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Copyright © 2004 by Kobus Huisamen. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Pictures by John Yoo.
To the trainers who made the most impact in my career: Steve Kalakoda, Henk Pelser and Ivan Hippolyte.
Many people are surprised when they learn that I’m a fighter.
“Really? But you don’t look scarred!”
“Of course not,” I’d say, “I duck!”
A long time ago, when I was still a beginner, Joe Viljoen told me: “If you see a guy with many fight scars in his face, don’t be scared thinking that he’s a great and experienced fighter – because he isn’t. He’s somebody’s punching bag.”
Taking many punches?
Maybe you’re getting knocked out, or maybe not, but maybe you look like you’ve been in a war after every fight.
Defense is what you do to prevent from getting hit – not trying to injure opponent’s fist with your head!
Apart from the obvious of losing a fight because you’re getting tagged, or knocked out, there are other problems that we face.
Shots against the head can cause internal bleeding – waiting for a stroke to happen. If that happens – career over. And as a fighter, I don’t think you’re likely to be able to afford the medical expenses of that, or the aftermath thereof.
Of course, we also worry about the slower, but very sure effect of taking headshots.
I think that I still want to play with my children or grandchildren on my knees, without forgetting their names.
And I still have a corporate career that I’m busy with – including some academic ambitions.
I sometimes make the joke to fighters, saying: “Quickly: what’s the square root of 9?”
Yes, brain damage is no joke – especially if your career is cut short one day and you have to find some other occupation to make a living from.
I know many fighters have other jobs – but, you can’t be a bouncer or a barman all your life. At some point in time we all become old…
What works and what doesn’t
I think we’ve all realized that the old strong karate-style blocking (yes, the inside blocks, outside blocks, etc) don’t really work when you’re faced with a speed puncher that attacks you with a powerful combination.
It’s much too slow and just don’t work against quick combinations.
You’d need something that is as quick as a punch, as easy to deliver and not technical in any way – something that is easy to learn.
Centreline blocks
This is something we’ve borrowed from Wing Chun.
This is the basic idea: When somebody punches a straight punch at you, you stick your hand straight forwards to deflect the punch off-center.
Make sure that you make contact with the hand on the outside of the pinkie. Then the deflection is automatic.
In a fight, snap your hand out forward – like punching a short jab. This is very quick and very easy.
It’s very easy to use and you can still keep your guard up and you can even use it against uppercuts.
However, the idea is not to slap the opponent’s hand down. This will work against punches that aren’t strong. So, if a very strong fighter punches straight and hard at you – good luck slapping it.
Deliver it like a short punch – like an intercepting punch – just knocking the outside of your opponent’s hand.
Figure 10.1: The centreline block from the front.
Figure 10.2: Parrying a punch using the centerline block.
Defend against hooks
When your opponent delivers a hook to the head, bring your fist up against your temple and stick your elbow outwards. The opponent’s arm is probably going to strike your elbow – injuring him and not hurting you at all.
Figure 10.3: Covering block to defend against powerful hooks
Figure 10.4: The covering block in sparring.
Punches to the body
This is easy. No matter whether they come from the front or the side – stick your elbows in the way. They should be there anyway, right?
Leg kicks
The basic block is to put your shin in the way.
Some fighters step back to let the kicker miss.
The choice is up to the distance. If you want to block, don’t lift your leg too high. Don’t let him hit your shin – let him hit your knee. This will hurt him more than it will hurt you.
Body kicks
Similar to leg kicks. Lift the knee higher and add more cover with your elbow (elbow and knee touching) – still keeping your fist at your jaw.
Kicks to the head
Keep your hands up, as normal. When the kick comes, place the opposite hand over the other hand on the receiving side – palm facing towards the kick.
This is really easy to do and much quicker than other ways, but very effective.
Figure 10.5: The high kick block.
Figure 10.6: The high kick block in sparring.
MMA – punches from the mount
I’ve learnt the hard way here.
If you’ve lost your grip on his hands or wrists – cover your face with your elbow. With the small MMA gloves, chances are that your elbow will injure his hands.
