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During a conversation someone mentioned Keysi Fighting Method. A fighting method originated in Spain during the 50’s? Didn’t think much about it until I saw some KFM video clips.
Looks kind of goofy at first but after looking into it a bit more you see how much sense many of the moves make.
Mostly the idea of hitting with your elbows as you cover your head, something that I’m sure came instinctively to the system´s creator during his street fights. Natural and instinctive is good. Hitting with the elbows while covering the head protecting from punches coming all around you, a few head butts thrown into it, seems like something worth checking out.
Apparently some KFM moves are being incorporated to MMA instruction and are being taught in some military forces for very close combat.
The stunt coordinator (Jujutsu world champion Buster Reeves) used some KFM in the fighting scenes of The Dark Night and Batman Begins. Its also used in that weird final fighting scene by Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III.
Never heard of it before and wanted to share it with you because it seems to incorporate some legitimate street fighting moves.
Take care and happy Easter!
FerFAL
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Looks kind of goofy at first but after looking into it a bit more you see how much sense many of the moves make.
Mostly the idea of hitting with your elbows as you cover your head, something that I’m sure came instinctively to the system´s creator during his street fights. Natural and instinctive is good. Hitting with the elbows while covering the head protecting from punches coming all around you, a few head butts thrown into it, seems like something worth checking out.
Apparently some KFM moves are being incorporated to MMA instruction and are being taught in some military forces for very close combat.
The stunt coordinator (Jujutsu world champion Buster Reeves) used some KFM in the fighting scenes of The Dark Night and Batman Begins. Its also used in that weird final fighting scene by Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III.
Never heard of it before and wanted to share it with you because it seems to incorporate some legitimate street fighting moves.
Take care and happy Easter!
FerFAL
Join the forum discussion on this post
16 comments:
"Keysi" may be a new name, but study of Mui Thai will teach you well how to use the elbows in close up situations. As a weapon, with the sharp bone at the joint, and solid length of bone above and below it (two on the lower arm), it's ideal for up close and personal defense. The power of the shoulder and upper back muscles, the short distance-to-target striking distance allowing tremendous speed, the elbow truly is an amazing weapon for those in position to use it. Targets can range from shin to top of the head and, when used as a block for either hand/arm or foot/leg, can be crippling to an opponent.
Shy III
Most H2H fights I've seen or been unlucky enough to experience end up on the ground within a couple seconds, and on the ground it seems difficult to land strikes of enough power to end a fight.
The fight then becomes either and endurance game, a wrestling game, or a choke-hold, eye-gouge game. Short of getting a solid shot at testicles, eyes, throat, or ear drums, decisive events seem difficult.
Is this incorrect?
It seems to share a lot in common with Filipino martial arts (Eskrima/Arnis/Kali)... Which wouldn't be suprising, considering the colonial history of Spain.
David said...
Most H2H fights I've seen or been unlucky enough to experience end up on the ground within a couple seconds, and on the ground it seems difficult to land strikes of enough power to end a fight.
The fight then becomes either and endurance game, a wrestling game, or a choke-hold, eye-gouge game. Short of getting a solid shot at testicles, eyes, throat, or ear drums, decisive events seem difficult.
Is this incorrect?
mm.. its a mix of things. A fight can end up in the ground and that's where a wrestler or grappler will try to take it. Then again, KO power of putting a fist in someone's face and knocking his lights out shouldn't be underestimated. Covering yourself as shown in these vidoes is of critical importance in generalized growls. In those cases going to the ground is a death sentecne, no matter how good you are because its not going to be fiar, you'll get stomped. COvering yorself, throwing punches and elbows to keep people away is better. A solid elbow to the neck, or jaw can be a effective fight stopper.
FerFAL
It is important to differentiate between a fight and a self-defense situation. Don't expect to H2H fight 3 people trying to rob you. I don't care if you're an uber ninja of death, unless you have weapons those three guys are gonna win.
When I was younger a fight was a fight between two people and it was never anything serious. These days I see fights where the objective is to injure the other person and there is ALWAYS a buddy or two to help out. Going to the ground invariably means getting kicked in the head. It just isn't like it used to be.
If there are people around and most of them aren't your friends, don't get into a fight.
"When I was younger a fight was a fight between two people and it was never anything serious. These days I see fights where the objective is to injure the other person and there is ALWAYS a buddy or two to help out. Going to the ground invariably means getting kicked in the head. It just isn't like it used to be."
The nature of fighting - especially in today's USA - has indeed changed, and has definitely taken on a racial component. Now, violent crimes/assaults are being committed in public avenues where it would have been previously unthinkable to do so only a few short years ago.
This alarming trend is totally attributable to political correctness, as it has emboldened the thug elements in American society with anger, and has enabled them to strike out with open impunity since they fear no real consequences for their actions.
Submitted for your disapproval, here is some cell phone footage taken of the latest incident in an American McDonald's restaurant:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ec0_1303444048
Unfortunately, I fear this alarming trend will continue to get worse in American society, as the thugs now know they are federally protected; and if confronted by them the use of possibly lethal self-defense on your part might not even be an option, as it could very well get you in more legal trouble than the vermin who are attacking you.
Hopefully, better security will be employed by these businesses in the future to deal with this growing threat to their paying clientele, before their venues are completely turned into gladiatorial arenas. Until then, I'll just stay home...
Sorry, meant to also add this link to my previous post.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=009_1272026552
Just one more example to illustrate the problem we're dealing with - unfortunately there's no shortage of these examples.
Elbows are great to attack, but the biggest problem with a defense of the hands being high like that is if you ever fight anyone who even has just a few months of actual boxing training under their belt. I have personally seen others do this, and have used basic body combos to the body myself to destroy people attempting to use their hands up high.
Once the hands come down, then the person is really lost because they haven't trained to block body shots or are used to them, so their brain scrambles pretty quickly and then they don't defend head shots.
For those who haven't been hit in the ribs/solar plexus/kidney/liver with someone who actually knows how to punch, it is ten times worse than being punched in the face.
Against the average person it would probably be ok though.
If you guard up high, then bend forward at the waist (so you're sort of in a crouch), aren't you putting your body far enough away from the attacker to prevent body blows?
I would think that if they closed in to punch your ribs, your elbows would be right in their face ready to smash them.
In any event, going up against a trained *anything* --boxer or otherwise--is going to suck. Fighting is no fun, because even if you win, you still will have some injuries to deal with along with the law, the other guy's buddies retaliating, etc.
If you have no choice, however, do what you got to do.
The nice thing about this method is that it priviliges using the head, shoulder and elbows as weapons. Something unusual and difficult to defend against due to the level of surprise and speed it enables. As a byproduct this creates a fighting method used in very close distances. Although not ideal for sport fighting, in criminal encounters and against multiple opponents this is realistically the safest area one can be in, enabling you to use your opponents body as a shield against your other attackers.
I can see the stance and very close strikes of this method very useful against weapons like wrenches and crowbars where protecting your head and moving out of that weapons striking distance is your best bet. Grabbing a knife/gun also requires you to move in close.
Defending yourself against being tackled (perhaps aikido?) would be useful since that will be the main aim of any criminal group wanting to bring you down via hand to hand. (get you on the floor then kick you) Knowledge of vitals to strike to get out of holds and bearhugs meant to restrict your mobility are also essential.
Unless your enemy is good at kneeing, (unlikely) he won't be making any bodyshots as he'll be too busy getting head butted and elbowed (at minimum). All moves they don't allow in boxing.
Also punching with the fists against the head turns me off due to the danger of breaking a hand. (Your not wearing gloves remember) Something very important not only in the present (holding a gun, knife, mobile phone, opening a door, restraining someone, climbing over stuff etcetera) but also the immediate future, like keeping ones job or being able to do work. (writing, typing, lifting, operating) It's basically a very crippling injury.
I personally would only use the hand to strike against vital soft targets like the eyes, throat, groin, solar plexus. A palm strike against the head is as far as I'd go. Nice thing about the keysi method is that it appears to give one options on using the elbows/head instead of the hands to strike the head, which in addition to being less likely to be injured also appear to be able to hit harder, faster and in a less vulnerable stance.
I am reminded of when Indiana Jones shoots the swordsman.
If you have time to get your hands up on your head and start windmilling your elbows around, then you have time to draw your weapon. I suggest it is more beneficial to train in ways that allows you enough space to draw your weapon.
No illusions: You aren't going to ninja the gun away from the guy pointing it at your chest. He's going to shoot you. You aren't going to win an altercation with 2-3 guys who are used to physical combat. They are going to tackle you and stomp on your head.
Your one hope is the weapon that you are carrying. Focus on ways to get that out and into action. Creating distance is important; being able to draw and fire with either hand is important. Being able to avoid deadly injury (while probably suffering pretty bad injury) is important.
Nolan Indiana Jones was only a movie. :-)
About the gun to the chest, in just two hours an average person can learn a simple disarm move, that's why you dont press the gun against the other person or even stay too close, but better to be a few feet away when keeping him at gunpoint.
FerFAL
Right. I am assuming that the person holding a gun to your chest isn't a complete idiot and has played the armed robbery game before.
#anonymous April 23, 2011 4:58 PM: A person under attack has a natural tendency to bend forward at the waist... something I work real hard at trying to get them to do when fighting them. It is a natural posture for someone unconsciously or consciously defending their vital soft areas from attack, but it is important to train against this reaction. Once I have a person bent at the waist, there's all sorts of interesting and painful things I can do to them while they are off balance. One simply cannot move as fast while bent over. I have actually bent over to get my opponent to try to make a head strike on me, because i had a surprise in store for him... but it was more like a quick dip as part of a weave or sideways move.
At any rate, run some youtube videos of fights to see if you still feel about doubling over as you do now. Good luck -CapnRick
As a veteran cop for over 20 years Keysi makes sense to me and I will look into it. I have been in fights in my career and my boxing and grappling skills saved my ass many times from violent people. The key to any self defense training is to expect your attacker to fight dirty using whatever he or she has learned on the streets or prison to beat, maim or kill you.
The second is to be strong and fit. Do you know why prison inmates lift weights and exercise almost daily in prison, its because in prison the strongest will survive or avoid an attack/rape. The same principle applies in the streets we live in. So if you are a 100 pound weakling thinking that your concealed knife or gun is going to save you; be prepared to have it shoved down your throat and getting stomped on.
Third, any of you have a daily training regimen for at least 30 minutes. Are you lifting free weights and doing exercises like deadlfts, power cleans, presses, curls, rows, pullups, dips, farmer walks, and sprints.
if you look strong and powerful most criminals will leave you alone because you will look like at bad ass dude that will stomp their ass.
I would like to suggest Systema (russian martial art)training, one of the few if not the only fighting systems that contemplates all kinds of situations, confined spaces, water group fights etc..their approach is also most interesting and I believe fits the general lines of this blog. Advising against narrow mindedness and rigidity much like Ferfal allways does. Congrats for the blog and the book success.
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