[Bloodybirds]

Thanks, GlenF, very helpful. Quick funny story about a great Goju person I knew in Dallas. As you know, the symbol for the style is the clenched fist and arm extended. Welll...a guy named DP Hill, God bless him, a great guy and great martial artist had a saying underneath that said, "The Nine Fingers of Death!" When I asked him why not ten, he smiled and slowly pulled out his right hand that had his thumb missing....he had cut it off accidently while practicing with a real sickle weapon. He loved Gojuryu and at the time he had many years on me (I was just a beginner in the late 70s, early 80s, and he already had done it for 20-30 years) so he regaled me about going to Okinawa and training with people over there. Also, to those who know him in Aikido, I mentioned this before but Bill Sosa from Dallas was a great Aikido master who was an even greater man. What a loss when he passed!!! He was the first who taught me that it was the person, not the style that mattered back in 1980 or 1981 I believe.

[Elitexboxer]

Originally Posted by Bloodybirds

Front snap kick inside to the femoral artery on the inside thigh as the opponent looks to close the gap....a front snap kick of course to the groin......a front snap kick to the back leg as the opponent moves to the side, you move to his other side and kick the back of his knee on the opposite side or the Achilles tendon below. These are just some. However, a front snap kick's effectiveness may decline the higher into the opponents' body it is thrown, especially if coming like a freight train at you. A front snap kick should always be thrown at an angle towards a cavity, a joint, or other soft tissue that does not require breaking power as in other kicks like the side kick, heel kick, round house, etc.

Just my two cents worth to answer the question.....

Ofcourse it makes the best groin kick but personally I don't see why you would cut your balance in half just to snapkick someones knee cap.

Question:do traditional karate schools have roundhouse whipsaw or "dead legged" kicks?

[glennf]

He was the first who taught me that it was the person, not the style that mattered

And that's all folks!!

[Hengest]

Originally Posted by Bloodybirds

One last question, is there a generic chin na type label or practice for karate adepts (I do not mean jujitsu, judo, etc.) and if so what is the name for locking/controlling techniques of karate?

It's usually referred to as tegumi, written with te, meaning "hand", and kumi, here meaning "grapple", but more usually meaning "co-ordinate" or "unite". It refers to general grappling techniques, but is also the name of a wrestling style native to Okinawa.

A pretty good explanation at http://www.iainabernethy.com/articles/article_12.asp

[Bloodybirds]

Elite, though this is a Chinese arts comment, a little feedback to your balance comment....first, the assumption is that, after almost 30 years of training, one would know how to root for that instant, move appropriately while using footwork, and have a front snap kick that is fast and accurate enough after thousands of repetitions to be natural rather than a technical move. In my training, specifically, in the beginning my three masters, at different times of my training, would have us stand on one leg in a crane stance for up to 30 minutes or have our senior classmate come by and try to sweep the ground leg while we stood on it at full power and speed. After much pain and falling on our arse, one learns to have balance on one or both legs.....what mitigates balance is leaving the ground for a flying whatever like the movies (hard to root and change when in the air, something about gravity and physics, darn it), or not learning to have balance whatever the circumstance. I have seen enough of my friends who do traditional karate to know that similar training exists, especially overseas where I saw karateka stand on one leg while their sensei broke bamboo or bats over the supporting leg and shinbones. After that, I think maintaining balance during a fast front snap kick might be attainable.

Just my opinion.

[Bloodybirds]

Also, Elite, breaking your opponent's kneecap or Achille's tendon does tend to slow your opponent down sufficiently enough to get the hell outta there, especially if you are fighting more than one foe at a time as a consequence....

[Elitexboxer]

Originally Posted by Bloodybirds

Also, Elite, breaking your opponent's kneecap or Achille's tendon does tend to slow your opponent down sufficiently enough to get the hell outta there, especially if you are fighting more than one foe at a time as a consequence....

That's one powerful-ass snap kick.Maybe I'll look into it...

[Bloodybirds]

Elite, thanks for the sarcasm.....we come from two different realms of the martial arts...I concur that the front snap kick is basically a foot jab and of course is not all powerful like you would want to deliver, but there are other ways to deliver techniques than what you might have been exposed to.....I have been doing this for almost 30 years, including 2 years training in Hong Kong under three legit masters that others on this website can vouch for. What is your background? I agree, maybe being a Chinese martial arts practitioner, I should have not ventured onto a Japanese forum, but others on this site know I am open to learning and giving at the same time, no matter what the art. However, before making sarcastic inferences, you might want to explore the things mentioned....hey, here's a concept, they might even be practiced and taught in the Japanese arts as well!!!

[bamboo]

Was he being sarcastic?

[samurai6string]

a fast, natural, low front snap kick can be very effective as a technique of distraction or "softening" technique as well before performing an escape or counter.