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Creating Space
Someone asked me why one would want to "create space" as I have posted in other threads and discussions.
I'll try to keep it brief but I doubt that's going to happen...
Unlike most martial arts that I have studied, Kantan necessitates that the practitioner remain in constant motion away from or towards an opponent. Most arts, Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Kenpo etc etc, approach self defense in the same manner as they approach sport competition. They square up and beat the snot out of each other until someone "wins" and someone "loses." Kantan teaches that squaring up is great - in competition. But not so good for self defense.
We would all like to be the bad ass Bruce Lee type where we come in and kick everyones butt, thereby protecting ourselves by eliminating the competition (Peace Through Superior Firepower). However, it has been my experience that this approach is not always successful.
If you are big, strong, quick, and have excellent technique then this will probably work most of the time. However, if you are fat, old, slow and not too bright (like me) then you have a little more trouble than the average Joe pulling this off...
For the first 6-12 months of the training I went through, all I learned was the basic movements to keep people off of me. All the strikes were taught to use very padded parts of the body (sole of the foot, palm of the hand near the outer ridge) and the striking motion took advantage of gross motor controls that I was able to learn really quickly and repeat under duress. These strikes were designed (by traditional martial arts from years passed) and incorporated (by my teacher's teacher's teacher) into a very simple curriculum.
After a short amount of training I was able to successfully repel a fully padded and determined attacker. Could I kick his butt? No. Could I take him out? Maybe, if he was stupid and I was lucky. Could I keep him off of me long enough for me to escape or at least move to a better position? More often than not, I could.
How could I do this? By using repelling strikes with gross motor controlled strikes based on my body movements (i.e. all kicks were either below the knee or at my hip level) to either move my antagonist away from me or to move me away from him. Hence we get into "creating space."
Now why would I want to create space? Well, the safest place in any attack is not to be in the same zip code as the attacker. The second best way to avoid pain and conflict is to talk your way out of a scrape or to have the ability to avoid confrontation altogether. Sometimes this is possible and sometimes it is not.
Any time someone agrees to enter into conflict is because they either think they have an advantage and can win, or they just don't care. Either way, you don't want to fight another man's fight. You want to fight your own. If you control the spatial relationship between you and your attacker, you have a huge advantage.
If he is a TKD expert who is seven feet tall, then you don't want to be on the outside within kicking distance. If he is a boxer or JKD guy, you don't want to be in arms length. And if he is huge, strong, or a grappling expert, you don't want to Rassle with him. You want to fight your fight and control the spatial relationship as much as possible.
I "create space" by using repelling strikes (basic) or closing strikes(advanced) based on what I want to do. Create space to escape, close the space to contain. Once I strike I either move with transportation (to include a full set of ground movement techniques) or into grappling to contain my opponent.
Most arts I have studied either maintain space and duke it out or eliminate space for the good ol' ground and pound Gracie style...
We train (Kantan Kyo Jujutsu) to escape and evade as beginners, then to contain and destroy as advanced students, if necessary.
It's a simple strategy that most people use without realizing, especially if you have trained in martial arts for quite awhile. But we train it as one of the first things you learn to keep it in mind all the time.
Hope this helps. Please follow up with any questions or comments or downright disagreements as you deem fit...
SZ
I'll try to keep it brief but I doubt that's going to happen...
Unlike most martial arts that I have studied, Kantan necessitates that the practitioner remain in constant motion away from or towards an opponent. Most arts, Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Kenpo etc etc, approach self defense in the same manner as they approach sport competition. They square up and beat the snot out of each other until someone "wins" and someone "loses." Kantan teaches that squaring up is great - in competition. But not so good for self defense.
We would all like to be the bad ass Bruce Lee type where we come in and kick everyones butt, thereby protecting ourselves by eliminating the competition (Peace Through Superior Firepower). However, it has been my experience that this approach is not always successful.
If you are big, strong, quick, and have excellent technique then this will probably work most of the time. However, if you are fat, old, slow and not too bright (like me) then you have a little more trouble than the average Joe pulling this off...
For the first 6-12 months of the training I went through, all I learned was the basic movements to keep people off of me. All the strikes were taught to use very padded parts of the body (sole of the foot, palm of the hand near the outer ridge) and the striking motion took advantage of gross motor controls that I was able to learn really quickly and repeat under duress. These strikes were designed (by traditional martial arts from years passed) and incorporated (by my teacher's teacher's teacher) into a very simple curriculum.
After a short amount of training I was able to successfully repel a fully padded and determined attacker. Could I kick his butt? No. Could I take him out? Maybe, if he was stupid and I was lucky. Could I keep him off of me long enough for me to escape or at least move to a better position? More often than not, I could.
How could I do this? By using repelling strikes with gross motor controlled strikes based on my body movements (i.e. all kicks were either below the knee or at my hip level) to either move my antagonist away from me or to move me away from him. Hence we get into "creating space."
Now why would I want to create space? Well, the safest place in any attack is not to be in the same zip code as the attacker. The second best way to avoid pain and conflict is to talk your way out of a scrape or to have the ability to avoid confrontation altogether. Sometimes this is possible and sometimes it is not.
Any time someone agrees to enter into conflict is because they either think they have an advantage and can win, or they just don't care. Either way, you don't want to fight another man's fight. You want to fight your own. If you control the spatial relationship between you and your attacker, you have a huge advantage.
If he is a TKD expert who is seven feet tall, then you don't want to be on the outside within kicking distance. If he is a boxer or JKD guy, you don't want to be in arms length. And if he is huge, strong, or a grappling expert, you don't want to Rassle with him. You want to fight your fight and control the spatial relationship as much as possible.
I "create space" by using repelling strikes (basic) or closing strikes(advanced) based on what I want to do. Create space to escape, close the space to contain. Once I strike I either move with transportation (to include a full set of ground movement techniques) or into grappling to contain my opponent.
Most arts I have studied either maintain space and duke it out or eliminate space for the good ol' ground and pound Gracie style...
We train (Kantan Kyo Jujutsu) to escape and evade as beginners, then to contain and destroy as advanced students, if necessary.
It's a simple strategy that most people use without realizing, especially if you have trained in martial arts for quite awhile. But we train it as one of the first things you learn to keep it in mind all the time.
Hope this helps. Please follow up with any questions or comments or downright disagreements as you deem fit...
SZ
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