Slap Yourself Silly: A Guide to Kenpo Karate

Slap! Slap! Slap! This is a sound that you will hear upon entering into an American Kenpo, Shaolin Long Fist, or various other styles of karate and kung fu's class. People seem to be slapping themselves while performing the techniques of this system. Have you ever wondered what they were really doing? Have you ever wondered if the martial artists themselves knew what they were doing?

In this article I will attempt to give ONE possible explanation f or this odd looking movement. Please understand that there are as many more explanations as there are stars in the heavens. This is not THE ANSWER for this rebounding motion, but instead it is MY ANSWER.

The Technique:
Observe a high ranking American Kenpo stylist and you might notice this person will appear to slap themselves, usually on the chest area, while performing the various hand techniques of the art. One hand will go out to strike the opponent, then rebound off their body and go out and strike the attacker again. This process gets repeated at very high speeds in a movement. Please understand that there are as many more explanations as there are stars in the heavens. This is not THE ANSWER for this rebounding motion, but instead it is MY ANSWER.

The Technique:
Observe a high ranking American Kenpo stylist and you might notice this person will appear to slap themselves, usually on the chest area, while performing the various hand techniques of the art. One hand will go out to strike the opponent, then rebound off their body and go out and strike the attacker again. This process gets repeated at very high speeds in a

· To rebound the technique off the body
· To minimize the harm done to the attacker (training partner)
· To indicate where the technique will land on the attacker by striking yourself in the same spot
· To ensure that the strike is given in a relaxed, whipping manner

Some people I spoke with had not idea why they did this motion in their forms.

My Reason for Slapping Myself:

I tend to view the martial arts from a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medical) viewpoint. I find value in the theory of Chi (Qi, Ki, parna, life-force, energy). I believe that there are several locations on the human body where the Chi can be affected. These areas are commonly called pressure points and the art of manipulating these areas can do by many names including: kyusho, dim-mak, vital point applications, hyul-dul, and a host of other names. It is from this tradition that I draw the following theory in regards to slapping yourself.

Try this simple experiment with a partner:

First, locate the pressure point called Lung One on yourself. This point is located where the arm and shoulder meet. It lies about one inch under the clavicle (collar bone) towards the arm. Press around with light, finger tip pressure until you find a painful spot. Now find the same pressure point on your partner using the same method of light, fingertip pressure.
Next, strike your partner in this area VERY LIGHTLY!!!! This strike is not a full cocked punch but instead more of a heavy push. Just give your partner a little tap and then ask them to remember the amount of pain they felt.

The next step is now to strike yourself in Lung One with a slapping motion and then rebound off that slap and strike your partner in Lung One. Again, please PLAY NICE and go not hit them hard. Ask your partner to remember the results of this strike and compare it to the first one. If you were on target the effects of the second strike (with the self slap) should be much greater.

This is due to the fact you are doing several things with this technique:

· You are maintaining a "soft body"

· You are executing a whip-like strike

· You are attacking a pressure point on the body (a cluster of nerves in this case)

· You are "programming" in your mind the exact location of Lung One on your partner by first striking there on yourself.

Try this out with several of your techniques to is if your results are not greatly improved. Remember, this technique is not for everyone or for every situation. This movement is greatly telegraphed if the attacker can see you slapping yourself or knows what you are doing. Only use this technique when you have the attacker in a position where they can not see you due to some obstruction in their line of sight or some movement of deception you have preformed.

Here is a good technique to try this combination on. It is the classic "Delayed Sword: from American Kenpo's curriculum.

Attacker reaches out with the right hand to grasp the collar or lapel of the defender. Defender steps back to perform a right inward block (strike) to the attackers radial nerve area.

Defender then steps into a cat stance and executes a low front snap kick to the attackers exposed abdomen, bladder, groin, or femoral artery region. This action will double the attacker over, obstructing the vision, allowing the time needed by the defender to perform the "self-slapping" motion before the follow-up strike. The defender then executes the self-slap and strikes at a target of opportunity.