Quart of Blood Technique

I'm a big movie buff, so I have a habit of using obscure movie references.

A classic example is the "Quart of Blood Technique."

The term comes from the 1983 comedy "Trading Places."

In order to establish cred (and not get his ass kicked) in jail, one of the characters demonstrates a martial arts move called the "Quart of Blood Technique."  That is because when you are finished with the technique, a quart of blood drops out of your opponent.  He learned because he is a "Chain Belt."

I use the term for a technique that will seriously harm your opponent.  "If you have to drop your foe quickly, and you don't want them getting back up, and there are no witnesses, what technique would you use?  That would be your "Quart of Blood Technique.""

Ya, it's goofy, but then so am I, and I teach a lot of teenagers.  It sticks in their head and makes them think.

How much is a quart of blood?  It's two pints, or double what you lose in a standard blood donation.
There are approximately 10 pints in an adult human.  So a quart is about 20% of the total amount of blood.  Loss of 40% (two quarts) is considered fatal.   Losing 20% quickly is no fun either.  Rapid drop in blood pressure.  Then they will probably continue to bleed.  So an actual Quart of Blood technique is nothing to joke about.

Back to teaching

I haven't been teaching very much the past couple of months. I was taking another class that met on the same night I usually teach.

Tonight, it's back to my regular class and I'm looking forward to it. I really enjoy teaching and it's a great way to refine your technique as well.

Basics, basics & more basics

If you are a martial arts instructor, and just don't know what you are going to cover in your next class, here is a good suggestion.

Basics, basics and then more basics.

The basics are the core, the foundation you build more advanced techniques from.

You get more power from a good punch thrown from a solid stance than you do from a good punch made while off balance (OK, you Drunken Monkey stylists are an exception, but then you practice a lot to do that).

Practice, practice and more practice. You want to be able to hit that nerve bundle with that Leopard Paw strike in a fight, then you have to practice punching over, and over again.

There are all sorts of cool and fun drills to do to keep things interesting, but it all comes back to the basics.