THE 3 GEMS OF COMBAT; PART THREE RHYTHM

 by Phillip Starr

Rhythm is the third of the “three jewels of combat.” Rhythm is all around us. There are rhythms to everything; the seasons, relationships, even the chirping of the birds. And it applies to combat as well. Like Distance and Timing, Rhythm is broken down into 3 categories:

• Broken Rhythm: In Japanese, this is referred as “go no sen.” That is, you deliver your counter-blow AFTER the opponent has executed his attack. However, for your blow to land effectively, you must strike him in a half or quarter beat; before he is able to generate a second attack. This is learned initially in the practice of 3-step fight...If you ask most karate or taekwondo teachers about the purpose of 3-step fight, most of them will tell you that this familiar exercise, which confuses beginners and bores advanced students half to death, is intended primarily to teach the applications of various blocking techniques. They secondarily teach the application of basic striking, thrusting, and kicking techniques. This has become the “traditional” explanation because most people have been doing it this for generations. When beginners first learn to practice this form of kumite, it is very useful in teaching them basic applications of techniques as well as how to properly advance and retreat. Advanced students, however, rarely practice 3-step fight because they have acquired a good level of skill in these things.

  
  
  

But...3-step fight is also an exercise through which students learn about rhythm; they learn how to “break” the opponent's rhythm. This is a crucial aspect of kumite that is often overlooked. A detailed, illustrated explanation of this is provided in my book, “MARTIAL MANEUVERS.”

The next step is 1-step fight, which not only teaches evasive maneuvers and the applications of technique, but also a slightly more subtle (and hence, more difficult) method of learning to feel and respond to an opponent's rhythm. This is virtually impossible to do unless one has mastered the methods that are to be learned in 3-step fight. Only after achieving some appreciable skill in understanding rhythm via 1-step kumite, should one engage in vigorous jyu-kumite (freestyle sparring).

• Mutual Rhythm: Known in karate as 'sen no sen”, this involved striking the enemy AT THE SAME TIME THAT HE ATTACKS. This, of course, requires the ability to feel when the opponent attacks so that you can match your timing to his.

  

• Preceding Rhythm: This is what is known simply as “sen” or “sen sen no sen” in Japanese karate. When you sense that the opponent is about to attack; when you feel his mind give the command to attack, YOU STRIKE FIRST! Because his mind is in “attack mode”, the opponent cannot switch to “defense mode” and make an appropriate defensive maneuver or technique quickly enough. There is no escape; he's struck before he fully realizes what has happened. Learning to do this is no easy task and requires a great deal of practice. But it isn't some sort of mystical skill, either; it can be learned by training in a rigorous, progressive manner in two-person exercises shown in my book, “Martial Mechanics.”

  

No one rhythm is necessarily superior to another and most practitioners tend to specialize in just one. Each one requires a very fine sense of Distance and Timing. Without these two ingredients being mastered, mastery of any rhythm is not possible. Although I often present this material and training exercises for them in seminars that I teach, each student must practice relentlessly if they are to hope to achieve real skill. I can't give that to them (and I wouldn't if I could); it's up to them...