Checking

I tried to learn Kenpo on my own for years. There were no nearby dojos in the various towns I lived in. I could pick up the basic movements from a book with some patience and perserverance, but I knew I was missing something. I just didn't know how much.

There were phrases like "left hand checks low".  I assumed that meant the left hand guards against incoming attacks. I was right, but it turns out, after taking Kenpo from an instructor for eight months, there is a LOT more to the concept of "checking".  Especially in self-defense techniques, a hand which is not striking, parrying, poking, or chopping should be held in a position to protect your vital areas. But Ed Parker, the founder of American Kenpo Karate, used the concept of width, depth, and height zones. Depth zones represent range, or the distance from you or your weapon (be it hand, foot, knee, or elbow) and your target (be it forearm, bicep, solar plexus, or kidney). Monitoring width allows for early detection of attacks. Controlling (or checking) width deprives your opponent of the angles he needs for powerful attacks on you.  Checking an opponent's height can render him unstable and off balance, or grounded and immobile.

My instructor often uses the phrases "checking his height" or "to check his width".  To illustrate, let me use a technique called "Deflecting Hammer". It's a simple technique taught to white belts, but it contains the potential to check width, depth, and height. This is a defense against a right, step-through, front kick. Your left foot steps back, which moves the target (your torso) back a bit and rotates the hips to a diagonal position (neutral bow stance). Previous training would have me using a striking block at right angles with the rising shin, but there are two reasons NOT to block straight across your body.

1. Attacking a shin straight on with your forearm will probably hurt your arm more than his leg.
2. Knocking the leg hard sideways could spin the opponent enough for him to raise his left arm in a backfist strike.

Blocking (hammering) at a diagonal angle "deflects", rather than stops, the kick. With practice, you can guide the kicking foot to step down where ever you want it, setting up your opponent for a counter-attack. You can control the amount of horizontal/outward impact AND the diagonal, deflecting angle, almost pulling the leg toward you with the contact of your arm.
1. A little outward force turns him slightly away, but not so far that you don't have access to his ribs and head (checks width).
2. The deflecting angle of the block allows the foot to pass you, sucking the opponent in to meet your counter attack (checks depth).
3. The farther forward you cause him to plant the foot, the harder it will be to lift it (checks height).
So just with the contact of the block, you've already checked width, depth, and height.

Next, you  rotate clockwise, without moving your feet, into a forward bow. The hip rotation gives your left arm the range to "check" the opponent's right arm. Again, you check both width and height by slapping his upper arm and sliding the knife edge of your hand down into the elbow "pocket", creating "frictional pull". This keeps the opponent planted forward, jerks his head forward, and also keeps him from turning back into you. If you think about it, you are actually checking four limbs by your contact with one:

1. You momentarily pinned his right arm.
2. His right leg is grounded and he can't lift it to kick.
3. He can't rotate back toward you because you're blocking him with the check, so his left hand and
4. foot can't reach you - his own body blocks them.

The really amazing thing: you're not even grabbing or holding any part of his body, you're only pushing forward and down on his arm (this former jujitsu student is in awe).  Granted, this is will only work for a split second, but a split second is all you need to launch forward with your loaded left leg and use your body's momentum to run your right elbow into his head. If you're really quick, you can make him run into your elbow while he is planting his kicking leg forward. This is called "borrowed force" (using the attacker's movement to add impact to a strike). If he has already planted, the "frictional pull" into the elbow pocket can bring the head forward into your elbow.

Very simple moves, but there is a lot going on that is not obvious to the casual observer. This is the stuff you can't learn by reading "1. step back with left foot, right downward block, 2. left hand checks forward, 3. right inward elbow", and then mimmicking the motions. An instructor explained and demonstrated it to me (sometimes with painful reinforcement), and I have felt it work (and how it doesn't work) on fellow students of all shapes and sizes, and on myself. Checking (as opposed to grabbing, locking, or holding) allows for quick withdrawel or transition to other moves if things don't go as planned. Binding yourself to a bigger, stronger opponent gives him the opportunity to manipulate your body, when you want to influence his.

Now, believe it or not, I don't walk around thinking "I hope that dude tries to kick me so I can try out my moves!", but it facinates me how, in between the strikes and kicks I learned from Tae Kwon Do and Karate, little bits of light contact (checking) can influence an opponent's movements and set him up for the next strike in the sequence.  And I'm just a yellow belt - just a beginner.