Martial Arts Techniques & Training

The Kanji Dragon translates to 'spirit of the tiger and the dragon' and was featured on Ed Parker's patch.

Blocks & Parries: American Kenpo Karate

These basic blocks and parries are required for promotion to your next belt. As you get better, your understanding of each should also improve.

When we block, we try to create either an Angle of Incidence, where we stop the attack, or an Angle of Deflection, where we deflect the attack.

Remember that when you block, block just enough to get the job done. You don't need to push the punch or kick 2 feet away from you — you just need to block or redirect the strike enough to keep it from hitting you. The farther your hands get from your head, the easier it will be for your opponent to hit you.

Blocks

1: Upward Block

Punch up, like an uppercut, so that your fist moves vertically upward, palm towards you, until the elbow is even with the chin
Then, rotate your hand so that your palm faces away from you, and at the same time angle your forearm to creat a 45-60 degree angle
You are defending against an overhead club attack, and you want the club to deflect off your arm (you are creating an Angle of Deflection)
Make sure the block is high enough to protect your head

2: Vertical Outward Block

Keeping your palm towards you, rotate your hand and forearm in a half-circle from low and outside, in towards your center line, and back out to high and outside
The hand should be at eye level when you complete the block, and your forearm will be vertical
You are creating an Angle of Incidence to a punch coming from the outside
You are blocking to the inside of the arm with this block

3: Extended Outward Block

Like the Vertical Outward Block, you rotate your arm from low and outside to high and outside
However, in this block you also create torque by rotating the palm of the hand from In to Out
When you complete the block, your hand should be slightly outside your elbow in both width and depth, creating a Braced Angle
The hand should be level with they eyes, and try to keep the elbow in

4: Thrusting Inward Block

Start from the Training Horse
Remember Point of Origin
Imagine a box in front of you with the corners even with your shoulders, 18" in front of you
Now thrust the block out and imagine that you have an ice pick in your hand — you should drive that ice pick into the corner of the box opposite the hand
Make sure that you have enough of an angle to your forearm to block the incoming punch
Keep the elbow down or the punch might slide under

5: Downward Block

Rotate the arm from high and outside to low and outside
You are defending against a low kick, blocking the kick to the outside, away from your body
Remember — keep your elbow slightly bent
Strike the leg with either your forearm or your hammerfist

6: Pushdown Block

You are pushing down with the palm of the hand
More specifically, with the part of the palm near the thumb
Remember to rotate your fingers towards you and keep your thumb in
Bend your elbow and point it at your opponent
The follow up to the pushdown is an upward obscure elbow to the jaw

Parries

Here's what you should keep in mind on parries: when we block, we stop the energy. With a parry, we redirect the energy in order to use our opponent's energy against him.

1: Inward Parry

Imagine a triangle in front of you
Bring your right hand up to the point of the triangle
Round off the end of the triangle, and pull your elbow back, bringing your hand back to the left side of your face

2: Outward Parry

Imagine a triangle in front of you
Bring your right hand up to the point of the triangle, and pull your elbow back in, drawing your hand back to the right side of your face

Now put them together; do an inward parry, then as your hand comes back do an inward parry, releasing the first hand to do a strike.