff. Even Maloney says he is very analytical and precise in all he does.

[AAAhmed46]

Rick knows his stuff. Even Maloney says he is very analytical and precise in all he does.

I got pretty lucky in my school hunting!

[jwlavasse]

There are some pictures of Bruce Lee and Jim Maloney on this site:

http://flutesilencieuse.canalblog.com/a ... 48862.html

[Glenn]

Thanks! That site includes several from that visit that I have not seen before. It is also worth noting that a couple of pictures from that visit to the Mattson Academy made it into one of John Little's edited books on Lee, The Art of Expressing the Human Body.

https://www.tuttlepublishing.com/books- ... human-body

[NEB]

Late to the party I know ... but in that image Bruce's heel is clearly making contact with Jim's gi. If he's striking/punching the kick there is no extension and therefore nothing in the punch. Meanwhile the kick already ate his lunch. That's just one pic so it doesn't mean much, but I can't buy into the notion that he punched the kick.