Martial Arts Professional Magazine

The instructor holds the air shield high, at face level. He is prepared to withdraw the air shield when the student strikes to avoid too much impact on the student’s hand. Again, the student must feel the impact, so that he can gauge the power of his strike. Retract the shield just a micro-instant after impact (and not before or later). This helps prevent injured wrists when practicing the heel-of-palm shot on air shields.

At first, the instructor begins from an out-of-range distance, holding the air shield low, so the student can see his face. Then, the instructor “woofs” on the student, as he moves around and begins to reduce the distance between them. One of the objectives is to allow the student to experience how woofing affects him mentally and disrupts his ability to think clearly.

The student raises his hands at the opening “woof”, but his hands are open and at face level or slightly above. This closes the “gates” for the ideal sucker shot. The student uses his previously practiced verbal boundary skills. He or she may shout, “Back off, I don’t want any trouble with you!” This helps to establish his legal testimony with witnesses, regarding his attempt to avoid violence, and that he was not the aggressor. Hence, he must shout loud enough, so anyone in earshot will hear him.

Eventually, the woofer/instructor with the air shield will make that final move to close the distance necessary to strike the student. The student now sees the forthcoming attack and launches his own with the heel-of-palm on the air shield. The student shouts as he strikes and then shouts again and repeats the strike.

The remainder of the class watches carefully. They must be psychologically involved in each student’s drill. This is critical. The other students are silent until each student finishes his or her strikes, and then they all applaud. Now, if this sounds rather “Kumba Ya” to you, then I will remind you that this is the way it is done at RMCAT; and, after some research, Black Belt Magazine called RMCAT “The bests short-term, self-defense program existent.

Rarely, a student’s verbal boundary will be so strong that the instructor will back off and not close to striking distance. Years ago, I was doing a class in California. There was a Black Belt in Master Ernie Reye’s class, whose verbal boundary was so electrifying and powerful that all 300-odd people in the room reacted immediately; and, frankly, so did I.

Later, I asked him, “The way you took total command in that drill you must have been a Marine drill sergeant or a police officer.” The gentleman replied that he had been both!

The shuto or sudo strike can be practiced exactly the same way as the heel-of-palm drill. I feel it is beneficial for students to put their left (or weak hand) on the shield the instant before they strike. As a bouncer, I used my left to push the head back and expose the carotid artery, when possible. The weak hand touching the target is also a distance-measuring tool. You will see it used in professional boxing.

The student strikes at least twice and he must shout and expel air as he strikes. If he does not do this properly, then have him repeat the drill. Instruct the student to bring the back of his hand to his ear each time he strikes. This means the hand turns as it strikes the knife hand blow. The side of the neck, the carotid artery, is the target. I use the “Bob” dummy for these drills too. Do not instruct a student to strike with total full force on Bob, to avoid injury. Bob is harder on the hand than are human beings, so avoid injury here.