Types of Soft Martial Arts

Having had a go at defining hard vs soft karate styles, I thought it would be worth trying to identify some of the main martial arts that are normally defined as soft style (so not just karate), the various techniques used and key differences between them. So here's a quick overview of some of the main soft martial art styles out there (in no particular order)........

Chinese Martial Arts

There are too many different types and styles of Chinese martial arts to really mention in detail on soft vs hard scale, however many soft styles use the same principle of Neigong, in martial terms is about developing internal power and focus on breathing in co-ordination with the individual's body. This offers the benefits on increased relaxation and helps the body move faster and more freely. The concept of qi or ch'i in Chinese martial arts is also important as this relates to an individual's inner energy, muscular and skeletal alignment....also important for generating power, balance and speed (not an expert in this one yet so probably need to read up a bit more!)

Key Chinese martial arts to note here are Kung-Fu (though there are many styles, Wing- Chun in particular is a good example of soft style close range) and Tai Chi

Quite a good guide to Kung-Fu styles can be found here:
http://martialarts.about.com/od/styles/a/kungfu.htm


Japanese Martial Arts

Many Japanese martial arts have are derived from their Chinese counterparts, with techniques and styles being adapted over the years. Key soft style Japanese martial arts are as follows:

Akido
Akido is a form of martial art which uses the momentum of the attacker and various strikes,grabs, locks and throws to overcome an opponent. Emphasis is also placed on absorbing or redirecting an attack rather than blocking or parrying

Judo
Also meaning 'gentle way' judo is characterised by various throws, grappling techniques and groundwork, using an opponents strength and weight against them. Specialist pins, holds, arm locks and choking techniques are also utlised.

Jujitsu
Both Akido and Judo have their roots in Jujutsu. Jutjitsu places emphasis on throwing, immobilising and pinning, joint locks, choking and strangling techniques, together with using an opponents own force or strength against them.

Karate
I found quite a good summary of different Karate styles on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate_styles

Most styles use a combination of both hard and soft techniques, although a few including Goju-ryu place much more emphasis on the soft approach and the use of close quarter techniques, grabs and locks (more on this later when I cover Chin-na)

Hand Drawn Kata Guides

I found this very cool site with some amazingly detailed hand drawn guides for many Shotokan Karate kata's

http://www.ispra.net/karate/katas-shotokan/

Here's the Bassai Dai guide I borrowed my site picture from...........

Training Diary - Wednesday 11th & Friday 13th September

This week largely following up some of the grappling and throwing drills we were practicing last week.

Also started to learn a new kata, Annan. Here's a pretty awesome version of it I found on You Tube, slightly faster than our practice is currently going!

Annan is a Shito-ryu kata and is normally a requirement for 5th Dan. First impressions are this is a fairly 'strong' kata, with plenty of kicks and punches any varying tempo throughout, however there are also many more subtle movements; blocks, grabs and locks which look like they will be pretty challenging to learn. I'll post some more on the specific bunkai and applications as we start to learn them.

Seem that Annan is also a fairly recent kata in terms of arrival at competition karate, being performed for the first time in 1988. Here's quite a good summary of Annan's background and origins.

Also one more video I found with a slowed down version towards the end (although this looks a little different in some places to the version we are learning)

Training Diary - Friday 5th September

Tonight's class was focused around the use of circles, pushing hands and grappling techniques to off balance an opponent and finally throw or sweep them onto the floor.

This started with what looked liked a fairly simple exercise (!) using a circles/pushing hands type technique with a partner (basically wax on/wax off for karate kid fans) and ensuring that any rotation in the body comes from the waist, not hip or shoulders. By also remaining well rooted to the floor and spiraling, this ensures good power generation. The trick here though is to remain as soft as possible in order to be able to feel where your opponent is vulnerable.

We then moved on to introduce more movement in the feet and further seeking out where your opponent was off balance or open to attack.

The next exercise then involved combining the techniques learned into close quarter grappling then combined with a throw or a sweep once an opening had been identified. The first of these was a fairly basic judo hip throw (O Goshi), the next a pull to get your opponent off balance follows by a step in and backwards leg sweep. Further inside leg  sweeps were also practiced - key to making these most effective is to pull the opponent off balance in the opposite direction to the sweep from the grappling position. A further technique was also practiced, placing ones foot over the opponent then combining with a backwards step and trip/sweep to pull them down onto the floor.

Key to getting the sweeping techniques to work is to be able to quickly step in close to the opponent, especially if targeting the rear leg. Getting in the right position is challenging especially with a mobile opponent and speed is of the essence.

Finally all the above techniques were practiced but combined with an initial kicking or punching attack. Again the main challenge here is being able to maintain forward momentum to get in and execute the required move - I found this quite challenging in particular with a Mawashi Geri attack where I found myself off balance and stepping backwards initially.

At the end of the lesson the final technique practiced was an upwards shoulder barge to the opponent then quickly combined with grabbing and pulling both legs to throw the person backwards. Key here is a good initial barge to wind or off balance and the timing of grappling the legs. Ideally the shoulder barge should be aimed at the solar plexus area - lower leaves you vulnerable and higher less effective. It's also important not to start from a 'charging bull' position but to introduce the move after an initial punching or kicking attack - this way the move is more subtle and takes the opponent by surprise.

All in all a good lesson and a great way to get back into training after 3 weeks off over the summer!