Speed, power and precision: how to mechanize and optimize our moves In martial arts terms, when we talk about muscle memory we refer to the capability that our psychophysical system has to facilitate, accelerate and / or improve the execution of a certain move (eg. a kick, a throw, a defensive step, etc.). Note – […]
Every human body expresses its own potential at the same time in a similar and different from all the others way. As we have already had occasion to say, in a fight no matter how we are quick to move but how we are fast to execute effective techniques, the 6DKF therefore insists on two […]
What are the soft movements? At the base of a large percentage of 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s techniques, there are soft movements (read 6DKF’s interactions: from the strong blow to the light touch), their fundamental characteristics are: Relaxation – It has to be interpreted as an absence of stiffness, not a weak setting Harmony – […]
The importance of breathing in combat Breathing is a fundamental task during any type of struggle and can make the difference between prevailing and losing. Good management of respiration is the signature of the expert fighter. Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to […]
Legs conditioning for kicks After having seen the characteristics of a good kick (read The characteristics of a good kick), we go on to expose what to train (and how) to allow our legs to kick in the most effective way. Before proceeding to the practical exercises to perform it is important to know that: In […]
Why is kicking more dangerous than punching? During combat: Using the upper limbs – Involves the classical trapping-related risks (open our guard, get intercepted, give the chance to our opponent to hit our vulnerable parts, etc. read Trapping) Using the lower limbs – Could be even more dangerous, because, in addition to the trapping’s dangers, […]
What is the difference between speed and quickness? Let’s start with a little disambiguation note to determine the difference between speed and quickness in terms of martial arts: Quickness – It is the time that our natural and “innate” body capabilities need to move our body (eg. we are quick if we can throw a punch […]
An intermediate-level dodge conditioning After having initiated our mind / body to the idea of the dodge motion (read Preparing body to dodge punches (“U” motion)) we want to share an exercise that, at the same time, teaches us to: Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on […]
How to dodge punches: prepare the body for the “U” motion Before starting to train our reflexes to recognize and avoid punches, we must accustom our body to the calibrated and explosive movement of a basic dodge (read Dodge attacks). Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on […]
In a combat against an opponent who is really able to fight (or that is at our level) it is not reasonable to expect to be able to effectively intercept any attack (parry, channel, etc.). The attacks (kicks, punches, etc.), when they are brought by opponents with some experience arrive: In the direction of our […]
The second exercise to build a good muscle chain After the first exercise (read Exercise 1 for the abs to develop the muscle chain), it is now time to see the second one useful to condition our muscle chain (read Use the body power: the muscle chain). Note – This article has been asked by […]
How to effectively learn to walk silently Connecting us to the topic of stealth walking (started with Stealth walking: an introductory exercise) we want to give a set of tips and tricks to learn and practice better. To start it is important to stress that: To truly learn how to walk without being noticed is not […]
How to walk (almost) without making noise After having seen the introductory exercise for silent walking (read Stealth walking: an introductory exercise), we move now to the first practical technique (the one that, better than the others, describes the general method). Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners […]
To understand why the soft muscle chain is superior to that rigid we return to see the strength, the energy, like a metal ball that must flow through a tube (as we mentioned in past articles). Our aim is to “shake” the pipe so as to throw the ball, well: In the case of the […]
The muscular chain has multiple levels of formulation, the highest and effective is the one that flows through softness (eg. as occurs in Tai Chi), the lower one through the rigidity or semi-rigidity (as is the case in the vast majority of sports). The rigid chain is slightly more “easy” to acquire, instead, if we […]
What is the muscle chain? The concept of muscle chain applied to martial arts After having roughly seen the difference between concatenating and summing the power of our body elements (read Sum and concatenate the power of body elements), it is time to start to talk about the principle of the muscle chain. Note – […]
Each limb, or better, each element of our body is able to express a given performance that goes from 0% to 100% (in terms of speed, power, precision, etc.), but, it is interesting to highlight that this potential is: Incredibly less than what our brains could dynamically handle Almost always less than what could bear […]
The 6DKF is one of the few martial arts that choose to use within a single fighting style: Softness (dispersed energy) Hardness (directed energy) Flexibility (reflected energy) Rigidity (absorbed energy) According to different situations of attack / defense it can in fact be more or less useful choose to use hard or rigid movements rather […]
How to kick remaining stable: a few simple tips In this tutorial, we want to share a few effective tricks to immediately improve our balance while kicking (read also How to kick (simple explanation)). Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our […]
Although if in words it is very difficult to be comprehensive, in this article we show a practical example of swapping between solid liquid and fluid techniques / movements. This example is not an effective fighting technique but rather an incentive to try our first combinations (the actual techniques of 6DKF are part of a […]
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When to use a hidden guard stance As we have already mentioned (read The signals that precede an attack: introduction), in a real situation, our opponents always try to do not let us understand what they really want to do. Until they are in close contact with us (a distance often less than our forearm, […]
Interacting with the opponent’s body in a conscious way: the Solid state contacts 6 Dragons Kung Fu has different types of combat interactions with the opponents (read The 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s states of interaction) and we call “Solid” the ones that aim to rigidly address the adversary. Note – This article has been asked […]
How to manage the contact with the opponents During a fight (as while attacking as while defending), from the way we choose to relate to the opponents we can: Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung […]
The exercise we are going to describe has the objective to unleash the power of the muscle chain of the 6 Dragons Kung Fu in an effective, natural and especially instinctive way (just as we do when we breathe). The goal is to connect one by one all the parts of our body starting from […]
What are the most important characteristics of an effectively executed fighting technique? How should a fighting technique be performed so that it can achieve its purpose? Is there something that we can do to improve the quality of our moves? Yes, in our school we identify 4 rules that: Note – This article has been […]
Express the maximum performance of the body That of the metal sphere is a very important concept in 6 Dragons Kung Fu: it allows even a total beginner to easily release a lot more power than the one he / she could normally gain access to. Note – This article has been asked by one […]
Fight at a more advanced level: attack and defend at the same time As in Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do (and in a lot of other combat systems after it, read The core concepts of Jeet Kune Do), in 6 Dragons Kung Fu (one of) the best defensive methods is to defend and attack at the […]
How to face an attack: instinct or reason? In 6 Dragons Kung Fu we train to split the reaction to any type of aggression into 2 parts (that are closely interlinked): Immediate defense (through instinct and muscle memory) Tactical consequence (through quick reasoning) Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core […]
Dragon Motion: a step forward Continuing the Dragon Motion’s exploration started in Dragon Motion: the swirling movements, we want to deepen some of the peculiar aspects of this technique and give some of the basics to start its development. Note – This article has been originally asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on […]
Swirling movements Many of the 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s fighting movements (not all, read for example The best way to hit first) follow “swirling trajectories”; this choice (as for a lot of other oriental styles of combat) is not for artistic purposes, the idea is to reach a higher level of body control, useful to: […]
Kicks: the reasons behind their “fallibility” In terms of striking, the lower limbs have excellent reach and can unleash great power but their functional use implies a type of control that is beyond the capabilities of today’s civilized human beings. Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on […]
Why improving our striking skills is crucial Beyond the focus of each martial art (fighting on the ground, throws, etc.), if we need to fight in a real self-defense scenario (read What is the difference between real fights and combative sports), the primary technical sector to count on is and always remains striking (kicks, punches, […]
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