Lesson 21, defense vs push

This will be shown on the video being practised in lat sow. There are two versions shown, but they represent the two extremes of practising responses. The short version is the preferred response, though even it is a 'response' to an opponents movement, rather than our preferred, preemptive responsive.


As your training partner pushes on your arms, make sure your three anchors are working. Also make sure you have 'heavy' elbows. This is done by keeping the arm muscles relaxed, but using the shoulders and lats to keep the arms from being lifted.

For this drill make contact on the forearm closer to the elbow. If the incoming force is above the elbow, we usually use a bong sow type deflection movement to avoid his force affecting our body. What we want in this drill is a force that gets tranferred through the arms to the torso, so that we can learn to deal with it.

Attacker: During lat sow, deliver your right punch, then as you deliver your left pak sow, perform a right hune sow ( circling hand) rather than retreat.Move your right plam onto the forearm area. Now both hands are placed upon your training partners forearms area. For this drill just lean, or move in, and deliver a push.
Find out from your partner whether he wants this performed slowly or quickly,and with how much force. This will depend upon what he is working on, learning, testing, checking, re-inforcing instincts, etc. For learning, it is up to the defender re speed, amount of pressure etc.

Defender: Let the first few pushes off balance you. Try to notice at which stage you lose your balance, and what is causing it. Is it tense shoulders and arms, that allow the partner to use them as a lever? Is it poor tehnique in one of the three anchors? Are your arms just collapsing instead of being relaxed yet strong?

Let the next pushes move you back a few feet. Again notice if you are going back as in tipping over, or being shoved as an upright unit. Start to feel the push transfer to moving your back leg, and then use it like a big spring. It should precede your torso in that direction, then anchor, then compress, then drive you forwards, delivering chain punches.

Gradually work up to the push simply being redirected to load the entire body without any backward movement. Do this first slowly and use strength to get the feel of it. Use less and less stepping back, and more and more sinking/compressing. Body weight can be held on the front leg until you get the idea of transferring the load tothe rear leg for compression. Then try doing the drill from the rear leg weighted position.

Eventually you should keep heavy elbows that redirect your partners pressure into the body. As he hune sows his right punching arm to the underside of your forearm, try to slip in a punch and pre-empt his attempt.

Eventually you want to develop a springy 'feel' to any pressure towards you. You shouldnt be stepping back consciously to the amount of pressure, but letting your structure, connections, and anchors work for you. At this stage you let yourself get moved, and even with light pressure, for practise reasons. You should eventually start testing your limit on pushes to 'know' just how much it takes to move you. Also this testing will make your enthusiastic and knowledgable to increase these limits.