Crushing Hammer (EPAK Purple #5)

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Crushing Hammer is the 5th required technique to obtain your Purple Belt in Ed Parker’s American Kenpo.  Crushing Hammer is a defense against right roundhouse kick to your body, placing it in the Kicks category of the Web of Knowledge as well as the Kicks Family Group in the family groups Striking Division.

In Crushing Hammer you learn how to counter grab your opponent to prevent further strikes, you learn how flank movements provide access to rear targets, how the proper contouring of your body provides built in checks against retaliation as well as generating power.

Defense

Crushing Hammer – defense for a rear bear hug, arms pinned.

  • Step 1
    • Pin the opponent’s hands to your body with your left hand.
    • Step toward 9:00 with your left foot to form a horse stance.
    • Deliver a right back hammerfist strike to your opponent’s groin.
  • Step 2
    • Slide your right foot toward your left forming a right close cat stance (transitional), and then back toward 4:30 (behind your opponent’s left leg) to form a right reverse bow stance.
    • Deliver a right back hammering heel palm strike to your opponent’s groin and grab with a right squeezing claw,
    • Left hand continues to pin the opponent’s hands.
  • Step 3
    • Pivot clockwise into a right neutral bow stance facing 4:30.
    • Deliver a right rear vertical elbow strike underneath your opponent’s chin.
  • Step 4
    • Pivot clockwise into a right forward bow stance facing 4:30.
    • Deliver a left thrusting heel palm strike to your opponent’s left floating ribs.
  • Step 5
    • Pivot counter clockwise into a right neutral bow, facing 4:30
    • Crossover and cover out toward 10:30.

Additional Information

Name

The name of the technique comes from the crushing action of the hammerfist to the groin.

Attack

In the ideal phase your attacker is directly behind you (6:00) and applies a bear hug around both arms near your biceps.

It is important to avoid being gripped in a bear hug with your arms in front of you or or your hands in your pocket as it would.

Basics & Maneuvers

  • Horse Stance
  • Right Rear Hammerfist Strike
  • Cat Stance (transitional)
  • Right Reverse Bow Stance
  • Right Rear Heel Palm Strike
  • Right Rear Squeezing Grab
  • Right Neutral Bow Stance
  • Right Upward Vertical Obscure Elbow Strike
  • Right Forward Bow Stance
  • Right Thrusting Heel Palm Strike

Targets

  • Hands
  • Groin
  • Underneath the Chin
  • Left Floating Ribs

Concepts & Principles

  • Angle of Cancellation
  • Angle of Disturbance
  • Body Alignment
  • Borrowed Force
  • Cating Around
  • Contouring
  • Hugging Pin
  • Pinning Check
  • Pivoting
  • Positional Check
  • Stabilize your Base
  • Transitory Moves
  • Zones of Obscurity


Considerations

  • What if …
    • your arms are pinned in front of your body?
    • your opponents arms are near your waist?
    • your opponent’s arms are around your throat?
    • your arms are free?
    • your opponent lifts you off the ground?

Related Techniques

  • Captured Twigs (Y-5)
  • Obscure Wing (O-18)
  • Squeezing the Peach (P-11)
  • Escape From Death (G-6)
  • Reprimanding the Bears (2Br-12)
  • Spreading the Branches

Historical Notes

  • In the 1975 Accumulative Journal, Crushing Hammer was Purple Belt Technique #6
  • The 1975 Accumulative Journal;
    • indicates sliding your left foot back between 4:00 & 5:00
    • has you pivot clockwise toward 4:00 for the obscure elbow
    • has you pivot toward 5:00 for the left thrusting heel palm strike
    • does not indicate an angle of departure.

Historical Versions

1975 Accumulative Journal

CRUSHING HAMMER (rear bear hug — arms pinned)

  1. With feet together, step to your left with your left foot (to 9 o’clock)into a horse. Simultaneously strike to opponent’s groin with your right back hammerfist as your left hand pins opponent’s left arm.
  2. Have our right foot meet your left foot (forming a close cat stance) and then around and behind opponent’s left leg (between 4 and 5 o’clock)into a right reverse bow. Simultaneously strike opponent’s groin with aright heel palm; then grab opponent’s testicles with a right squeezing claw,
  3. Pivot into a right neutral bow (facing 4 o’clock) as your right arm follows the contour of your opponent’s body and your right elbow strikes up to his chin.
  4. Complete your pivot (facing 5 o’clock) into a right forward bow as you deliver a left heel palm strike to left floating ribs of opponent.

Notes

  • Crushing Hammer serves as a good backup to Captured Twigs in the event you are unable to rotate in attempting to execute Captured Twigs.  On the other hand Captured Twigs serves as a back to to Crushing Hammer when you are unable to step to the side.

Variations

Obscure Wing (EPAK Orange #18)

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Obscure Wing is the 18th technique required to obtain your Orange Belt in Ed Parker’s American Kenpo. It is a defense against a left hand shoulder grab from the right flank and part of the Grabs & Tackles category in the Web of Knowledge.  It also belongs to the shoulder/lapel grab group of the Grabs category in the grappling division.

In Obscure Wing we will use a pin to control your opponent’s left hand, then we will make use of contouring and tracking to find our targets from point of origin in obscure zones. You will find that this technique is for the same type of attack as Sword and Hammer.  In Sword and Hammer you go after your opponent’s upper zone first, in Obscure Wing you can assume that the upper zone is protected thus you need to attack the mid or lower zone first instead, making this an effective backup technique for Sword and Hammer.

Defense

Obscure Wing – defense for a right flank shoulder grab.

  • Step 1
    • Pin your opponent’s left hand with your left hand,
    • Step toward 3:00 with your right foot to form a right fighting horse stance,
    • Deliver a right rear elbow strike to your opponent’s solar plexus.
  • Step 2
    • Continue pinning your opponent’s left hand,
    • Deliver right downward back hammerfist strike to your opponent’s groin,
    • Grab your opponent’s groin.
  • Step 3
    • Rip your opponent’s groin upward,
    • Deliver a right upward snapping obscure elbow strike underneath your opponent’s chin.
  • Step 4
    • Right front crossover and cover out toward 10:30.

Additional Information

Name

As mentioned in the last technique, wing is the Kenpo term for an elbow. In this technique you will use an elbow (wing) strike that will travel through a space your opponent can’t see, a blind spot, called an obscure zone.  Put this together and and you are essentially delivering an obscure wing to your opponent, thus the name.

Attack

In the ideal phase your attacker will be directly to your right at the 3:00 position. Your opponent will then grab your right shoulder with his left hand. It is assumed that your opponent is protecting his upper zone.

Basics & Maneuvers

  • Right Side Step Through
  • Right Fighting Horse Stance
  • Right Rear Thrusting Elbow
  • Right Downward Back Hammerfist
  • Right Gripping Claw
  • Right Ripping Claw
  • Right Rear Upward Snapping Obscure Elbow
  • Right Front Cross Over
  • Cover Out

Targets

  • Left hand/wrist
  • Solar Plexus/Abdomen
  • Groin
  • Underneath the Chin

Concepts & Principles

  • Angle of Cancellation
  • Back Up Mass
  • Borrowed Force
  • Continuity of Motion
  • Contouring
  • Getting the Upper Hand
  • Marriage of Gravity
  • Obscure Zones
  • Pinning Check
  • Stabilize your Base
  • Settling
  • Torque


Considerations

  • What if …
    • your opponent grabs your shoulder with his right hand instead?
    • your opponent grabs your shoulder with both hands?
    • your opponent throws a right punch while grabbing your shoulder?
    • your opponent grabs your right bicep with his right hand while grabbing your shoulder?
    • your opponent grabs your right wrist with his right hand while grabbing your shoulder?
    • your opponent pulls your toward him?

Related Techniques

Historical Notes

  • In the 1975 Accumulative Journal, Obscure Wing was Orange Belt Technique #16
  • The 1975 Accumulative Journal does not indicate an angle of departure

Historical Versions

1975 Accumulative Journal

OBSCURE WING (flank left hand shoulder grab)

  1. With feet together and opponent’s left hand grabbing your right shoulder, step to your right(to 3 o’clock)with your right foot as you drop into a horse. Simultaneously deliver a right back elbow to opponent’s solar plexus as your left hand pins and checks opponent’s left hand to your right shoulder.
  2. Deliver a right back hammerfist down to opponent’s groin and follow-up with a right hand grab to opponent’s testicles.
  3. Immediately follow-up with a right snapping obscure elbow strike to opponent’s chin; making sure that your right arm follows the contour of your opponent’s body.

Notes

Variations