Y

our attacker has grabbed you by the lapel

with his right hand; the reason for this
type of attack is to hold you still while he
puncLes you repeaLedIy wILL LIs Iree arm!
You must therefore act immediately and with
speed and aggression. Move your left arm
up and inward in a circular motion over the
top of the attackers arm, and then continue
over the arm and under the attackers arm.
You have now trapped your opponents arm
against your body in a painful arm lock. When
practising this one, be careful not to put too
much pressure on your partners arm, but
when executing this for real, lift your arm up
and forward to increase the pressure on your
attackers shoulder and elbow joint. Then,
using your free arm, strike your attacker
using the inside of your forearm, your
preferred striking area is about two inches
above wrist, remembering to keep the elbow
slightly bent on contact. This is an extremely
powerful blow and, if done correctly, could
knock your attacker clean off of his feet.
Fig 1. Your attacker has grabbed you.
Fig 2. Move your left hand up the inside of your
attackers arm.
Fig 3 Move your arm up and then over and under
&4. the attackers arm, trapping his arm against
your body and then lock it in place.
Fig 5. Shift your body position around to your
right a little, and swing your free arm
forward and, in one movement, strike with
LLe InsIde oI your Iorearm Lo LIs jaw/Iace.
Quickly make your escape.
I
have been asked on many occasions
over the years to explain the merits
and mechanics of the reverse punch, and
the correct use of such a strike. I must
admit though, that it isnt easy to explain;
only practising the punch will result in
any worthwhile outcome, but it may be
beneBcIaI Lo LLose currenLIy aL LLe novIce
stages of karate to know a little more about
this extremely important technique.
IL's caIIed a reverse puncL (yakuzukI)
due to the stance; the opposite leg to the
punching arm is forward and is the most
powerful punch in the karate arsenal. The
reverse puncL Is quILe a dIIBcuIL sLrIke Lo
perfect and requires a great deal of self-
disciplined practice, and I have spent
countless hours perfecting this punch on
the makiwara [Editors note: The makiwara is a
padded striking post used as a training tool in various
styles of traditional karate]. The reverse punch
is my favourite punching technique due to
its one strike stopping power and when
used correctly, it is an extremely powerful
bIow wLIcL uLIIIzes LoLaI mInd and body
commitment as well as every particle of
bodily strength.
To deliver a powerful blow, you will
obviously have to be able to develop the
necessary physical power or your strike
will not be effective. All of the power
generated when punching, comes from
the utilisation of the twist of the hips and
shoulders, in conjunction with your entire
body-weight behind the blow, all of which
is then transferred down the arm and
deIIvered vIa LLe Index Bner and second
Bner knuckIes oI LLe sLrIkIn BsL. TLe
generated power from the blow is then
transferred into your opponent. In basic
terms, karate punches aim to focus as
much raw power to small points or areas
of contact on your opponent; punches are
delivered with a twist of the arm which is
all to do with the transference of power
and the twist of the arm and hand at the
moment of impact helps to literally drill
the punch into the opponent. This inward
corkscrewing technique is the most
important element when delivering such
a blow.
To deIIver LLe puncL, BrsLIy adopL your
BLLIn sLance and Iorm boLL oI your
Lands InLo Ioose BsLs, uncIencLed BsLs
are able to travel quicker due to the fact
that the arm is not under any muscular
tension which slows down the delivery
of the blow. Leave your left arm out and
now puII back your rILL arm wILL LLe BsL
lightly clenched with the palm side up.
Make sure LLaL LLe BsL Is Lucked In aImosL
under your arm pit. Also, it is essential to
Lave LLe back oI your Land BaL and In IIne
with the forearm, as this helps to avoid
injury when making contact. Also, make
sure LLaL LLe BrsL Lwo knuckIes oI LLe BsL
- the striking area - are protruding with
LLe Index Bner knuckIe In IIne wILL Inner
Iorearm, a sIILL Lurn oI LLe BsL wIII acLIeve
this. Now, with a relaxed arm and with all
of your bodyweight, thrust the right arm
out and forward using the twist of the hips
and shoulder whilst remaining in a stable
position. Drive the punch forward whilst
twisting the arm, so that when the strike
Iands, LLe BsL sLouId ImpacL wILL LLe
palm down and with the two protruding
knuckles making contact. The strike
must be driven into the centre of the
target area - I usually aim for a spot just
below the sternum when using this blow.
0n ImpacL, LLe BsL sLouId cIose LILL and
the whole body should stiffen. Make sure
that the elbow is slightly bent on impact
to absorb the shock. The non-punching
arm should be drawn back immediately,
and LLe BsLs sLouId pass eacL oLLer, one
going forward and coming back, which
wIII maxImIze LLe LLrusL oI LLe bIow. Bo
basically, its a pulling back of one arm and
at the same time, the thrusting forward of
the other so the pull-back of one arm will
send the other forward. Remember, you
should only be striking with the index
Bner knuckIe and LLe second Bner
knuckle, with the emphasis on the index
Bner knuckIe wLIcL wouId be aL 70% on
LLe Index Bner knuckIe and 80% on LLe
second Bner knuckIe. TLe key Lo LLIs
punch is practice with total concentration
and harmonisation of the mind and body.
When perfected, you really can turn the
human body into a total weapon with the
ability to knock your opponent down with
one devastating blow.
Bill Carson
is a martial arts expert and was one of
the most well-known doormen in the
UK at the time. He started his martial
arLs LraInIn In LLe mId '70s, wLen Le
attended a small Kyokushinkai karate
club based in Chiswick, London. For
many years he also trained under
BenseI Erank Ferry, 7LL Dan KyosLI
Sensei, who worked with some of
LLe BrsL Japanese Eudo and karaLe
exponents who came to Britain. Back
In 200S EIII wroLe LIs BsL book BLow
No Fear, A Bouncers Diary recalling
many of his experiences working
the doors. Bill has retired from the
profession, and is now concentrating
on his writing.
Contact details:
www.billcarsonbooks.com
Twitter: billcarsonbooks
T
his particular defensive technique is as
old as the hills. I was taught these types
of defensive concepts over thirty years ago
and from my own personal experience, Id
jusL IIke Lo say LLaL reaI BLLs are exLremeIy
dangerous, unpredictable and often very
frightening affairs that can get you arrested,
seriously injured or even killed. It could cost
you dearly, so forget the bravado and try to
avoId BLLs aL aII cosLs. However, II you Lave
absolutely no other option than to defend
yourself, then use the bash n dash policy.
FracLIce eLLIn InLo your BLLIn sLance or
ready position within a couple of seconds.
You should bring your hands up into the
defensive position, and your left leg should
be forward, with the front knee slightly bent.
You will also need to be standing slightly to
the side, on left side, facing the attacker. And
then get a friend to throw a slow overhand
right punch at you. Watch for the signs as he
does; he will drop his shoulder back slightly
just before throwing the punch. This is the
signal to get ready to parry the punch with
the edge of your left open hand, and move
into your attacker and at the same time
counter punching with your right hand to
his jaw, obviously you must not make contact
on your training partner when practising
LLouL! TLe besL way I Lave Iound wLen
practising this counter punching technique,
is to split it up into sections and then, over a
period of time, put the whole thing together
in one movement.
The timing of the strike must be combined
with the stepping off; as you are moving
into the counter attack position, your strike
should be sent on its way. What you are
hoping to achieve here is the ability to react
to an attack without thought; moving and
striking instinctively with an automatic
seL oI deIensIve counLer aLLackIn reBex
actions. These set of movements need to be
practised over and over again to make them
work effectively. However, remember what I
saId, reaI BLLs are exLremeIy unpredIcLabIe
affairs and anything can happen.
B
A
S
H
D
a
s
h
&
Quick, effective self-defense techniques
Fig 1. Watch out for the body movements of your
attacker, as they will indicate the throwing
of the right hand hay-maker.
Fig 2. As the punch is thrown, parry with your
left open hand, make sure its done hard
and fast and at the same time, step off to the
counter attack position.
Fig 3. Once you have moved out of the way
of the punch and have parried the blow, the
attacker is now in a favourable position for
the counter punch. You must act quickly,
and there must be no hesitation or he
will throw his left at you, so now drive
your counter punch to the attackers
jaw with speed and aggression.
In this issue, martial arts expert, author and TOUGH TALKs regular contributor
Bill Carson gives us a few street-style self-defense techniques against the hay-
maker and the up-and-under, as well as looking at the standard reverse punch.
Focusing on
the reverse or karate punch
(gyakuzuki)
The Up & Under
Defending against
a right hand punch or hay-maker
22 tough talk magazine BprIn 2018 BprIn 2018 tough talk magazine 23
Bash & Dash: Bill Carson Bash & Dash: Bill Carson