Striking
What is Striking?
Striking in the context of martial arts and combat sports refers to the use of various techniques to hit an opponent using different parts of the body. These techniques can include punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. Striking is a fundamental aspect of many martial arts disciplines and is crucial in sports like boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
Key components of striking include:
- Punches: Using the fists to deliver blows. Common types of punches include jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts. Boxing is a sport that primarily focuses on punching techniques.
- Kicks: Using the legs and feet to strike an opponent. Different types of kicks include roundhouse kicks, front kicks, side kicks, and spinning kicks. Martial arts like Muay Thai, Taekwondo, and Karate emphasize various kicking techniques.
- Elbows: Using the elbow to strike, often in close-range combat. Elbow strikes can be very powerful and are commonly used in Muay Thai and MMA.
- Knees: Using the knees to deliver strikes, especially effective in clinch situations. Knee strikes are also a key component of Muay Thai and are used in MMA.
- Footwork and Movement: Effective striking also involves good footwork and movement to create angles, maintain balance, and avoid an opponent's attacks. Proper footwork allows a fighter to position themselves optimally for both offense and defense.
- Defense: Striking isn't just about offense; it also involves defending against an opponent's strikes. This can include blocking, parrying, slipping, and dodging.
- Combinations: Effective striking often involves combining different types of strikes in rapid succession to overwhelm an opponent and create openings. For example, a combination might include a jab, followed by a cross, and finished with a kick.
Striking is a critical skill in MMA, where fighters must be proficient in both striking and grappling to succeed.
Related Article: MMA: The Power and Passion of Mixed Martial Arts
Bushido meant stoicism, self-discipline, and dignity in one’s personal bearing; it emphasized mastery of the martial arts through long training and practice; it lauded sacrifice in service to duty, without the slightest fear of death; it demanded asceticism and simplicity in daily life, without regard to comforts, appetites, or luxuries. The samurai was “to live as if already dead,” an outlook consonant with Buddhism; he was to regard death with fatalistic indifference, rather than cling to a life that was essentially illusory. Shame or dishonor might require suicide as atonement—and when a samurai killed himself, he did so by carving out his own viscera with a short steel blade. But traditional bushido had not imposed an obligation to abhor retreat or surrender even when a battle had turned hopeless, and the old-time samurai who had done his duty in a losing cause could lay down his arms with honor intact.
Ian W. Toll