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How to dodge punches: prepare the body for the “U” motion

Before starting to train our reflexes to recognize and avoid punches, we must accustom our body to the calibrated and explosive movement of a basic dodge (read Dodge attacks).

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

If our body is not able to perform any useful reaction (with the reaction time, spatial precision, speed, etc.), it is useless:

To have lightspeed senses
To forecast the opponent’s attacks
To know the theory behind a dodge
…

For this reason, after the initial preparation (read How to learn to fight: all the steps), the best thing to do is to correctly condition our muscle memory (read The muscle memory and Same exercises, different execution).

4 progressive conditioning drills to accustom our body to the basic “U” dodge motion

There are various kinds of dodges but it is important to start with the one that follows a path similar to the “U” letter; let’s see some helpful exercises to prepare us for this kind of movement.

Exercise 1:

Let’s take a 12 m rope and let’s find a free area of at least 7×2 m (it must allow fixing its 2 extremities)
Let’s hang the rope at the height of our ears (from the ground)
We simply have to move continuously to the right and then to the left of the rope (without interruptions)
The rule is that we cannot touch the rope but at the same time, we must try to not go too far from it (the closer we stay without being touched the better)
Let’s just flex our knees and tilt our head following a “U” motion (never losing the view of the rope with our sight)
We have to move first in the outside direction (to avoid the punch) and then, while going down, in the inside direction (to accelerate the movement)
Didactically, the rest of the body (in this first exercise version) must not get involved
Let’s start slowly but precisely focusing on balance (our weight must always remain directed towards the rope)
Let’s freely advance and step back along the line of the rope without turning our body (gradually we can go faster)
At each step, we have to dodge, let’s exhale out when we go down, let’s inhale when we get up (read The 6DKF’s combat breathing)
Let’s find rhythmic and stable movements but let’s avoid slowing our path with the inertia (in external directions)
Let’s assure to always be protected by our hands and forearms (never lowering our guard (read 10 most common errors in combat: solutions)

Exercise 2:

Same as exercise 1 but also inclining the torso in the dodge motion
We have to make the torso follow the head (but always without losing balance, read How to improve balance: tricks and exercises)

Exercise 3:

Same as exercise 2 but deeply bending the knees
Todo this we have to gradually lower the rope
We can lower the height of the rope only if we can maintain the same pace

Exercise 4:

Same as exercise 3 but every time we dodge we must perform an attack combination through either the rope (eg. 3 punches, read How to punch (simple explanation))

A note by Master kongling – For the Core Course practitioners: instead of a long rope, we can even connect more elastic ropes, the ones that we use in our basic preparation (read The basic equipment for training in 6DKF).

Improve the execution of the drills

A few details:

Let’s not forget to do stretching and warm-up before starting (read How to correctly perform stretching and How to correctly perform warm-up)
The exercises we have described are made to be performed together and in a cycle
Let’s do this exercises cycle for each involved element (neck, torso, knees) replacing / rotating each time the involved parts of the body
We can start from the knee, torso or neck but the torso must always be involved in exercise 2
To build real muscle memory conditioning, let’s perform for 5 minutes each cycle (eg. for a total of 30 minutes, 2 loops)
…

To increase the difficulty:

Let’s lower the rope gradually (let’s try to always maintain good speed and balance)
Let’s increase speed and explosive power to the limits (synchronizing our breathing with the motion)
As we improve we can wear more and more weights (eg. a weighted vest of 15-30 Kg, read The weighted vest)
If possible we can try to create a non-linear path with the rope (eg. with curves, obstacles, etc.) and / or swing the rope
…

Final notes

A few conclusive thoughts:

These exercises are useful both for beginners and experts, they teach us to refine each step of the dodge first individually, then together
Naturally, this is a single practice and not a complete preparation for dodging punches (and in any case, only sparring can convert a theoretical ability into an actual combat skill, read Martial arts sparring [MINI-GUIDE] and All the skills of 6 Dragons Kung Fu)
One of the peculiar physical differences that distinguish an amateur from a professional is the reactivity of the knees, let’s work on them intensely
It is important to condition ourselves with this practice before passing to other exercises (especially the ones with the pads where very often the training partner if not even the trainer is too gentle in letting us not be caught)
…

A note by Master Kongling – Regarding the last point, incredibly, I have seen it happening even among professional fighters.

In the next article of this series, we will continue the dodges discussion (read 4 exercises to become good at dodging punches) and then we will talk about kicks.

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – All the exercises that we use to build practical martial skills
Advanced speed and reflexes training – A video course to learn how to improve combat speed day by day
Combat mobility: how to – How to move efficiently in combat (speed, balance, tactics, etc.)
Static and dynamic balance: how to – How to build the capability that differentiates the beginner from the expert
Worst combat errors to avoid – The small mistakes that make us weaker than we could be almost without effort
Structures for combat: liquid, solid, fluid – How to practically implement the 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s theory about the interactions with the adversary’s action

In-depth articles

Self-defense: how to defend from a punch – The various types of reactions in a real self-defense scenario
5 wooden dummy drills / exercises ideal for beginners – How to start to develop confidence with the upper limbs

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

How do you feel your knees after an intense session?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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