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Leg Fencing (Tape 2A): T.O.P. Tool Drills
A Product Review by Phil Elmore
When Scott Sonnon sent me a copy his three-tape Leg Fencing set and asked that I do an honest review of it, I was a little intimidated. I'll admit it: I tend towards a weakness that many in the martial arts have, and that is that I prefer striking with my hands to kicking with my feet. This is a natural bias in human beings, I think. We're used to using our legs for little else than walking around, whereas we use our hands and arms for just about everything else.
Well, growth can be both painful and unsettling -- but it is worth it. If you're looking to increase your leg flexibility, power, control, and speed, the Leg Fencing series is one you should consider.
TAPE 2A
The production values of Tape 2A are similar to those of the first tape. The sound level of the intro and outtro music is too loud when compared to Scott's speaking voice, though this is a minor complaint. Closer shots of Scott and his training partners are fine, and the camera moves up and down as needed to capture torso and leg movement. Wide shots, in which the camera pans back to reveal more of the color-lighted background, appear a bit dim in comparison to the closer shots. Everything on the tape is visible and audible.
The tape begins with a brief discussion of Scott's formulae for "hard" work (the threshold of pain, or your effectiveness -- opportunity over risk) and "soft" work (the threshold of "fear reactivity, or your efficiency -- useful work over total work). We are, he explains, working towards two simultaneous goals: to increase our effectiveness while increasing our efficiency. If the best you can hope for in a fight is the worst you have managed in training, the only way to elevate the top is to lift the bottom.
Scott explains the Threshold of Performance strategy for Leg Fencing: Secure, Shock, Saturate. (We are dealing with "attached striking" only in Leg Fencing -- striking delivered while in the "clinch.") Simply stated, this means taking a secure hold on your opponent, delivering disruption to your opponent through strikes or grappling, and following up by overwhelming your opponent.
There are four elements to the clinch: a locking arm, a "power transfer" arm, a driving leg, and a mobile leg. In the clinch, you collect data about your opponent by feeling what he does. Where is he tense? Where is he pushing? Where and how does he flinch? These pieces of data reveal tendencies your opponent possesses that are specific to him. They're habitual, not reflexive. Scott even makes an acronym of the word "data," here: defensive action tendency association.
Early on, Scott covers an important concept: that of range compression, a change in fighting range that can eliminate or remove the "secure" phase of one's strategy. Particularly against experienced fighters, one may go directly to "shock" and then to "saturate" without visiting the "secure" stage.
The clinch, Scott explains, is not composed of weapons, but of joints. He dismisses as "artificial constructs" and "marketing" the ideas of striking range, kicking range, and grappling range, referring instead to depths, such as ankle depth, knee depth, and wrist depth.
Moving on to "shock," Scott explains that through grappling (disrupting the opponent's balance) and striking (delivering pain and surprise) one can remove the opponent's will to fight. For example, the natural "righting reflex" one experiences when one's balance is disrupted leaves one vulnerable. When we force someone to experience that righting reflex, we have delivered shock. There are two ways to overcome that shock: we can develop stability through mobility, and we can increase our tolerance to pain and surprise. In this way we increase our toughness and remain in flow.
Shock, Scott points out, is disruption. "You don't want to make this a chess match. ...Shock is our ability to move in between [the opponent's] intentions."
In the "saturate" phase, the fighter envelops his opponent, derails him in taking advantage of the disruption offered by shock. Do not, Scott cautions again, stand there and trade blows with the opponent. Saturation is total commitment.
The remainder of the tape consists of static and fluid drills, separated by the protocols used for them. Most of these seem extremely useful (and painful) for those with access to training partners. The drills take place at specific depths and build from the "tool development" exercises in Tape 1.
A typical segment involves Scott explaining the drill while demonstrating on training partner Dan, then performing the drill with Dan. Dan and another training partner, Anders, then work the drill, but these segments have been stylized with music and a choppy camera effect. I understand that these are meant to serve as transitions from one drill to the next, but I think I would have preferred to see the action as it was originally filmed. Still, this -- like my other gripes -- is very minor.
In the Static Drills, Ankle Depth - Post, the toe strikes to ankle depth. It's not a kick with weight transfer; it's a wave motion from the hip to the knee to the ankle. I felt a little sorry for Dan, Scott's training partner, as I heard the solid thump of Scott's toe striking home. Before tapes 2a and 2b were done, I felt a lot more sorry for Dan. These are effective expressions of sound principles. I don't think I would want to be on the receiving end of the lengthy demonstrations of them.
In the Fluid Drill Protocol, Ankle Depth, Scott explains that you must grab at wrist depth and post. As you post, you unbalance your opponent. Grappling and striking are happening simultaneously. You are using the clinch with impact. Scott pauses here to explain that effective fighting is not a matter of physical attributes without technique, or technique without physical attributes. Both are important. You must learn to use just enough strength at the right time.
In the Static Drills, Ankle Depth - Sweep, pain is administered to impart shock using a portion of the figure 8 motion drilled in Tape 1. You must strike the opponent's ankle and take his balance. It isn't just a sweeping motion, as this is not just grappling. Scott repeats this distinction many times.
In the Fluid Drills, Ankle Depth, fluid rather than static performance goals are emphasized. The ankle depth fluid drills are used to develop timing, rhythm, and an understanding of range and depth. The training partners deliver posts to supporting legs and sweeps to mobile legs.
In the Static Drills, Ankle Depth - Hook, the two reverse angles of the figure 8 motion are used. The heel comes in behind the opponent's leg -- but again, this is not a grappling leg lace. The heel is used to strike a nerve and cause motor action. The fighter isn't merely removing the supporting leg. He is causing the opponent's muscles to contract.
In the Static Drills, Ankle Depth - Trip, the fighter plants a foot behind the opponent's planted foot. Instead of just blocking the opponent's leg, the heel is used to impart force to take down that leg. The move consists of blocking one supporting leg and hammering at the other side, creating both force and a slide down which the opponent's body moves.
I was impressed by this. It is a much more effective tripping technique than the one I've previously learned, which is closer to Scott's explanation of what the ankle depth trip is not.
In the Static Drills, Ankle Depth - Reap, the leg screws in. Rather than merely chopping with the leg, the fighter again imparts force with part of the figure 8 motion that caused so much leg agony on the tool development cassette. I could actually hear training partner Dan gasp when Scott applied this.
As I watched the three tapes in this series, it became obvious that two principles of motion are very important in Leg Fencing: wave motion and screwing motion. I became more aware of the way in which Scott moved his body to properly impart force through these motions as the tapes went on.
In the Fluid Drill Protocol/ Fluid Drills and 5 Leg Fencing Tactics, Scott discusses and then demonstrates fluid exercises using techniques he has explained. He reminds the viewer that the purpose of fluid drills is to work on errors and recovering from them -- to make mistakes and then learn to diminish the time needed to mitigate those mistakes, real or perceived. (Think about this: when you fight, there's no difference between a real error you've made and one you only think you've made. Both disrupt your flow and both must be mitigated to stay in flow.)
In the Static Drills, Knee Depth - Knee Strikes, Scott demonstrates the wave motion used to transfer one's weight and apply knee attacks. He refers back to the box step and demonstrates both straight and elliptical knees to his opponent. He also mentions the "dead leg" technique, striking the motor point in the thigh. As I watched this, I thought to myself, "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"
In the Fluid Drill Protocol, Knee Depth, Scott reiterates the purpose of flow drills and refers to the development of toughness discussed in his Flow Fighting tape.
I found the Fluid Drill, Shock Absorption - Knee Strikes very helpful. Learning to move your body to mitigate the effect of a kick or knee strike is very important, given the power and shocking force such strikes can have. Scott also refers to rootedness here, the significance of maintaining your balance. The concept of being rooted is one on which my Wing Chun teacher speaks constantly.
In the Fluid Drill, Unbalancing Knee Strikes, the fighter pulls his opponent off balance when the opponent delivers a knee strike. Scott pauses here to make a great point about not falling into a "motor set" while training in these drills. After a few repetitions, training partners tend to anticipate the movement and deliberately move out of the way to avoid the shock. Scott cautions the viewer not to do this. Instead, deliberately put yourself in a position to receive shock as you train. Only in this way will you learn to deal with it.
In the Fluid Drill, Asymmetrical Unbalancing and Knee Strikes, one training partner attacks while the other defends, pulling his opponent off balance to avoid a hit or mitigate the effects of being hit. One of the goals of the drill is to learn to collect data from your opponent, to learn to feel when he is going to strike or move.
The Fluid Drill, Symmetrical Unbalancing and Knee Strikes involves two training partners, both of whom try to strike with the knees while defending against the same. The biggest danger of this exercise is that one of the opponents may collide with the other. When drilling, Scott tells us, there should be a rise and a lull to the training, corresponding to physical communication and the gathering of data about the opponent.
The Static Drill Takedown #1, Inside Knee Trip is performed as the opponent applies an elliptical knee. It isn't a leg lace and the fighters should not be grappling in a free-fighting situation. As the opponent's mobile leg is about to transfer to the supporting leg, trip him. The shock imparted should be similar to the sensation experienced when one expects there to be a final step while descending stairs -- only to come down hard on the floor.
In the Static Drill Takedown #2, Cross Knee Trip, the opponent transfers his weight after delivering a knee. The fighter catches this and cycles outwards, knocking the opponent over.
In the Static Drill Takedown #3, Outside Knee Reap, the fighter reaps, screwing in, striking the inside of the leg with a knee. Scott demonstrates this screwing action and the resulting maneuver is, well, really cool.
The Static Drill Takedown #4, Knee Sweep is a thigh bump to the supporting leg while the other knee is striking.
In the Fluid Drill, Asymmetrical Knee Depth with Takedowns, training partner Dan tries to take down Scott at knee depth. Scott tries to block him. They then switch. The drill is followed by a symmetrical example.
T.O.P. tool drills continue on Tape 2B.