Blocking with Bones

Johnlogic121 · Orange Belt

Some Karate stylists make their blocks using the bone structures of the forearm. Thus, the upper area block that rises above the head would use the ulna bone on the bottom of the forearm and the middle area block that swings the vertical forearm sideways would use the radial bone on the top of the arm. A collision between the bone in your arm and the attacker's wrist or inside forearm can hurt the attacker if the block is made with force. However, certain styles of Karate, such as Isshinryu, block with the muscles of the forearm between the radial and ulna bones. The creator of Isshinryu argued that you can practice blocking in training until you can overcome the sense of stun you get from blocking with the muscle, and further, he felt that distributing the force of the block through the muscle over both bones of the forearm made stronger blocks possible with reduced chances of breaking an arm. You would rarely see a block against a kick break an arm, but a baton swing might make a fracture break in a bone or break off a chip of the bone if you are not careful. Usually, a Karate student trains his reflexes to use one form of blocking or the other because training for both forms of blocks develops two competing reflexes that basically accomplish the same thing. Does your style use the bones or the muscles? Has anybody tried both methods, and thus have some advice about which they prefer? Does anybody have a broken bone experience from blocking something that they could share? Would standardization of the typical blocks be a sign of progress for Karate students everywhere, as one form should logically be preferrable, whichever one it is? Which form do you think is best? -JL
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bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

Cung Le recently broke Frank Shamrock's arm with repeated kicks that were blocked by Shamrock. Cung Le kicks really hard, though.

As for bone or muscle, it really depends on what your goal is. If you intend to use your block as a strike, then using the bones would accomplish your goal, as long as they are conditioned well enough to resist pain, bruising, and breaking. The muscle blocks would provide more protection, I think.

Something else that should be evaluated along with this topic are the parrys, or just brushing aside a strike just enough to off-balance the attack, and keep your body in control for a counter as the opponent follows through to a target that he missed. All 3 would have their proper place, and all should be practiced and evaluated.
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Shotokan-kez · Black Belt

This is something i dread when i train...damaged forearms! I have blocked with both muscle and bone and both hurt. I am quite a petite person and i bruise easily, so if we are doing a lot of defence techniques my forearms get very bruised and sore. To be honest a lot of the time i dont think about it, if we are using fast moves and i have to be fast to block i don't think weather i am using muscle or bone, i get bruised up either way.

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bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

You should consider parrys and slips then, Kez.
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Shotokan-kez · Black Belt

Hi Brian i'm not sure what you mean.
To stop my shin bones getting bruised i always step to the side and scoop up a kick so i turn my apponent and have their back facing me, that way i can make a good counter to the back of their head and not bruise my shins.

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bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

Well, that is a good idea, too. It follows along with the parrying idea.
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tallgeese · Black Belt

bushido man is dead on with his advice about slipping and parrying with strikes.

I would go a step furter and say whenever possible, any sort fo blocking manuvers should encorporte some form of slipping or what I call "shucking" motion.

Rather than meeting force with force, very short redirections should be utilized with every attack-to-defense contact. This will drastically reduce any the amount of transferred energy between the two surfaces. The example of the high block is the best for this.

When throwing an overhead, try to shift the brunt of the attack of to the elbow side of the block. A slight angle in the arm is good for this, as is a stepping motion to the hand side of the block. This creates the effect of "shucking" the attack off to the elbow side. It also moves your head out of the way if the parry misses or is ineffective.

Movement of the attack as well as yourself is key in defense.

As for the bone/muscle debate. I think it comes down to comfort of throwing it to each individual. Typically, whatever I can put in the way of an attack will suffice.

NewEnglands_KyoSa · Pre-Black Belt

I think it is important to remember that block is not just a movement that impedes a strike with just that of a hand or a shin or whatever you're blocking with. It must be followed by or with the body so that you don't break anything and don't suffer all the ramifications of making a block as such. The body must block in the form of an evasion as well. This making physically blocking with just an arm or a leg much easier and when trained properly it makes your defense create open windows for an easy offense.
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cross · Black Belt

The theory within our system is that the initial contact is made with the muscle and then the forearm "rolls" so the bone makes the final contact.

I prefer to cover and make use of all the bony parts of my arms when jamming/blocking. Keep in mind that an effective jam usually hits the attackers arm before it has had time to reach full speed so chances of damaging your own arm are slim-to-none.

This is of course if distancing and movement hasnt worked because those are generally my first choice in terms of defence.

mortalflesh · White Belt

After studying Aikido for a couple of years, I've learned that slipping and moving to avoid an attack is by far the prefered method.

Its not always practical to say that you can always move to avoid a strike, in that case I actually use an open palm to deflect the strike away as I move to further avoid the strike. I wouldn't recommend the open palm to everyone as it can lead to fingers getting jammed/bent/broken but I've been doing it for years and it's as natural to me as breathing so I can't stop. Drives other people crazy.

As for using the muscle to block strikes?...ummm...no. Muscles have a nasty habit of going into spasm when struck hard thus making the harm useless. The bone isn't bad...still hurts but aleast there is no major muscle group there to cause serious damage. I wouldn't imagine there is anyway to condition your muscles to not do what biologically will happen when they get struck...doesn't seem possible.

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