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A trapping method to slow down or stop a fast fighter

Continuing with the trapping topic (read Trapping’s basics: move and hit), we move to a slightly more complex type of interaction: “control and act”.

Note – We do not repeat what we have already said in the past tutorial.

This is the path we want to follow:

In 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s interaction number 1 (“move and hit”), we avoid any type of slow down of the pace of combat, reducing the graspings to zero
In the interaction number 2 (the one we are going to see), we choose instead to voluntarily stop (or slow down) the flow of the fight
The idea is to block (more or less temporarily) one or more active parts of the opponent’s body to directly damage it, to create an opening (to reach an eventually covered target) or to execute a more complex technique
The fundamental difference between interaction 1 and 2 is that the second, through the hands, the joints (etc.) sets a connection between us and our opponent that borns to be relatively hard to cut
The connection we are talking about is not necessarily something like a hand that closes the fingers, it could also be a compression or a wrapping
…

A note by Master Kongling – This is a type of interaction that is not recommended for beginners, because if done wrong, it will lead us to rapidly consume all of our energies (read also Self-defense: how to defend from a punch). It could be instead a good choice if we are good grapplers and we are facing a fast striker.

“Control and act” theory

What does it mean to “control and act”?

The idea is substantially to create a stable connection that forces who we are facing to be disadvantaged: we can imagine this as if he temporarily became part of our body. Let’s try to understand it with 2 examples.

Example 1

Our opponent is in front of us, throwing a right roundhouse kick toward our hips
We immediately move circularly toward him but pandering the direction of his leg’s power (to decrease the impact energy)
Then we capture his leg with our left arm
We put our right feet exactly behind his left one (crossing our Achilles’ tendons)
Finally (exploiting the rotation), we push him with our right forearm creating a lever that will inevitably make him fall
…

A note by Master Kongling – This is only a rapid example of a throw (read The 3 phases of a throw) but the part that truly interests us, is the initial grabbing.

Example 2

Our opponent is behind us and with his right arm, he is grabbing our left shoulder
We do not want to simply get free, we need to block him (eg. because he is threatening other people)
We immediately and firmly cover his hand with our right hand
We move and we let our left arm pass on the top of his arm
We lean behind his elbow (slightly above it)
We straighten our opponent’s arm
We execute a joint lever (read Chin Na)
…

A note by Master Kongling – This is only a rapid example of a Chin Na but the part that truly interests us, is the initial grabbing.

The types of “control” contact we can use

Naturally, not all the contacts are the same, let’s see some of the options we have:

Capture to move – Throw, unbalance, channel, etc.
Capture to hit – Break a bone, create an opening to a better target, etc.
Capture to manipulate – Apply a joint lock, a strangulation, etc.
The combination of the others – Interactions that are composed by the previous 3
…

The ways of chaining the sequence “control and act”

Even here, the timing aspect is very important to do not allow the opponent to take advantage of the stable connection or to invalidate our action (resisting, counterattacking, etc.).

As for the interaction number 1, it is the way we connect the “control” phase to the “act” one that makes all the difference.

We can opt for a:

Consequential action (basic) – The 2 phases are strictly connected by an immediate timing connection
Simultaneous action (advanced) – The 2 phases, when possible, happens at the same time
Broken action (for experts) – The timing is tactically falsified to force the opponent to act out of measure (too early, with too much power, out of balance, etc.)

A note by Master Kongling – In this case, the broken pace is less common.

In-depth video courses

Hand grip strength conditioning – How to improve the quality of our control movements
Chin Na: Principles and Learning – Everything you need to know to face the study of Chin Na

In-depth articles

The 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s states of interaction – The various types of body structures to adopt
32 TRAPPING DRILLS samples – A video with a demonstration of 32 trapping training drills

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Can you make an example of a control and act sequence?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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