Going man-to-man vs. really tough guys without GC principles can get you knocked out and leave them unharmed!
This is why you need to train Dropping Energy on every strike so that your entire body weight, allied with gravity, is directed at the enemy.
As opposed to GC’s Dropping Energy, note that tai chi fa jin typically does NOT align with gravity because the body is moving upwards AGAINST gravity. (Some tai chi does -- rarely).
Dropping will allow you to hit with varied Combat Boxing strikes (using all surfaces of the fist) effectively to unguarded targets which, although they may not be in themselves enough to stop a tough enemy, will open up more lethal targets using more penetrating strikes.
These preliminary strikes also allow unbalancing which also set up more vulnerable targets.
What you use is purely opportunistic based on your level of Adaptation and these Combat Boxing strikes/targets may be just what’s available to set up greater damage.
For a highly detailed explanation/training regimen of Combat Boxing, the Combat Boxing DVD/MATRIX long form video is indispensable.
If you revert to grappling with tough guys, you’re finished.
You can’t just muscle him, you’ve got to find his balance point.
Knee to the groin may not be enough to stop him but will set up eye strikes or elbow to the head.
Note in the video how various CBox fists pivot off the elbow to vulnerable targets in a manner completely foreign to orthodox boxing.
On human pit bulls it is vital to develop this unbalancing skill to open up their most vulnerable targets which would otherwise be defended.
This unbalancing also creates rigid, breakable structure in the enemy that can be shattered.
Higher skill reveals that when the enemy (or training partner) gets loose at the initial target site, it creates a new rigidly structured and vulnerable target elsewhere simultaneously as a byproduct that can be attacked.
Also note from video that if the enemy blocks a strike it often creates the aforementioned “Pivot Strike” scenario where the elbow reference point becomes a pivot point for CBox-type strikes. Watch carefully for these examples.
Vs. 2 attackers you can use the incoming energy of one to unbalance the other – or both.
John re-emphasizes that you hit on the move. Remember: Hit from where you’re going to be, not from where you are.
Unbalancing requires you be in contact range which is why you are always entering in GC.
You are always trying to take balance as part of your strike.
This is why all the GC balance drills are vital so you don’t lose your balance while taking theirs.
Balance drills are found on The Attackproof Companion Part 2, Combat Conditioning and Combat Balance Board videos – all essential viewing.
Initial low kick entries to shin or ankles while simultaneously moving offline and in is another unbalancing method.
The low kick can also transition to a stomp or, as shown, into a brief peg of their foot, allowing you to further take their balance and set up a strike.
