Chickens

Some the ways martial artist relate to chickens

Chicken Walk. Chickens make large side-to-side weight shifts when they walk; martial artists should not. When a martial artist moves toward you, the only indicator of his or her movement should be that he or she appears to be getting larger within your field of vision as they get closer. There should be no other indicators to let opponents know that an attack is approaching, such as side-to-side or up-and-down movements.

Chicken Head Bob. As do other birds, chickens bob their heads up and down when they move to help maintain their balance. Humans do not need to bob their heads to move but it does help when sparring. A moving head is more difficult to hit than a stationary head.

Chicken Breast. Chicken strut around with their chests out, acting as if they were the kings or queens of the roost. Most martial artists do the same thing.

Chicken Butt. Chickens have a big, wide butt. This is not an ASSet to martial artists.

Chicken Neck. Some students use a “chicken neck” when they spar. Have you ever watched a chicken walk? The chicken extends its neck and pokes its head forward when it walks. Due to its body geometry, a chicken, as do other types of birds, has to extend its head when it walks to maintain balance. Since chickens have limited hip movement, no arms or shoulders, and their mass is concentrated in the front and backsides of their bodies, they use an exaggerated head movement to maintain balance. We also should use our heads, but we should use what is inside our heads, not the heads themselves. Luckily, most of us do not have the body shape of a chicken, so we do not need to extend our heads when we move. However, some students feel the need drop their arms and lead with their face when they move into an attack, similar to a chicken neck. I always tell students, “Arms are for blocking and attacking, not for balance” so keep the arms up and use minute body and joint movements for balance We all have heard the advice “don’t stick your neck out” from friends when we are considering stepping into a dangerous situation. Attacking is one of these situations. A head that leads will be a head that bleeds.