Basic Blocks and Parries – Part 1
- John Russell
- Dec 25, 2014
- 2 min read
Single Stick and Emptyhand: Blocks and Parries
A block and it’s parry, is an attempt by a fighter to cover from and counteract an attack, to defend oneself.
The Block
The ‘Block’ against an attack, are your arms and hands actions, that are designed to meet and shield one, to obstruct the incoming force of an attack. With a single stick and emptyhand, the basic building blocks of Kali /Arnis/Escrima, (K/A/E), the defender forcefully pushes or directs their weapon and emptyhand out from the defender, towards the centre of mass of the attacker, to create a barrier between the fighters, to cover. The blocks are never allowed to move to a wide position, away from the attacker. The defender also, never straightens the elbows or moves their cover to a wide position away from their head, body and limbs, as this would leave gaps in their defence. The defender allows the attacking weapon to come into their premium defence area or towards their own centre of mass. If the attack is going to miss, why travel out of the defence area? Never follow the stick/weapon, as it is only one part of the whole human threat.
The Parry
The ‘Parry’ is an element or component of the blocking. Parrying is a movement of defence to ward off a blow, where the person turns aside by twisting their body/trunk/torso, ducks their head or even lowers their body position through the bending of the knees, to evade with their whole body. Used in conjunction with their footwork the fighter averts or avoids a contact from the attack strike, with the help of the forcefully pushed out block.
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