Arrowhead Martial Arts Studio Blog

Martial Arts Training Tips, Ideas, and Random Thoughts

About the Author: Ryan Wheaton has been teaching American Kenpo since 1991 and is the chief instructor at Arrowhead Martial Arts Studio in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He is an internationally certified 6th degree black belt and personal student of 10th degree black belt Paul Mills.
Ryan authored a free guide for adults on How to Choose the Right Martial Arts School, produces a monthly newsletter, and also offers a free martial arts trial program for one week.
In addition, he sits on the Board of Directors for the American Kenpo Karate International (AKKI) and is also a regular seminar presenter at AKKI National & International events.

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7/13/2005

Kenpo’s 2 x4 - Are You On The Right Path?

Filed under: Martial Arts Training — Ryan Wheaton

If you saw the movie “Walking Tall” you know what a 2 x 4 can do. However, for the average Joe, carrying around a big piece of wood just isn’t practical. So what’s the alternative?

Instead, swing Kenpo’s built in 2 x 4: the path of action.

Think of the path as Kenpo’s “Blue Light Special” where you try and get (at least) a “two for one special” out of each move you do.

To help you get this down, use upper and lower case action in all you do so you can maximize the whole path and not just a piece of it. It helps keep you opponent in check and stops them dead in their tracks. Plus, it helps you stike more surface area, thus doing more damage.

The yellow belt curriculum is chalk full of how to move correctly with the path. The question is, are you maximizing it everywhere you can?

While this is somewhat regulated by distance, you should try and take advantage of any offensive or defensive opportunity that presents itself. Best of all, its is a little easier to conceal … and you can carry it with you everywhere.

The opposite of “path of action” is a “line of action”, which, as luck would have it, will be a topic of an upcoming post.

Are you on the right path?

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