Why & How We Straight Blast RAT / JKD

In this video I'll explain why and how we use the straight blast in Rapid Assault Tactics and Jeet Kune Do.
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Brian
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[@user-nu8in3ey8c]

This is the best video I have seen to date on the straight blast, even better than Paul Vunaks original discussion of it. Describing how the motion (unlike the wing chun version) is meant to push the attacker's attacker's hands(and strikes) down and out the way while at the same time attacking the opponent. Liked and subscribed.

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

Thanks for the kind words. I stand on the shoulders of giants and continue to refine what I was taught. Paul taught me, Dan taught Paul, and Bruce taught Dan.

[@user-nu8in3ey8c]

@@BrianCopelandJKD I found that in the Martial Arts communities online the RAT system gets very little love, in fact it did not even have a subreddit on reddit. (Even Akido has a subreddit) So I created one, and I linked your KZbin channel and Straight Blast video as URLs (they should be links rather than embeds, so that people have to visit KZbin and add to the view count). Cheers!

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

@@user-nu8in3ey8c Cheers mate!

[@SifuJackSoderberg]

Nice video iam a close friend and student of Guru Danny inosanto. From chicago. Vegas. Studied with Guru Dan 1980s. In chicago. Many seminars. Sifu jack. Tibetan Lama kung fu. Kali

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

My pleasure. Danny is a legend.

[@user-nu8in3ey8c]

I see most systems that use the straight blast are for unarmed confrontations. If one or both parties have a knife Is it possible to preform a straight blast with a knife in your hand? It would seem that would allow you to smash(or cut) down their arms and hands(including the one that is holding their knife) and effectively overwhelm the opponent. The straight blast is very powerful, surely using a knife would make it even more powerful. What are your thoughts on this?

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

Yes you are correct, straight blasting with a knife would have the same effect of overwhelming someone's ability to react and of course have the damage output that the knife can cause. Straight blasting with or without a knife into someone holding a knife is a more nuanced topic. It can be done and depending on the circumstance could be the correct tactic but I usually advise a different tactic such as "defanging the snake" or fencing from long range. But once against certain circumstance can demand we change tactics.

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

@@user-nu8in3ey8c Hmm I'd have to see the move you are talking about to answer better. But if the defang move worked a the opponent no longer is armed and has a soft tissue injury in many cases the fight might be over. If not then I'd generally recommend a series of rapid slash / strikes at a hybrid angle 2/5. Sort of like flicking your jab hand out. If you have a video you can link to I can perhaps make a response video to it...

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

@@user-nu8in3ey8c I may not address everything but here are some thoughts. I don't really use unarmed nerve guntings / limb deadenings for the reason you listed. In my experience using any type of pain compliance only works against wimpy people or in a sparring setting. You are correct that in most knife assaults you will initially be unarmed since it is probably an ambush. You might have a weapon but you need a way to make space to draw your weapon. Knife vs knife I prefer to stay on the outside and defang or strike closest target. Space is a factor. If there is no space then trap the angle of their attack while rapid striking the best target to end the fight (throat usually). Aikido... oh boy... LOL I would only straight blast someone with a knife if I didn't have the option to stay on the outside and be a fencer. While the straight blast is super effective at overwhelming someone's reaction time you still would be aggressively rushing into a bladed weapon so it is all about risk vs reward. There are situations where I might. In a small room with no weapon of my own to use. One of my clients actually had to do this. He straight blasted, Thai clenched, did a head throw, went to a scarf hold and was able to isolate the knife arm and hold the attacker until the police arrived. Risky but he had not much choice and it worked. Cheers

[@user-nu8in3ey8c]

@@BrianCopelandJKD Thank you for the timely and thoughtful response. Yeah that was my biggest concern with the unarmed version of gunting/limb deadening. I also definitely agree if I don't have a knife, and am not cornered, I would try to push off of their closest arm and get away, or if I see them coming, get away to draw a better weapon. One of my main concerns was the risk of being cornered, which I am glad to hear that the straight blast managed to work as well as it did against a knife ambush.

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

@@user-nu8in3ey8c Cheers!

[@pbaxter6165]

Simple presentation well done

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

Glad you liked it

[@tpap6827]

To recap when an attacker closes the distance and gets in your face (1) step back and to the side bringing both ✋✋ up in a defensive posture loudly stating in a whimpering voice please don't hurt me, you are scaring me then out of nowhere ,2) jam your 👎 in his 👁️ of 🤞 in his neck 🧣 or drive a tight 👊 into his solar plexus, then without hesitation 3) straight blast while moving forward with rapid palm strikes rising up and into his throat, chin, 👃 timing the impact of the strike with you foot 🦶 landing between his legs uprooting him d sending him backpedaling like an uncoordinated moron so that his appearance matches up with his character, when he looks totally off balance grab his lapels or shoulders with both hands yanking him into a vicious headbutt before slamming him out the ground and running ovet him. EXTRA CREDIT-use yo iur left hand to grab the back of his head and your right palm under his chin and suddenly twist his head by pulling down and spinning and pushing his chin up on a diagnol. Think of rapidly loosening a stuck bokt with a wrench by holding the 🔧 down and in place with your left hand while pushing the end of the wrench up with your right hand palm facing you. Simply twist counter clockwise with maximum force. Then go home safe to your family and thank God for leading you to this comment so that you and your law abiding friends can practice diligently and safely hoping some scumbag never makes you fear for your safety to the extent where use of extreme force is both necessary and justified. Saving yourself or another is the only priority at the moment. Let your lawyer talk to the cops and you simply keep your mouth shut. Talking to the cops will only be used to put you in jail for harming a person who's dad was verbally abusive to his mom for expressing herself sexually with men who were good listeners. .

[@tpap6827]

Favorite follow up is by far the head but but it won't work from the Thai clinch if your straight blast ( successive centerline punched have made a solid connection with your targets face (ideally your hips are lower than your targets hips so in addition to moving forward your steps (rapid forward footwork are moving brtw , see while you are moving forward between your opponents legs while he is trying to moving backwards to avoid the explosive attack (ie he's back pedalling, losing his balance -,his feet Are no longer firmly rooted on the ground with good weight distribution creating a solid, stable base that is critical to producing force and utilizing strength). Suppose your target invades your personal space (the equivalent of "getting in your face" so that his nose 👃 is very close to yours (most guys who are trying to intimidate their victim do this to overwhelm him emotionally so that he is paralyzed with fear which makes controlling him mentally or physically much easier And more likely. When. this happens immediately take a big step back and to the side with the hands open 👐 and fingers relaxed as if you are saying hey take it easy man I don't have any problem with you, I am not looking for trouble, you are frightening me or other things guaranteed to either cause the guy to feel macho because you are seeming scared and kissing his ass. By stepping back and slightly to the side you are out positioning him by. Controlling his centerline. If he steps forward (1) quickly finger jab his eyy or throat or drive a straight punch into his solar plexus (,if you are trained and know how to drive a hard straight punch, the fight could be over right then because the pain of getting hit in the upper gut just below the sternum where the ribs meet is one of the worst areas to get hit (even with low power because of the nerves in this area, and because it will force all the air out of the lungs, so that the recipient of this strike won't be able to breathe in for several seconds, because the lungs require a certain amount of air in them to allow one to inhale. Therefore, when the wind is knocked out of you recovery will take at least a couple of minutes. But I digress, the after making your preemptive strike (2) sink your weight by bending your knees and (3) begin delivering you straight blast as you you run directly towards his centerline using your strikes to * uproot him and get him standing on his tippie toes. NOTE If you sprint him too fast you're go oing to run out of space so as you practice and get better at it try to *time the connection of your palm with you front foot biting the ground between his legs or stepping. On his feet causing him to fall backwards. In any event (4) Finish the fight with a vicious headbutt by either grabbing his lapels if he is wearing a coat or button up shit, pulling him towards you in a jerking motion while leaning towards him driving the top of your head into his face which will be coming towards you in a whipping motion dramatically increasing the effect because yanking him towards you after getting hit so many times he will be a rag doll and his weakened neck will cause a whiplash motion with his face colliding with your head meaning smashed nose, smashed lips and probably biting his tongue off, not to mention that he will have a massive concussion, so hold him up if you are in a bar so he doesn't hit his head on the floor (after thst attack the odds of him smashing his head on the floor and dying from brain swelling and cerebral hemorrhage are too high to risk it). On the street where you must get away quickly, and guarantee that the guy doesn't weather the attack and pull a gun after the headbutt throw him down and run,

[@nmr20067]

A very well known street combatives teacher and online influencer, Lee Morrison said the straight blast is a waste and ineffective. Lee said because it does not KO the attacker. I don’t agree or disagree, but can someone who is a proponent of it respond to Lee Morrison criticisms of the straight blast? I was taught a variation of the straight blast by a JKD instructor I had private lessons with almost ten years ago. My personal observation is you definitely need cardio for it!

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

I don't know enough about Lee Morrison's reason for not liking the straight blast to be able to rebut his criticism of it. I've seen the S.B. KO people. One of my students KO'ed some people with it when he was jumped. Vitor Belfort KO'ed Wanderlei Silva with a S.B. in UFC 17.5. BUT it isn't meant to KO it is meant to overwhelm and close the distance from lunging range into clenching range. It keeps the opponent flinching while you enter. If you have any more insights into why he doesn't like it I might be able to address them.

[@MustAfaalik]

@@BrianCopelandJKD I subscribed & thank you for your other ideas. Your student was lucky to put your SB into effect. It is called chain punching only because each punch is followed by another, and not the way it is executed "like peddling a bicycle". The correct way has potential KO effect without telegraphing & exhausting, for sure.

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

@@MustAfaalik My pleasure

[@AK_UK_]

If you do use your knuckles for the straight blast - which should you use...?

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

If you want to use them it is classically taught with a vertical fist and I'd have the intent to use the middle 2 knuckles as they have the most structural integrity.

[@user-nu8in3ey8c]

@@BrianCopelandJKD The original RAT videos I have from Vunak showed a similar movement to push people's hands out of the way in his straight blast, but I saw one of his straight blasts looked like lots of tiny downward hammerfist strikes, almost like a speedbag. Wouldn't that be soft on the hands as well, since the bottom "meat" of the hammerfist does most of the contact with the opponent's (former) face? Wouldn't that pack more of a "punch" than leaving the hands open? Or would the impact difference be negligible?

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

@@user-nu8in3ey8c Great question! A straight blast with hammer fists landing on the meat would protect the hands and they might hit harder than (or at least as hard as) palms. I have found that the hammer fist motion for me feels a bit awkward to make happen. If I keep my forearms vertical (elbows tucked in close) I end up hitting with my pinky knuckle which is the one that will most likely break. I can solve this by keeping my forearms horizontal (elbows flared out to the sides) but then I nearly punch myself in the face when I do the blast. Feel free to experiment with using hammer fists and if you can make it work for you then you are gold. There is an old video with Vunak (might have been the one you saw) where he straight blasts and breaks his hand while filming (whoops!) He was blasting a motorcycle helmet but the human skull is just as hard. He comes back in the next scene with a cast on his hand.

[@user-nu8in3ey8c]

@@BrianCopelandJKD I vaguely remember that, apparently he has broken his hands a couple of times, though he has done that motion very often. It is funny that you mention the flared elbows, because when I tried to do what Vunak did on the old tapes that is what I ended up doing, flaring my elbows. It was effective, but I also almost punched myself in the face. Seems like there are pros and cons to both methods. Vunak's original vhs tape(and now the DVD version) has the section that shows you how to do the straight blast, but he actually shows two different straight blasts. One is the chain punch landing on the knuckles, and his next one later in the video is the hammer-fist one, which while it looks weird seemed safer, perhaps he went back to that one later in the tapes because his hands were hurting from earlier filming sessions. Thank you for your timely reply!

[@BrianCopelandJKD]

@@user-nu8in3ey8c You are welcome

[@kenkeener6809]

My sweetheart likes to surprise attack me like Kato on the Pink Panther 😂. When I flinch spear and straight blast, she runs and laughs. Now, I taught her what to do. I play it on her and she responds well. Now she’s an even safer flight attendant 💪 I like to follow up with the clich and washing machine tactic. Pull the neck and head down, spin and disorient, then elbow for possible knockout. Seriously, this works very well. I demonstrated with some guys at my old security job and they were impressed by the simplicity and effectiveness. A confident person is a calmer peaceful person 🙏