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Hi all,
I’ve been having a lot of fun with the KM classes. Great workout, great training and great fun.
My ONLY complaint, I hesitate to even call it that, is I sometimes wish things were clarified a bit more. I understand that the instructors really try to keep the intensity up, which is greatly appreciated, but sometimes it’s at the cost of not being very clear with what we are doing. With the more experienced students, they roll right into it, but for me, I’m sometimes left behind. And struggle to catch up. Oh well, I’ll get better!thumbsup
I’m positive that in the near future, things will be obvious, but for now, I have a question.
During our warm-up, we usually do the “Shoulder Tag” drill. Can someone explain to me what the purpose is, if any? Should I be blocking? Points to keep in mind?
Thanks in advance!
Rifle
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
quote Rifle:During our warm-up, we usually do the “Shoulder Tag” drill. Can someone explain to me what the purpose is, if any? Should I be blocking? Points to keep in mind?There’s no blocking in shoulder tag! (said a la Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own)
Seriously though, while being a pretty good warm up, shoulder tag is meant to keep you moving in a fight stance while learning to evade and counter.
Points to keep in mind, keep your guard up (as always) and try to work on defocussing and situational awareness so that you don’t run into other people. I think this goes without saying, but…have fun!
– Kelly
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
Shoulder tag is meant to simulate throwing punches. If you reach out and touch someones shoulder you are just a few inches from touching their face or jaw, and if your hand was in a fist it would hurt them, possibly knock them out, and they are also doing it to you so you have to be aware and be doing 2 things at the same time, trying to “punch” them while blocking their punches.
Early on in level one you are taught 360 defense. I did a google search for it and this came up at the top of the list. It is an ok description. You can find it in the Krav Maga books as well:
This would be your basic technique to use during the drill. It is usually used during warm up.
More sophisticated drills are used after instruction in 360s and other techniques.
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
We do this too….our warm instructor never told us to do 360 but heck! I ain’t about to late my sparing buddy get a good shot on me so it was 360 from the start. Maybe that is what she had in mind? Who knows but I agree with KMCat. If you can run around and block [correctly] with out bumping into people then you are miles ahead of most level one students.
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
I usually give 2 pieces of advice.
Be careful not to get smacked or smack someone else.
Watch the torso. Before the hand can move normally the shoulders will. Especially if you are moving around. thumbsup
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
I think this is probably one of the best drills you can do. When you go against someone who has been doing this for a while, it hurts. There is no real damage, but it stings. It makes you work on footwork, eyesight and hand speed. It is also a good workout. Just make sure not to headbut the other guy. It allows you to go “live” without having to work about hurting your partner. Some of the guys I train with and I leave with hand slap shaped red marks on our shoulders at the end of the night.
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
we use this drill as well,but the instructor will call stop! and then check to make sure you are in position to throw a proper punch (ie sholders square, feet sholder width apart, feet not crossed, chin down) wait till you play knee tag…watch your head you can get a pretty nasty bump!
russell
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
i like it when they say “shoulder, hips and knees” – then you have to watch for everything
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
Hey rifle,
Which center do you train at? I am not sure if this is accurate or not, but I have been told that shoulder tag is to help you to focus on staying in a good fighting stance (hands up, elbows in, feet shoulder width apart) and continuing to throw strikes “without the fear of getting blasted in return”. It is to teach you to stay combative and move even in the face of strikes coming back at you. You don’t want to get in the habit of trying to defend everything without striking. I use that drill to focus on my footwork and head movement and picking targets (shoulders).When you begin to spar, this will help you. If you do not focus on continuing to strike, it is really easy to get caught up and overwhelmed trying to defend everything when you spar. It is much easier to fight having your opponent back on his heals than poking your head out of the turtle shell and trying to get a shot in.
Again, I am not an instructor, this is just my opinion based on my own observations and what I have heard in class. If you are training at the Phoenix center, stop during the drill and ask Josh, Sarah, Kelly, or Zholt or whoever is teaching and ask them if you are confused. They are really cool and will help you a lot. Don’t be afraid to stop and ask. There are a lot of people who train in Phoenix who have been training for a real long time and often do 2-3 classes in a row, so on any given night half of the level one class can be half way filled with level 2 and above students. I know it can feel a little intimidating if you are new. I know that shoulder tag is usually done during the warm up so you may feel like it is not a good time to stop and ask, but please do, it will only help you more in the long run.
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
Our instructor will yell sprawl or on your back and then you have to go down and get up or sometimes do pushups or crunches…. better do em quick or your partner will be waiting for ya :0
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
I’m a little concerned that you felt the need to ask this question on forum rather than in class or after class. Granted thats what the forum is for in a way, but this seems like a basic drill. A fundamental. If your not clear on the purpose of a drill or more importantly how to perform it it’s your responsibility to ask for clarification. Instructors aren’t always mind readers, but most are willing to use your question as a focus for all involved
I don’t think there are many stupid questions, though there seems to be many who ask them just because they like the sound of their own voices or to be noticed. But I’ve rarely seen an instructor not willing to answer one either right then and there or after.
I teach acting, though I mostly teach a few times a year now only in PHX. I will purposely hold questions till after a exercise at times and always end each evolution with a short period of “Thoughts, Questions and Comments” to find some clarity of the expirience. Some drills need to simply be done at first as we learn through expirience, expiriences, and expiriencing. Only after can we attempt to put the drill in words, what our body has inately learned. Our body learns faster cause it doesn’t rationalize, it just does
Bottom line ask for clarity, but accept if the instructor just tells you to work the problem out yourself. That may be the lesson itself
Hope that helps
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
Several important things that come from this game:
Hand positioning and the importance of keeping the guard up;
Balance and stance;
It develops the ability to judge relative distance in a confrontation;
It teaches lateral movement;
It emphasises aggressiveness, and;
It will flat-out wear you out.All exercises have a purpose. Even the ones that look like chaos.
Re: Shoulder Tag…Huh?
I do shoulders and knees where I train, been training for about a month now and I’ve done it twice.
1st time was my 2nd class, wow, not fun :banghead: I got wailed on by, as I know now but not then, a guy who’s been training for years
2nd time was actually Monday, much better, I got paired with some dude who I don’t know well. He was was aggressive as hell but I think he boxes a lot, was constantly getting his left shoulder and knees and he constantly stayed up never really dropped his level for my knees, but his shoulder “taps” were pretty intense. He’d destroy me in a real fight due to size, he had about 40 Lbs on me and was BUILT, but in just shoulders and knees it felt good to feel like I was in the game, I was a lot faster than him and got way more taps.
Overall, I think just shoulders would be boring, but shoulders and knees is great. I’ve never been in a real fight before, and it felt pretty real, not punches real and stuff, but intensity and defending. It got me sweating and pumped up.
Just my $0.02, I love shoulders and knees!!!
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