There is a great deal of emphasis on being bigger and stronger in the western world. The concept of “might is right” has been around for a long time. While there is some truth to size and strength winning over structure and technique in extreme cases, like the play fight between Conor McGregor and The Mountain, martial arts, and specifically traditional martial arts, have always suggested that structure, proper body positioning, and technique will win over brute force most times. Is this true? Let’s analyse this.
First, we have to look at what structure means. What is structure in this context? What is proper body positioning? Are there benefits to aligning the body properly that would outweigh being able to bench press 300lbs. Does this argument just take us back to a previous article where we discussed the power vs speed debate? To recap that, typically and with only few exceptions, as power goes up, speed decreases, and vice versa. Usually, boxers are not knocked out by a jab. Jabs are fast, set ups to a much more powerful punch. They are a distraction. Conversely, when someone winds up to throw everything they have into a punch, if you are paying attention, you can usually see it coming a mile away. However, the structure versus strength argument isn’t really the same thing.
If you have proper body alignment, can it make up for a lack of physical strength? For example, I have never thought of myself as a strong person. I spent most of my life not being able to do more than 2 chin ups in a row. My body mass to strength ratio was not particularly good. However, I know how to throw a punch. I would fold a 200 lbs, six-foot-long, heavy bag just about every time I hit it, and definitely every time I chose to. So, what was that? Where did that power come from?
Some styles call it a “Force Arc”, boxers call it “Kinetic Linking”, whatever you call it, it boils down to using your body’s alignment and structure in the most efficient way, to deliver the most powerful strike possible. When you punch, you don’t want to just use your arm, it looks silly and has no real power. One demonstration I use with my beginning students is to go to a wall. Square up to it, feet, hips, and shoulders all facing the wall directly. Now, take your right hand and make a fist. While keeping square to the wall, place the fist on the wall in front of you and press into it, again, without turning, just keeping square to the wall. I don’t know about you but when I do that, I get a kink in my shoulder. It feels like my arm is not really connected to the rest of my body. Now, keep your right hand/fist on the wall and step your left foot back about a foot to a foot and a half. Not in line with your right foot, just step your left foot straight back from where it was about a foot to a foot and a half. Keeping your hips and shoulder in roughly the same orientation (facing the same direction) turn away from the wall to face your chest more to the left, but no more than 45 degrees from where you were. This should take the pressure off your shoulder joint and when you find your comfort zone, start to press harder. Make sure you are on part of a wall that has some studs behind it otherwise you might find that you start to damage the drywall. This is the force arc. The power from the back (left) leg pressing into the ground, channeling the power up the left leg, through the hips, up the right side of the back, down the arm and out through the fist. That is the most structurally sound position of your body. Making impact with your target before or after being in that position will result in less effective, less powerful strikes.
So that is punching, what about the rest of martial application?
Blocking or redirecting an attack most definitely requires structure. This same structure that we use while punching applies to blocking/redirection as well. In Wing Chun, the center-line concept is paramount. The center-line is an imaginary line running down from the top of your head, bisecting your body in half. Wing Chun’s attacks and defense are centered around the center-line. Many vital points are along this line (eyes, nose, throat, solar-plex, groin). The center-line is where you want to focus your attack, while simultaneously protecting your own center-line and its painful targets. One way this can be done is by rushing in and meeting (intercepting) the attack before your opponent gets to their powerful position, their structure, and allowing you to find your own.
Structure can also mean balanced. Generally, at least at the beginning of training, I want to keep my shoulders roughly stacked over my hips and waist. If I deviate from this, I am off balance and can be taken down much easier. The ground is the last place I want to be. You can read more on that in the article “The Issue with MMA/BJJ” (https://www.ronincombatives.com/post/the-issue-with-mma-bjj ). The short of it is that unless you are in the ring/octagon, your opponent probably has friends that may start stomping on your head while you are rolling around on the ground. Not a tactically sound place to be.
Being centered, balanced, and structured all lead to a more confident and powerful you. A certain amount of physical strength plays into that structure, but you can become too big and too strong where your physical size starts to impede your movement, making you slower. Again, this goes back to the idea of the tipping of the scales on strength versus speed. Now, you’re probably thinking that if a monster like the mountain got a hold of you there would be the sound of bones cracking. You are right. In this extreme situation, physical size and strength can be a major advantage. That is where speed and structure come in. Don’t get caught! Use your structure to deflect a forward attack. I know, I’m making it sound simple. It’s not. But it’s better than turtling. That doesn’t help you at all and only allows your opponent to do whatever they want. It’s also important to remember that usually, the bigger the person is, the heavier they are, the worse their knees are 😉.
In the end, both strength and structure are important, but as we look at both and what contributes to personal power the most, structure will always win out. The benefits of proper body movement and alignment in combat outweigh how much you can lift. To see this, all you need to do is look to the special forces around the world. While all of these individuals are in peak physical condition, not all of them are hulking giants. They are people with enough strength and structure to do the job they have to, with the will and the mindset to accomplish anything they set out to do.
That leads me to the last point on structure, mental structure. You must develop the confidence in yourself to KNOW that you can accomplish anything. This is the only way that you will come out on top 9 times out of 10. There will always be someone who is bigger and stronger. It is your mind, your will, that makes you a formidable weapon. Your mind must be structured to accept what is in front of you and have the mental resolve to make the obstacle your path, overcoming the obstacle, becoming stronger, mentally, emotionally, and physically as you do.
Brad Dotten
Ronin Combatives
Calgary, Alberta, Canada