Blocking – Brutally Simplistic Triangle Blast Fight Move

Blocking strikes in a self defense situation is almost always a losing game. If an attacker is taking the initiative and continues to force you to react to his strikes you have very little opportunity to end the conflict on your terms. That’s why this simple triangle strike is so effective. It not only blocks an attacker’s punch, but the force of the block/strike will make the attacker react to you, not the other way around.

When used correctly this fight move puts you in control and forces your attacker on his heels. The best part is, this move relies on basic skills that can be learned quickly and easily, and doesn’t rely on size or strength.

As John Nottingham explains in the video this move is based on the strength of the triangle. With your hands together and arms locked out you can create a sort of human battering ram to drive your attacker off balance and do some serious damage wherever you strike.

The secret to making this work is keeping your arms locked out and putting your body weight behind the strike. Keeping your arms locked out is pretty self-explanatory so we’ll focus on how you put your body weight behind this fight move. Utilizing your body weight means you want to step into your attacker, lean forward, and essentially fall into him with your body weight driving into him. Your front leg will then be there to catch you as the attacker is driven backwards. You can see this in the slow motion segments at the end of the video.

As mentioned in the video there are several targets you can direct this fight move towards. The shoulder is a great target for stopping an attacker’s punch, but it won’t necessarily be a fight ender. Also as far as blocking the punch goes, simply having your arms in the triangle configuration will protect your head and neck from a punch. Since you aren’t too worried about the punch, driving this move into his head or neck would be a better choice. In most cases this will also take the power out of his punch, but has the added benefit of being a potential fight ender.

Of course as Mr. Nottingham said in the video never assume that this move alone will end the fight. You will need to follow this self defense move up with a barrage of strikes at high value targets. Only stop when it is clear the attacker is no longer a threat, or you have enough time to escape.

To see more of John Nottingham’s simple, easy to learn, self defense techniques (including some great follow-ups to the move above) check out his VIPER Street Combat training system.