ELBOW SNAP This is a simple arm break that is extremely fast. Your opponent is in a boxing stance, he punches towards your face with his lead hand (a jab). If he has his left foot forward and is punching with his left hand, you quickly step to your right (to the outside of his punch) and slightly forward. With your right arm bent (fist up in the air), block his elbow (just above the joint). A fraction of a second later, strike the inside of his forearm (close to his wrist) with your left forearm (close to your wrist), pulling back towards your left shoulder as pushing with your right arm. This motion bends his arm in the wrong direction. It is a very fast motion. Coordinate the break at the time when his arm is nearing full extension. Try to do the break with your arms fully bent and the motion with your shoulders. Make sure you block his elbow slightly ahead of the break, this will keep you from pulling the punch into your face. You can also do this technique with your hands instead of your forearms, this will be weaker because the more joints (your own wrist joints) you add to the break the weaker the armbar will be. Have your partner punch with his arm slightly bent. During practice, this technique will hyper extend his arm, accidentally (if his arm is extended). You should never fully extend your punching arm during a punch in any situation, you will eventually damage your elbow. Be careful, this is not a tap out technique, it’s to fast. Master Moore
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INCREASING PUNCHING SPEED AND POWER When I teach new students to punch I start with the basics. A good foundation (stance), reciprocal power drawn from the ground to the hips to the shoulder to the hand. I am sure many have learned these principles. As a student becomes more advanced and they have the basics mastered, I like to increase their punching speed and power. Stand facing your partner, extend your arm, just so your punch can not reach their chest. Have your partner use his fasted block. You throw your punch and see if your partner can block before your fist touches his uniform. Before I disclose the secret of a punch to the class, everyone can usually block the incoming attack. After they have learned the secret of speed and power, very few people can stop the punch. The “secret” is in the order of body movement. All beginners move their shoulder forwards a split second before they deliver the punch. The correct movement is to keep your shoulders motionless while you punch with your arm. When your fist nears the target area then engage your shoulder to deliver the power. You can test this with a simple push to the chest in slow motion. Move your shoulder forward and then push on their chest. The most power you can deliver this way is through your arm extension strength. Now, touch their chest with your palm with arm all but extended. Now, push with your shoulder (also your hips, legs and feet). You will notice you can send a person several feet with this principle. This technique will more than double your power. By mastering this technique you will automatically increase your punching speed. If you move your shoulder then your punching arm, your speed is actually diminishing until it makes contact. If you move your punching arm THEN move your shoulder you are accelerating the incoming fist. It is a very simple movement that must be mastered in slow motion so that your body can react in empty mind at full speed. You will never have to windup or drawl back for a punch if you apply this technique. Remember, always keep your punching arm slightly bent. Full extension can damage your elbow. Master Moore
OVERHEAD STICK DISARM The overhead attack is the most common attack of an untrained fighter. This is a description of the most effective way to take a medium to long length weapon away from an attacker. The weapon could be a stick, pipe, tree branch, sword, baseball bat, axe or any other weapon. This disarm can be used for any overhead angle. It can be a one handed grip or a two handed grip, a one handed grip is the easiest to practice. Have your partner hold a stick in his right hand. He will swing his stick straight down towards your head. Move slightly to your right and towards your partner. Block the inside of his wrist with your left hand and his forearm with your right hand. Allow his swing to continue down until it reaches your belt level (the weapon will be beside your left hip bone). While the weapon is moving down to this position hook your right elbow (arm in a bent position) to the outside knuckle line of your partners right hand (the one with the weapon). With a fast motion move your right elbow to your right hip. This will disarm the weapon by rolling it around your belt. If you do not practice fighting with weapons, let the stick drop and use your favorite technique to finish the attacker. If you like to fight with weapons, you can capture the stick in two different ways. The first way, open your right hand has you snap your elbow back to your right hip. The stick will snap into your hand. This will place the weapon in a reversed grip. The second way, as your right elbow hooks and starts to snap, grab the stick with your left hand, this will end in a normal left handed grip. With a sword it will appear that you will gut yourself. As you hook with your elbow use a slight upward motion with your elbow as you start the snap. This will roll the blade to a flat position as it rolls around your belt. Use your left hand to grip the top of the blade during the snap. After the snap, continue the rear movement back with your right hand and grip the sword. The weapon will end in a standard right hand grip ready to counter attack. Make sure your partner starts with a large slow swing. And remember, never stand stationary and hard block this attack. The weapon will eject out of the attackers hand and strike you in the back of the head. If any student doubts this, I demonstrate with a large axe (in slow motion) with one of my Instructors. We simulate the ejection by showing how the weapon swings down. Remember when you hard block, the harder and faster they hit you the faster and harder the weapon will strike your head. Master Moore
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The MOUNT When you learn grappling it is important to master the Mount. Have your partner lie on his back, as you straddle him like you are riding a horse. Keep your position towards his upper chest. If you straddle near his waist or stomach area, he can buck you off. By staying forward you can control his arm movements with your knees. Your knees should be near his armpits. If he tries to buck you forward, you can post your hands no the ground (over his head). The mount is not a technique, it is a grappling position, just the same as a stance is used for standing combat. It is a strong position because gravity is on your side. The most common techniques from this position are armbars or strangles. To escape a mount you must bring one of the attackers arms across his center so he become vulnerable to tilt, then buck him into his weak corner. To properly enter a mount, throw or trip your partner down, come across his body with your chest (similar to a cross hold) then move into the straddled position. Never step over your partner and then lower yourself into the mount. This exposes your legs for locks and your groin for a strikes. Remember always practice slow and relaxed so you both can learn. Try not to rely on strength to gain your positions. Master Moore
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THE GUARD Unlike wrestling, most Jujitsu players enjoy grappling from a position where they are flat on the their back. If you are in this position, and your partner is standing, keep your feet toward your partner. As your partner closes to begin grappling, use your feet to control his movements. The soles of your feet can be used to control his hips and or his shoulders. The top of your feet can be used to control his knees by hooking them. This works in any combination (one foot on the hip the other hooking the knee). Practice switching foot positions as your partner moves in on you. When your partner breaks past the above movements, try and capture him around his waste (near his floating ribs) with your legs. This position is known as the guard. Do not let your partner roll his weight over you (towards your head), keep him down with the guard. When either of his arms reach towards your upper body this presents an excellent opportunity to perform a cross armbar, which uses your legs, hips and arms to dislocate his elbow. There are also several strangles that can be performed from the guard. The Guard and the Mount are actually the same technique (simply inverted). You will also notice that if you both roll over and switch positions, you will be in the mount. If you are caught in the Guard, you want to try and pass the Guard. There are two very effective ways to break the Guard (or the locking of the legs around you). One is by using your knee to pressure his tail bone while holding his belt and pushing yourself to your rear. The second is to use your elbow to work the pressure point on the inner thigh. Once his legs unlock continue to push the leg down to the mat, and place your shin (just below your knee) at the same inner thigh pressure point, now pass over the controlled leg and move into a cross hold or any upper body technique. You can use the guard to rest, or as a transition to another hold, or to move to a submission technique. Avoid grappling in actual combat because of the high chance of multiple attackers. While your busy grappling, their friend will be busy hitting you with a baseball bat. When you become proficient in grappling, add strikes while on the ground. Remember when practicing stay relaxed and play give and take, this is the fasted way to feel comfortable grappling. Master Moore
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HOW TO MOVE FROM A PUNCH TO THE FACE The movement and block for a punch to the face. Look at the stance your partner is in. We will assume he has his left foot forward. It doesn't matter what type of punch or whether it is a left or right handed punch. The only thing that matters is that he is in punching range and which foot is forward. Since he has his left foot forward, as he starts to punch at your head, move to your right and kick his lower shin with a left roundhouse kick. The purpose of this foundation kick is to slow his motion down so you can continue the attack. Do not move forward only move sideways. You will be moving from punching range out to kicking range. As you become proficient the movement will become smaller. He should not be able to reach your head with a second shot if you have moved properly. In Jujitsu we move to the outside shoulder so that we can easily move to the rear and strangle or takedown the attacker. If you accidentally move to the inside, you most always follow up with strike and kicks since you are entering his centerline. If he had his right foot forward you would move to the left. Your hands start from a low position (you are trying to get him to punch you in the face) and they draw up as you block. What ever block you prefer to use is fine. You don't have to worry about receiving a kick at this tight range because his kick will jam. However, even if is firing a knee strike, the above movement will prevent heavy contact. In your training, don’t rely on blocks in which you must decide whether you are receiving a left punch or a right punch. Because on the street you will get it wrong 50% of the time. Remember always try and adjust your movement to the stance they are using. Master Moore
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HOW TO MOVE FROM A KICK This is a very efficient movement when you are in the kicking range of your opponent. Have your partner assumes a fighting stance (right foot forward for this example) and delivers any kick towards your midsection or head. Determine which his leading side. In this stance his right side is forward. As he begins to chamber move diagonally back to your left back corner (while still facing your opponent). You will be moving back and away from his lead side. If he does not step forward after he kicks, you will automatically be at a far enough range so that you will not be hit by a secondary strike or kick. If he stepped forward after attempting the kick, you can follow up with a groin strike or a shin roundhouse, which ever target is available. You will notice by moving diagonally back away from the lead shoulder, that you are in a favorable stance and position facing your attacker. Your attacker however, must step or turn towards you to engage a second attack. If you learn this movement, you will not need to worry whether it is a right kick or a left kick, you simply move back and away from his lead shoulder. When fighting at this distance, this movement will also work for a lunging punch. This technique is also referred to as zoning. Master Moore
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DISARMING A BASEBALL BAT This is a very powerful disarm that can stop a base ball bat attack. Have your partner swing the bat like a right handed batter. Practice slowly at first until you become proficient. As he swings, move swiftly forward and diagonally to your right. This movement absorbs the impact of the attack. You use both forearms to block his swing. Your right forearm is blocks at his elbows and your left forearm blocks his hands. With your left arm circle around his hands. When his wrist start to roll over from this motion, continue the downwards circular push with your right forearm. This motion will release his grip and you will be holding the bat in a reversed grip. Remember do not block the bat, block the attacking arms. If you get caught in a swing, and instinctively move back out of range, and you partner misses you. Jump in towards him as swings back in the opposite direction and use this same technique left handed. Remember to start slow and build your speed so that you can disarm someone trying to hit a home-run with your head. Master Moore
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