BASIC TERMINOLOGY
Angle of Deflection: hitting at or on an angle that causes a deflection or glancing strike.
Angle of Execution: the angle based on the Eight Angles of Attack and Defense that the weapon is delivered on and in what direction.
Angle of Incidence: striking at targets square so that there is no dissipation of power or deflection.
Back-up Mass: body weight moving in line with your strike on a horizontal plane.
Basics: any single move.
* Examples; punch, block, kick, strike, etc…
Blocks: used against a weapon in motion with no intention to hurt.
Borrowed Force: using your opponent’s motion to add power to your technique or moves.
* “Borrowed force always has borrowed reach, but borrowed reach does not always have borrowed force.”
Bracing Angle: angles or positions that give stability to your stances and/ or strikes.
Cat: a transitional stance. (1) 45 degree cat is ready (2) 90 degree cat is not ready. A cat is used to cock the leg or foot to minimum, not maximum effective range.
Complimentary Angle: following or riding a body line/angle to a target, be it yours or the opponents.
Compounding: doing two or more moves or strikes at one time or in one beat.
Cover out: to get away from your opponent and look around 360 degrees.
* “Never do a step through before a crossover.”
Crane: one legged stance. The crane is used to kick or as an evasion move. The name, Right or Left, comes from the side closest to the opponent.
Crossover: to gain or lose maximum distance, a stance and a half, from your opponent without changing sides.
Economy of Motion: eliminating all unnecessary movement or motion in your technique.
* “Do as much as you can at once without causing a detraction.”
Forms: categorized library of techniques and/or basics to synchronize the upper and lower body to work together as a unit.
Forward Bow: a bracing angle which gives the rear hand reach and power.
Horse: (1) Formal Horse- used to start and end classes as well as forms. The hands are positioned in the salute position. (2) Training Horse- used in isolation to train the hands. The hands are positioned at the hips.
Karate: a Japanese term meaning empty hands; Kara- empty, te- hand.
Kenpo: a Japanese term meaning fist law; Ken- fist, po- law. In Chinese, Chuan-fa.
* "Kenpo is a study of motion based on rules and principles."
Kicks: anything done with your foot or leg.
Marriage of Gravity: body weight dropping with your strike on a vertical plane.
Method of Execution: how the strike is delivered which has nothing to do with the angle.
* Examples; hammering, slicing, whipping, thrusting, hooking etc…
Neutral Bow: basic fighting stance.
* Practitioner should understand why we use a neutral bow, all the dimensions of the stance, and the importance of not getting in our own way.
Parries: a riding force to re-direct.
Punches: using the front knuckles of the fist.
Reverse Bow: the upper body losing or creating distance from your opponent without losing ground with your feet. This stance is used in buckles and sweeps in various directions.
Shuffling/ Shuffles: not considered part of the technique. It is used to gauge distance and make the technique work.
Stance: a frozen transition.
Step Through: changing sides facing your opponents by losing or gaining distance meaning forward or reverse.
Strikes: (1) In blocking category- used against a weapon in motion or not with the intent to hurt. (2) In Striking category- anything done with your arm or hand with the exception to the front knuckles of the fist.
* “Make blocks become strikes.”
* “Never touch when you can strike or hit.”
Stomp: has no supporting leg.
Stomp Kick: has a supporting leg.
Techniques: combination of basics for a given or specified situation.
Torque: rotation or twist. It is an underlying principle in every technique because you can not move without it.
* “When the power principle is torque the general rule is base, pivot.”
Twist Through: same principle as the step through, but broken into two parts where you get the distance and the rotation as a separate move. In a step through, you get the distance and rotation at the same time or in one move.
Zone of Sanctuary: the circle in the square principle.
* Practitioner should understand the corners of the square are the furthest points from the circle. The circle represents the maximum range of the opponent.
Watch for additional terminology…