The Hockey Grab and Punch
What makes the hocky-style grab and punch so effective is three fold:
However there are some problems with the old hockey grab and punch…
The 1st is that you can break your hand because people often duck their head and thus you end up striking your knuckles against their dense and hard frontal or parietal bones of their skull.
The 2nd is that people can still turn away and duck. And if you take an overhand or haymaker path punch you will often miss. If you do connect then once again you will be striking the top of their head.
It would be far superior to strike their jaw if you want a knockout.
How to Improve the Hockey Grab and Punch for the Street
Well first off we will use our palm heel instead of our fist.
Simple enough, you can hit any part of their face, head, neck, etc without worrying about breaking your hand.
And I’ve got to tell you… if you are in a fight, especially against multiple attackers, if you break your hand… you are screwed!
Second instead of using a haymaker we will use a straight rear hand. Come from a slightly lower angle up to their head.
This will make it harder for them to duck away. It also makes it more likely that you will strike them in the jaw. Even if they duck you will still hit their face or temple area.
Third you can actually pull as you strike, then push them away as you chamber for the next strike.
This will help to keep them off-balance so they can’t mount up a defense or attack of their own.
Another tip is to try to find a balance between power and speed. If you favor big huge powerful strikes by winding up and unleashing bombs then the other person might find time to defend or launch their own attack.
If you fire off super rapid short strikes you will keep pressure on them but the strikes may not cause a knockout due to lack of power.
Experiment and find a nice balance where you can hit both hard and rapidly.
How to Get the Hockey Grab and Punch
If you watch modern hockey players they will throw their gloves off and skate around each other with one hand out a little ready to block or grab and the other ready to strike.
The guys who train for it are pretty good at ducking and countering and finding the angles. I used to train at a gym where pro hockey players would practice fighting like this.
But here is the thing… that is very specific for how they fight on ice.
You can’t just walk up to a street thug with one hand out looking to grab his collar or hair while chambering the other hand back… you will likely end up eating a lot of punches on the way in.
So you still need your martial arts skills (your parries, blocks, lead entry strikes, etc.)
However you make your entry, once you are close enough to clench you can do the new modified hockey-style grab and punch.
But What Do I Grab?
You have to grab something that doesn’t move or stretch.
Your opponent’s hair, the lapel of a jacket, a scarf, or a tie are all great for holding someone in place while you fire off rapid punches.
A t-shirt or anything that stretches really won’t be of any use.
Integrating the Hockey Grab and Punch into Rapid Assault Tactics
Rapid Assault Tactics is a simple concept.
Entry > Pressure > Termination
So you create your entry using your kickboxing range skills.
You apply pressure usually with a straight blast right down their centerline.
And most often you would terminate in clenching range using a Thai clench.
Well in this case just simple swap out your Thai clench for the new modified hockey grab and punch.
If things go wrong such as you don’t get a good grip or what you are grabbing tears or stretches then just release, straight blast again (pressure keeps them off-balance), and then Thai clench like always.
Conclusion
If you want to win against violence then be simple, direct, and efficient with how you fight.
Adding in complexity is a recipe for disaster.
The modified hockey grab and punch can be integrated into the RAT easily. If you train it then you will find it in a fight.
Which reminds me… go find a school and train. Become a part of the warrior class and walk with confidence.
Until next time,
Brian
