How to Throw Someone Who Is Punching You in Martial Arts
The most common punch you will see in a street fight is the wide-sweeping hook. Untrained fighters think this is a powerful weapon, but it rarely hits the mark or causes much damage to a trained martial artist. An effective way to counter a punch like this is with a throw. It uses the attacker's own momentum against him. A throw from a punch requires a minimum of effort, but calls for good timing and attention to technique.
- Difficulty:
- Challenging
Instructions
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1
Anticipate the wide-sweeping hook. Untrained fighters usually telegraph it long before actually throwing the punch. When an attacker rears back his dominant hand, turns his body and widens his eyes, he is about to swing at you.
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2
Raise your hands. You must prepare to meet the attacker's punch. Open both hands and bring them up and back, on the opposite side from where the attacker's punch is coming from. If the attacker is punching with her right hand, lift your hands up by your right ear.
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3
Step inside the attacker's punch. Your instincts may tell you to move away from the punch, but that is the worst thing you can do. All the power of a wide-sweeping hook is in the fist. If you stand back, you're asking to be hit by the fist. If you move inside, your attacker has very little power. Place your foot between and slightly in front of his feet.
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4
Strike the attacker's punching arm. Swing both your hands into the inside of the arm. Catch it above and below the elbow. These parts of the arm move slower and have less power than the fist. Stopping the punch there poses you no danger. Striking the punching arm also moves your head and body out of the way of the punch.
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5
Spin around. Move both your feet inside the attacker's feet, facing in the same direction as hers. Your right foot should be near the attacker's right foot and your left foot should be near her left foot. You are spinning in the same direction as your catch of the attacker's arm, so the spin is a natural motion.
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6
Bend your knees to drop your center of gravity. You must get your hips below your opponent's hips for the throw to work. They should be about as high as the middle of the attacker's thighs. Keep your back straight as you drop down.
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7
Move the hand closer to the attacker's shoulder around the outside of his arm. Grab his shoulder tight. Grasp his sleeve or wrist with your other hand.
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8
Pop your hips up by straightening both knees in an abrupt motion. At the same time, bend forward at your hips and pull hard with both hands. All these motions combined with the attacker's forward momentum from her punch will make her fly over the top of your body
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9
Pull the attacker's arm while he is flipping in midair. How hard you pull on his arm influences how he lands on the ground. If you pull his arm toward, you he will land on his back. If you pull his arm up, he will land more softly on his legs. Not pulling at all will make the attacker fall on his head.
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