A fighter raises his hands to block the opponent's roundhouse kick.
In martial arts,blocking is the act of stopping or deflecting an opponent's attack for the purpose of preventing injurious contact with the body. A block usually consists of placing a limb across the line of the attack.
Styles and types of blocking,as well as terminology,vary widely among the various martial arts. In Japanese martial arts such as Karate,these techniques are referred to as uke waza. Examples include age uke (rising block) and shuto uke (knife hand guarding block). In Korean martial arts such as taekwondo,these techniques are referred to as makgi(막기),with some examples being chukyeo makgi (rising block) and onkal daebi makgi (knifehand guarding block). Some martial arts,such as Capoeira,reject blocking techniques completely as they consider them too inefficient. In Capoeira,they use evasion instead of blocking.
Types of blocks
Palm block
Inside blocks
An inside block deflects a strike away from the defender and away from the attacker. For example,against a straight punch to the face,an inside forearm block would aim to meet the inside of the forearm of the attacker,pushing the punch outward,leaving the opponents facing each other which also helps in counterattack.
Outside blocks
An outside block deflects a strike away from the defender and across the attacker. For example,against a straight punch to the face,an outside forearm block would aim to meet the outside forearm of the attacker,pushing the punch outward,leaving the defender slightly to the side of the strike causing it to miss. Typically,because of the angles involved,inward blocks are used against attacks aimed at the torso.
High blocks
A high block against a face punch
A high block deflects a downward strike such as a hammer fist,a stick or a face punch from a taller opponent. The chamber starts low with the hand in a relaxed fist across the abdomen with the palm facing inward and in high block,face punch should be blocked in diagonal shape
Parries are executed against the attacker by quickly pushing their arm or leg away to the right or left side( as it is considered as a block) and counterattacking when the procedure is done.
Other types of blocks and alternatives
More complex blocks include the circular block, X block, high X block, twin forearm guarding block, hooking block, and pole block.
Offensive techniques can also be used to block. For example, a kick or palm strike can be used to neutralize an incoming blow. It is also common to use the knee to block leg attacks from an opponent.
Blocks are considered by some to be the most direct and least subtle of defensive techniques. Other ways of avoiding attack include evasion, trapping, slipping and deflection of the oncoming attack; this approach is often referred to as the application of 'soft' techniques (see hard and soft (martial arts)).
Kickboxing is a full-contact combat sport and a form of boxing based on punching and kicking. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and bare feet to favor the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general fitness, or for competition. Some styles of kickboxing include: Karate, Muay Thai, Japanese kickboxing, Lethwei, Sanda, and Savate.
A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee. This type of attack is used frequently by hooved animals as well as humans in the context of stand-up fighting. Kicks play a significant role in many forms of martial arts, such as capoeira, kalaripayattu, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, MMA, Muay Thai, pankration, pradal serey, savate, sikaran, silat, taekwondo, vovinam, and Yaw-Yan. Kicks are a universal act of aggression among humans.
Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "Art of eight limbs", as it is characterised by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late 20th to 21st century, when Westernised practitioners from Thailand began competing in kickboxing and mixed-rules matches as well as matches under Muay Thai rules around the world. The professional league is governed by The Professional Boxing Association of Thailand (P.A.T.), sanctioned by The Sports Authority of Thailand (S.A.T.).
Shitō-ryū (糸東流) is a form of karate that was founded in 1934 by Kenwa Mabuni. Shitō-ryū is synthesis of the Okinawan Shuri-te and Naha-te schools of karate and today is considered one of the four main styles of the art.
Kumite is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary.
A strike is a directed, forceful physical attack with either a part of the human body or with a handheld object, intended to cause blunt or penetrating trauma upon an opponent.
Tsuki (突き) derives from the verb tsuku (突く), meaning "to thrust". The second syllable is accented, with Japanese's unvoiced vowels making it pronounced almost like "ski". In Japanese martial arts and Okinawan martial arts, tsuki is used to refer to various thrusting techniques.
The front kick in martial arts is a kick executed by lifting the knee straight forward, while keeping the foot and shin either hanging freely or pulled to the hip, and then straightening the leg in front of the practitioner and striking the target area. It is desirable to retract the leg immediately after delivering the kick, to avoid the opponent trying to grapple the leg and to return to stable fighting stance.
Footwork is a martial arts and combat sports term for the general usage of the legs and feet in stand-up fighting. Footwork involves keeping balance, closing or furthering the distance, controlling spatial positioning, and/or creating additional momentum for strikes.
Age-uke (上げ受け), which translates to "rising block", or "upward block" is the Japanese term for a technique used in martial arts. There numerous variations in how the technique might be executed, and nothing implicit in the term itself restricts its use to unarmed techniques. It is commonly used with regards to the Karate technique that goes by that name, but can also refer to similar techniques in Kobudo.
In martial arts, a knifehand strike is a strike using the part of the hand opposite the thumb, familiar to many people as a karate chop. Suitable targets for the knifehand strike include the carotid sinus at the base of the neck, mastoid muscles of the neck, the jugular, the throat, the collar bones, ribs, sides of the head, temple, jaw, the third vertebra, the upper arm, the wrist, the elbow, and the knee cap.
In martial arts, the terms hard and soft technique denote how forcefully a defender martial artist counters the force of an attack in armed and unarmed combat. In the East Asian martial arts, the corresponding hard technique and soft technique terms are 硬 and 柔, hence Goju-ryu, Shorinji Kempo principles of go-ho and ju-ho, Jujutsu and Judo.
Enpi (燕飛), also frequently transliterated as Empi, is a kata practiced by Shotokan and other karate styles. Enpi means Flying Swallow.
Aikido techniques are frequently referred to as waza 技. Aikido training is based primarily on two partners practicing pre-arranged forms (kata) rather than freestyle practice. The basic pattern is for the receiver of the technique (uke) to initiate an attack against the person who applies the technique—the 取り tori, or shite 仕手, also referred to as (投げ nage, who neutralises this attack with an aikido technique.
Suntukan is the fist-related striking component of Filipino martial arts. In the central Philippine island region of Visayas, it is known as Pangamot or Pakamot and Sumbagay. It is also known as Mano-mano and often referred to in Western martial arts circles of Inosanto lineage as Panantukan. Although it is also called Filipino Boxing, this article pertains to the Filipino martial art and should not be confused with the Western sport of boxing as practiced in the Philippines.
Covering in martial arts is the act of protecting against an opponent's strikes by using the arms and shoulders to block and absorb the impact of strikes on the head and torso and prevent injury. Covering is the last line of defense to avoid an incoming strike and consists of putting arms and forearms up and in front of the area on the body that is being blocked. The technique of covering is widely used among martial arts and has a multitude of variations.
Chapa de frente or bênção (blessing) is a front push kick with the sole of the foot. In some variants, bênção can be done with the heel in the chest.
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