Timing in the Fighting Arts

Loren W. Christensen, Wim Demeere

Description

What if there were a secret ingredient that could make every one of your martial arts techniques better? Not only faster and more powerful, but more likely to slam home to exactly the right target every time? Maybe there is.

Timing is the art and science of ending a confrontation as quickly and efficiently as possible. In Timing for the Fighting Arts, authors Loren W. Christensen and Wim Demeere team up to teach you exactly how to get every last ounce of speed and power out of your techniques.

Whether you want to feel safer on the street or emerge from the ring victorious, this book is packed with inside information essential to defeating your opponent.

• Why many experts say timing is more important than speed


• How to put the OODA loop and Hick’s law to work for you


• Why timing is both an offensive and a defensive asset


• Which types of verbal distraction can give you an edge


• Why controlling your opponent’s spine gives you an advantage


• Which tournament techniques really work on the street


• How to set up multiple opponents to create timing opportunities


• Which tricks law enforcement officers rely on to buy time


• How you can improve your odds against a gun or knife

You will find drills and practice scenarios to help you develop every one of these concepts. Go beyond theory and put your new knowledge to work in the ring or on the street, where you need it most.

Sujets

• Training
• Weapon
• Martial arts
• Japanese
• Chinese
• Sparring
• Sifu
• Practice
• Master
• Speed
• Okinawa
• Tai Chi
• Kendo

Informations

• Publié par: YMAA Publication Center
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781594394973
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

T IMING IN THE F IGHTING A RTS
Your guide to winning in the ring and surviving on the street
Loren W. Christensen
Wim Demeere
YMAA Publication Center, Inc.
Wolfeboro, NH USA
 
 
 
YMAA Publication Center, Inc.
PO Box 480
Wolfeboro, NH 03894
800 669-8892 • www.ymaa.com • [e-mail]
 
Paperback ISBN: 9781594394966 (print) • ISBN: 9781594394973 (ebook)
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Copyright © 2004, 2016 by Loren W. Christensen and Wim Demeere
Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication
Christensen, Loren W.
Timing in the fighting arts : your guide to winning in the ring and surviving on the street / by Loren W. Christensen, Wim Demeere. – 1st ed.
    p. cm.
ISBN 9781594394966
1. MArtial arts – Training.  2. Speed.  I. Demeere, Wim.  II. Title.
GV1102.7.T7C46   2004
796.8 – dc22
                                                    2016944170
 
 
The author and publisher of the material are NOT RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may occur through reading or following the instructions in this manual.
The activities, physical or otherwise, described in this manual may be too strenuous or dangerous for some people, and the reader(s) should consult a physician before engaging in them.
Warning: While self-defense is legal, fighting is illegal. If you don’t know the difference, you’ll go to jail because you aren’t defending yourself. You are fighting—or worse. Readers are encouraged to be aware of all appropriate local and national laws relating to self-defense, reasonable force, and the use of weaponry, and act in accordance with all applicable laws at all times. Understand that while legal definitions and interpretations are generally uniform, there are small—but very important—differences from state to state and even city to city. To stay out of jail, you need to know these differences. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book.
Nothing in this document constitutes a legal opinion, nor should any of its contents be treated as such. While the author believes everything herein is accurate, any questions regarding specific self-defense situations, legal liability, and/or interpretation of federal, state, or local laws should always be addressed by an attorney at law.
When it comes to martial arts, self-defense, and related topics, no text, no matter how well written, can substitute for professional, hands-on instruction. These materials should be used for academic study only.
 
“A GOOD PLAN VIOLENTLY EXECUTED RIGHT NOW
IS FAR BETTER THAN A PERFECT PLAN EXECUTED NEXT WEEK. ”
~ G ENERAL G EORGE S. P ATTON
Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: The Nuts and Bolts of Timing
Physical components
The OODA loop
You and OODA
Types of reactions
Hick’s Law
Mental components
Seizing an opportunity
It’s called timing for a reason
Chapter Two: Winning & Surviving Takes Perfect Timing
Fighting ranges
Don’t “overpull” your blows
Positioning
Framing with footwork
Centerline
Your fighting posture
Slow? Improve your timing
Timing when you are already fast
Age, injuires and speed
How to use timing to increase your power
Know the power of your weapons
Eliminate excess movements
The value of experience and how to get it
What to do when you can’t use footwork
Chapter Three: Into the Mean Streets
Two techniques that almost always save your bacon
Verbal Judo
Know when it’s time to get physical
Timing against big guys
Timing against a gun threat
Timing against the blade
Fighting multiple opponents
Chapter Four: It works in a tournament, but will it work in the street?
“That would never happen on the street”
Sport techniques for the street
Punching the body
High kicks in the street
Chapter Five: Timing a grab: How to close the gap
Law enforcement needs this, too
The setting
1. Move when he is distracted
2. When he changes stances
3. Catch him with his feet parallel
4. When he drops his hands
5. When moving back
6. When he retracts his attack
7. When he is talking
8. When you are with a buddy
Doing your civic duty
Chapter Six: Wisdom of the ages
The Tai Chi Chuan Classics
The Art of War
A Book of Five Rings
Chapter Seven: Drills
Dodge the stick
Ball dodging
Ball slapping
Back to the wall
Touch and go
Surprise attack
Karate-ball
Stop the bag
The fan drill
Pin the glove to the wall
Yardstick
React to the string
Hand mitts hitting drill
Rhythm kicking drill
Timing a feint
Baiting
Catch the rabbit
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Index
About the Authors
 
INTRODUCTION
Although timing, precise timing, is the most critical of all martial arts fighting components, it’s often pushed in the background in favor of stretching, bag work, forms, and reps before a mirror. While flexibility from stretching, power from bag work, precision movement from forms, and speed and coordination from rep practice are certainly important, they are of little value if you can’t get your technique to the target at the right moment. With an understanding of timing - knowing when to hit, where to hit, and with which weapon to hit - you dramatically increase your ability to use those well-trained kicks, punches and blocks, and defeat even those fighters possessing speed and power superior to yours. Imagine their amazement. Imagine yours!
If you happen to be exceptionally fast and strong, your timing will be even better when you have a greater understanding of all its facets. Why? Because good speed allows you to take advantage of even the briefest moment of opportunity, and good strength allows you to affect more damage when your blow hits the target.
Then comes Father Time. As it passes, and you get older, your speed and strength begin to wane. What do you do then? First, don’t fret about it. Second, reach into the bag of timing tricks crammed into this book and you are good to go long into your retirement years.
What is precise timing?
Seems like a simple enough question, but the answer is big, real big. In fact, this entire book is the answer. For now, let’s say that timing is the skill and art of choosing the precise moment to hit, grab, back off, or say the right thing to bring the threat of a fight, or a fight in progress, to a conclusion in your favor. Timing is the ability to take advantage of a window of opportunity . While that phrase is a cliché, one that you are going to see over and over throughout this book, it fits our subject matter perfectly. Whether your opponent inadvertently opens a window for you, or you cleverly create a moment that forces him to open it, that is the instant you attack. That is timing.
Here are three real-life situations in which timing was absolutely critical.
*
When co-author Christensen was a police officer, he once faced a mountain of a man on the center span of one of the many high bridges that cross the mighty Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Five minutes earlier, the radio call reported that a six-feet six, 250-pound man had gone berserk inside a tavern and hurt several patrons before he had fled in the direction of the bridge. Although four officers had been dispatched, Christensen got to the bridge first and spotted the big man lumbering along. He pulled his patrol car to the curb a few feet in front of the giant and asked dispatch to have his backup officers hurry.
“Hold it right there,” Christensen ordered, after he had exited his car and stepped up on the sidewalk.
The man ignored the command and advanced with a gait not unlike Boris Karloff’s in the original Frankenstein movie.
Christensen and the giant stood on the sidewalk at the apex of the bridge, with six busy traffic lanes on one side of them, and on the other, a four-foot railing, then a 60-foot drop into the raging Willamette River.
The giant’s facial expression read, “You’re gonna take a swim, cop,” and he stopped for a moment, as if to underscore his threatening look.
Christensen thought of the 30 pounds of gear he was wearing: No, swimming was not an option today. He needed a different plan, but considering the guy’s size, what would it be?
The big guy lumbered forward again, and Christensen stepped back once, twice, three times. When a blaring horn distracted the giant for half a second, Christensen seized the moment and slid his baton from its belt ring, holding it out of sight behind his rear leg. “Stop!” Christensen commanded, but the man kept coming, raising his arms forward, reaching, just like the stalking Frankenstein monster. Ch