Elements of Effective Technique

Let's ignore the fact that there are several different definitions for "effective" with regards to fighting techniques, and stick with the basic premise behind self-defense: put the other guy down.  Now with this in mind, what creates an effective technique?  For me, and my karate, the three ingredients for an effective technique are: distance, body dynamics and timing, in this order.  These are my ingredients for effective technique in a self-defense situation where execution and impact are paramount to one’s safety.  When we’re looking at shiai kumite and effective technique in that environment we might view these three elements in a different order, but they are all important in either arena.

Distance

Distance, or maai, is of paramount importance when discussing self-defense or self-protection.  Having proper distancing assures one remains out of range of an attacker, or within range to create decisive impact.  The ideal is distance away from one’s attacker, with karate we always press the idea of never attacking first; “There is no first strike in karate.”  This is, naturally, an ideal situation, and one’s distance or nearness one’s attacker dictates whether one will need to make the first physical strike; confrontation doesn’t necessarily always start with physical contact.  There are, of course, physical and verbal cues to be aware of.  If one’s distance is beyond the range of the attacker there is little to consider aside from deciding whether to maintain that distance and diffuse the situation or, if necessary, to close the distance and pursue physical means of diffusion.

When one decides to close distance, or begins the situation within the attacker’s range, the question now becomes of what weapons are available to both parties.  Sometimes there will be external weapons (ie. knives, bats, guns, etc,), and this extra variables will also dictate what the attacker’s actual distance is.  These are practical considerations, but beyond the purview of this article.  Once you are committed to the fight, what distance are you in?  There are a variety of combat ranges from kicking, to punching, clinch and then grappling; these are, of course, listed in order from farthest to nearest.  Once one’s distance is determined, the effective weapons are also determined.

Body Dynamics

I am using this term as a catch-all phrase to include every aspect of mechanical execution of the chosen technique as well as creation of power behind the technique.

Great, you’ve found your effective distance in this particular situation, and you know what technique you will be using…but does that mean you can make it work for you?  What if I am attacked and I throw a wide swooping punch that does nothing more than rap my knuckles against my attacker’s shoulder?  What have I gained aside from the obviously bruised ego?

With body dynamics we have many things to consider, large details down to the minutia.  The bigger concepts, depending on the technique would be hip rotation and compression & expansion.  Without utilizing both of these ideas simultaneously very little power will be generated behind the punch/kick/etc.  Let’s assume you can get your hips moving properly, what about extension?  If you don’t extend, you won’t hit, or you won’t hit deeply enough.  This means you have to be able to extend from the hips and from the shoulders without overreaching and unbalancing yourself.  Moving further outward we come to stability of the joints.  All of one’s joints need to be stable and strong to be able to absorb and disperse the forces rebounding back into one’s body upon impact.  Newton’s laws ensure that an equal and opposite force will react back into one’s body.  Stability at the shoulder ensures that punch’s power will go primarily into the target and not back through the shoulder dislocating it.  Finally we come down to the alignments of the bones to create the most stable striking surface.  Punching with the wrong knuckles or kicking with wrong part of the foot can create terrible consequences in the form of broken wrists or ankles, or even fingers and toes.  While these are not life threatening injuries on their own, they can be terribly inconvenient when one’s life and health are on the line.

Each of these aspects needs to be trained, constantly and with intensity.  Body dynamics should be practiced solo, with partners and on striking surfaces; the makiwara and heavy bag are best for true impact training and learning proper bone alignments.

Timing

The last crucial element of creating an effective technique is timing.  This is last on the list due to the fact that one can still hit an opponent hard without timing it properly, but correct timing can make the difference between inducing pain and finishing the confrontation.  The classic example is of two trains colliding, the faster the combined speeds, the greater the collision and damage.  The same goes for two bodies in motion.  If the goal is to punch the target, it’s better to make contact as one’s opponent is entering one’s range, or is at the very least moving forward.  Practicing timing can be done in several ways; generally and specifically.

A simple drill is to play a song that is fairly repetitive, generally techno and dance type music are best for this.  Every time a sound, tone or lyric repeats, throw a chosen technique or combination.  Think about the previously mentioned elements, of course, but emphasis is on the proper timing.  Outside dojo, one can also practice this idea with simple drills.  While driving, taps the steering wheel every time a car of a particular car passes by.  Don’t search for the color, but whenever it comes naturally within one’s site, tap the steering wheel.

Practicing timing with a partner is the best and ideal method of drilling this element.  Have the opponent do a specific body action, whether that might be a specified attack, or a tap on the shoulder, or a body fake, it doesn’t matter.  The partner acts, and one’s job is to catch them, with the specified reaction technique.

Other Considerations

Naturally, you might think that I’ve ignored physical strength and more importantly intent.  It’s important to remember that at all times it is one’s intent that determines whether or not a technique will succeed in putting down the attacker.  Remember this one point, if all else fails and these three points are not in sync, “Speed, surprise and violence of action.”