Do blocks work

[bigstu31s]

Strange question I know but let me explain.

I studied Wadu Ryu Karate and Wing Chun and both styles have blocks.
If someone punches you in the face you have a couple of hard blocks in Karate and for Wing Chun you have bon sau, tan sau etc etc
Same with kicks, you have gedan burai (spelling is **** cos its been ages since I did these arts) and a simlar block for wing chun.

When I left wing chun I started Freestyle Kung Fu which was taught by a guy who had taught WC. Anyway for the first couple of years we used all the WC blocks and then one day when I was nearing instructor level he told me to forget all the blocks I had learnt becasue they dont work. He then showed me boxing parrys and MT leg parrys. WTF he was teaching stuff that dont work I have no idea.

Anyway most traditional MA's use blocks rather than parrys and my questions is do these blocks ever work?
If not why are they taught?

[Yoj]

Maybe they aren't blocks


*touches nose*

[Lebell]

Strange question I know but let me explain.

I studied Wadu Ryu Karate and Wing Chun and both styles have blocks.
If someone punches you in the face you have a couple of hard blocks in Karate and for Wing Chun you have bon sau, tan sau etc etc
Same with kicks, you have gedan burai (spelling is **** cos its been ages since I did these arts) and a simlar block for wing chun.

gedan barai is an awesome technique...........if you want to break your lower arm.

When I left wing chun I started Freestyle Kung Fu which was taught by a guy who had taught WC. Anyway for the first couple of years we used all the WC blocks and then one day when I was nearing instructor level he told me to forget all the blocks I had learnt becasue they dont work. He then showed me boxing parrys and MT leg parrys. WTF he was teaching stuff that dont work I have no idea.

Probably teaching the stuff because it's easy to impress with and it keeps students around longer.
kaching!

Anyway most traditional MA's use blocks rather than parrys and my questions is do these blocks ever work?
If not why are they taught?

Why?
Because of lack of sparring.

[Liam Cullen]

Yoj has the answer.

[maofas]

Anyway most traditional MA's use blocks rather than parrys and my questions is do these blocks ever work?
If not why are they taught?

Just fyi Karate uses parries mostly, and the block you cited as an example, gedan barai, is the very definition of a parry.

Some blocks aren't parries and are more taking an attack at a favorable angle so it skids off, so if you start labelling things "parries" then you have to get all technical and start labelling everything else correctly too...and that requires you using a 3 syallable word instead of a 1 syllable word which is annoying when you're trying to work out. It's just easier to say block.

gedan barai is an awesome technique...........if you want to break your lower arm.

You'll only break your arm if you try to block round kicks with it. For a linear front or side kick aimed below your solar plexus/above your groin, sidestep + sweeping it aside with gedan barai works fine. There's no force-on-force absorption going on with that block to hurt yourself with. Sometimes you wind up guiding the leg away, but if you land solidly with it you can unbalance the kicker (sometimes getting their back) with it right before you close distance to counter. It's a good technique, it's just very specific & limited in it's application (some people go through an entire sparring session without throwing a single linear kick at me).

[1point2]

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/show...=karate+blocks

Most karate blocks--gedan barai, for a glaring example, but chudan and whatever the **** the other one is--are Itosu/Funakoshi elementary-school bullshit pseudo-karate. Forget them.

Circular parry-blocks like in Goju/Uechi are valid, and a skill to have, but they're not a primary way to defend. Boxing/kickboxing slips, parries etc are the way to go.

But I can't stress this enough. Lower, middle, inner, and upper blocks are bullshit.

[Nickeroon1987]

I studied Goju-Ryu for about 10 years. Most of the "blocks" are really more like parries, as others have already said. They are not always as practical as slipping and parrying found in boxing, but they can be used effectively in a live setting with practice.

That being said, karate's main defense against strikes is almost always not being there in the first place (See Machida).

[Kambei Shimada]

The Problem with this kind of argument is that you'll get Wing Chun practitioners and the like claiming their blocks yield to pressure and they never actually meet force with force. They are however wrong.

Not being in the place were the strike has been aimed seems to be the best defence.

[maofas]

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/show...=karate+blocks

Most karate blocks--gedan barai, for a glaring example, but chudan and whatever the **** the other one is--are Itosu/Funakoshi elementary-school bullshit pseudo-karate. Forget them.

Circular parry-blocks like in Goju/Uechi are valid, and a skill to have, but they're not a primary way to defend. Boxing/kickboxing slips, parries etc are the way to go.

But I can't stress this enough. Lower, middle, inner, and upper blocks are bullshit.

I use outside middle blocks (also parries) as do people in Enshin and other knockdown styles. It covers a large area so precise aim isn't needed, the motion blends with pivoting or side stepping and pre-coils you up to counter with a rear hand straight.

That and osae uke (pressing) are my most used blocks against all straight hand techniques.

Gedan barai, as mentioned, works for linear kicks to the stomach.

Some styles of krotty use that upwards-from-underneath arm block thing, which sucks as far as I can tell. The more straight-armed like a punch high rising version is good for blocking haymakers though.

That's almost every block in my elementary school krotty and they all seem to do their individual jobs just fine. Maybe it's because we spent most of our time drilling things we'd use instead of obsessing over academic b.s.

TBH I don't see any point in circular blocking, it seems like you're forcing yourself to take a longer route and risk getting hit down the pipe more.

[Mtripp]

I would suggest rather than looking at them as blocks, you look at them as ways to get someones hands off of your clothing.....