Yellow Belt Technique
Delayed Sword is a self-defense technique taught off a front, right hand lapel grab. The catalyst is a grab, followed by a shove. Therefore, the initial step back is your angle of least resistance assuming a non-static attack.
Many American Kenpo instructors teach the technique by stepping back with the left foot and executing a right inward strike to the attacker’s right wrist or bicep while the left hand is checking at solar plexus level as a precautionary check. The problem with this approach is that they are omitting the importance of pinning the hand the grabs. The pin and step back is used to cancel the opponent’s height, width, and depth. Also, if you don’t pin the hand that grabs, if the opponent lets go, it will cancel most of your action. After the pin, step back, and inward strike, the next move is a front kick to the opponent’s groin, which acts as a simultaneous width and depth check. The technique concludes by using marriage of gravity as you execute a right handsword to the opponent’s neck, being sure to cut diagonally down to check height, width, and depth zones.
Delayed Sword teaches students how to use their strong side forward (which is important in the early stages of learning) and how to create and gauge distance. Should the first inward strike not cancel the opponent’s width, and the attacker counters with a left punch, it is possible to graft into Sword of Destruction. Alternatively, if the opponent tries to tackle us after the inward strike, we can graft into, say, Striking Serpent’s Head or Intercepting the Ram.
