Powerstrike - a video by Peter Consterdine

[Thai Bri]

What follows is a brief review of the video, in case anyone is thinking of buying it. You can get it form here - www.peterconsterdine.com

Technical issues:-

Consterdine has obviously thought out what he has to say, and arranges it in a logical order. You don't get the feeling that he is just making it up on the spot, which is good. During the tape he uses a square high density foam pad to demonstrate his impact. I used these things 20 odd years ago, and feel that there are far better impact developing tools available today.

He outlines that the main purpose of the tape is not to discuss the particular techniques (be they punches, slaps etc) but to get the concept of the "delivery system", the method of power development. He calls it the "Double Hip".

There are 3 main ingredients to the double hip.

1. Imagine a common right hand punch, left leg forwards. Consterdine's assistant demonstrates how many do it (putting hip and shoulder into it), but points out that the other shoulder is actually being pulled backwards during the delivery of the technique. This compromises the power. The action is as if there is a fulcrum going down the centre of the body, around which the hips and shoulders rotate. Consterdines technique involves moving this fulcrum to the lead hand side. Imagine a door shutting. The lead knee, hip and shoulder are the hinges upon which the door, the rest of the body, moves.

To prepare the hips the lead hip and shoulder are "cocked" by a slight forwards movements. The punching hand moves a little backwards, and then the body rotates around the lead hand side, slamming the techniques home. Imagine, he says, having a weight dangling from a string. If you want to move that weight forwards with power, you have to swing it back first.

2. There is a delayed action in the coordination of the hip, shoulder and then arm (in that order). This creates a whip like effect. The hip goes first, the shoulder follows and then the arm whips through. This is done in a relaxed manner as possible.

3. The hand is to be thought of as a heavy object that is thrown forwards, the arm the string. The idea is to get an impact INTO the person, not on the surface.

He also stresses that the rear foot does not need to be planted into the ground for power. In fact he likes it to be moving forwards, helping transfer body weight into the blow. He also favours keeping the back arched, and feels that crounching type movements cost it terms of power.

I do favour this double hip type action for a pre emptive strike and, coming from a Shukokai background, am already well used to it. But there is no denying that it creates a telegraphing efect that would have to be masked (perhaps by dialogue) when doing it for real. This is briefly acknowledged by Consterdine in the tape.

Personally I have tried to move the attacking tool first before the body, but I am so much in the double hip habit that I can't get power without it. The double hip is, in my view, fine for a pre emptive strike, as long as you distract your opponent first. It is harder to pull off when a fight has alread started without excellent timing. Perhaps employing techniques using the drop step for power are better.

Also he favours striking the body with his punch rather than the head, aiming to hit the vagus nerve as it passes down the chest. There is no accounting for the possibility of heavy clothing on the opponent etc. He strikes with the fist. Personally I prefer an open hand strike to the jaw line, but there you go.

He doesnt turn the fist palm down, but uses a vertical fist to avoid outward movement of the elbow (and associated power loss).

Consterdine also outlines some other techniques, including the elbow, slap and back hand. There isn't time for me to go into these in any detail, but heres a few notes.

He wants to be almost side by side (but facing the opposite direction, think your right shoulder almost touching his right shoulder) to the oponent on delivering the elbow and, again he goes to the body. He even uses a distraction strike to get him there. Personally I don't like the way he throws it, and don't see the point in throwing a distraction first. Why not just hit with hate first?

I don't really like the back hand strike. This is done with the open hand, and connects where there are those thin bones that lead up to the fingers. They feel great on a focus mitt, but I wouldn't like to hit the point of someones jaw with them. I know people who like them, so its a case for horses for courses.

General tape quality issues:-

It does appear to have been shot by a normal home camcorder, but the picture is visible. The sound is ok, but there is occasional background noise, maybe from an air conditioning system in the building?

The biggest problem for me was the camera work. It is a common problem for the inexperienced to keep using the zoom facility. Just as Consterdine demonstrates the technique, Mr Zoom goes right in to the detriment of learning. You end up watching a close up of a pad as a fist hits it, or the close up of a hip etc. It would have been far better to watch the entire guy do what are, in effect, full body movements. If they zoomed in in an attempt to isolate the different action of the different body parts then it didn't work. Still, there are enough examples of him being shown "full body" to pick the technique up, its just frustrating when Mr Zoom makes his many unwelcome visits.

All in all I am happy with video. It cost £19 including delivery, which I think is ok. I have learned one or two things that I will incorporate into my training.

[swan104]

I had a chat with a guy in training a few weeks back on Consterdine. He attended one of his seminars a while back. He talked about an open hand slapping hooking punch as a pre-emptive strike. He explained that by keeping your hand open, you can deliver the punch a lot quicker because your arm is more relaxed.

Thanks for the review TB!