| This is the third in a series on martial arts striking | | | | mirrored to the left. Depending on the level of the |
| combinations used as choreography in cardio | | | | class it might be good to introduce the sequences |
| kickboxing. As said, a key difference between a | | | | half time then double them up to tempo. Devote |
| trained martial artist and a streetfighter is that | | | | equal time to right and left-leg forward positions. |
| the martial artist reflexively hits in sequences of | | | | Now lets look at what can be done with another |
| three or four moves. The instinctive reaction isn't | | | | basic sequence, this one from Kickboxing. The |
| just a one-move event - it's a more effective | | | | second basic sequence also starts from boxer's |
| practiced sequence of strikes. One punch or kick | | | | stance with, in this case, the left leg forward - |
| is easy to defend against, but three or four | | | | Jab, Cross, Jab, Guard |
| thrown in a row can be very difficult to deal with. | | | | Do four times then change the Guard to a Knee - |
| This reflexive reaction of hitting in sequences is | | | | Jab, Cross, Jab, Lead-leg Knee |
| only learned through lots of repetition and drills, | | | | Do four times then change the Knee to a Front |
| performing sequences over and over until it is an | | | | Kick - |
| automatic reflex. Cardio kickboxing is an ideal way | | | | Jab, Cross, Jab, Lead-leg Front Kick |
| to do this. In fact many of the patterns in cardio | | | | Now shift 45 degrees to the right, do the |
| kickboxing are drawn from such drills. | | | | sequence once, then shift 90 degrees to the left |
| In this article, let's start with looking at some | | | | (45 degrees to the left of the front) and do once, |
| variations on a simple boxing sequence. We are | | | | then shift 90 degrees to the right and do once, |
| going to see that a lot of variety can be had | | | | shift left and do once, and so on. The trick here is |
| from a single sequence. Start out using a boxer's | | | | to turn during the kick. Depending on the class |
| stance position, feet shoulder width apart and with | | | | you might want to go back to a knee instead of |
| left foot forward. The sequence is - | | | | a kick for the turn. Cue the shifts verbally (turn |
| Jab, Jab, Jab, Cross | | | | to the right corner of the room, turn to the left |
| Now add some spice. Instead of three straight | | | | corner) and by, just before you start moving 45 |
| jabs, vary the pattern to - | | | | degrees off angle, pointing in the direction you are |
| Jab-up, Jab-down, Jab-middle, and Cross | | | | shifting to. |
| Repeat 4-8 times. Now add some movement - | | | | After doing this four to eight times tell people 'we |
| Going back to a straight jab, look 90 degrees | | | | are going to keep going' and instead of switching |
| right and shuffle right leg first three steps to the | | | | back and forth, continue in one direction, after 4 |
| side - | | | | shifts winding up where you started. Circle this |
| Right Jab Shuffle, Right Jab Shuffle, Right Jab | | | | way four times. |
| Shuffle, and Left Cross | | | | Then reverse your stance and repeat the |
| Immediately face and shuffle left with the same | | | | sequence on the other side. |
| sequence on the other side - | | | | A simple variation on this would be to change the |
| Left Jab Shuffle, Left Jab Shuffle, Left Jab | | | | third strike from a Jab to a Lead Hook - |
| Shuffle, and Right Cross | | | | Jab, cross, lead hook, cover |
| Repeat shuffling back and forth four or eight | | | | Jab, cross, lead hook, lead knee |
| times. An optional variation would be to add four | | | | Jab, cross, lead hook, lead front kick |
| forward punches after the cross on each side. I | | | | Again it might be appropriate to introduce the |
| say punch because after the shuffle-cross, your | | | | sequences half time then double them up. Devote |
| legs will be square to the front so there isn't a | | | | equal time to right and left-leg forward positions. |
| difference between a Jab and a Cross. With the | | | | The basic standing versions of all of these |
| added punches, the sequence is - | | | | sequences work equally well on the bags. After |
| Right Jab Shuffle, Right Jab Shuffle, Right Jab | | | | you get the progressions down, start inter-mixing |
| Shuffle, and Left Cross. Right punch, Left punch, | | | | the combinations together in different patterns to |
| Right punch, Left Punch | | | | present something different every class. |
| Then reverse and do the same sequence build | | | | |