Chickens

 

Chicken Legs. Chickens have thin, bony legs. Nature may have issued you chicken legs at conception, but you do not need to keep them. Bony, thin legs are not an asset in the martial arts. While big muscular arms are a liability when it comes to quickness since heavy arms move more slowly, thinner arms, while not as strong as muscular arms, can move quicker and you can use your powerful back and shoulder muscles to add power. The same cannot be said for legs.

You may think lighter legs should move quicker than heavier legs, but hip muscles do not have the strength to lift and move even light legs quickly. Therefore, the leg muscles must take up the slack and move the legs themselves. In addition, we need strong leg muscles to support the body, for lifting objects, and for jumping and kicking; all of which require powerful leg muscles. If you have chicken legs, train to build and strengthen them. If you do not have chicken legs, train your legs anyway. Toned, strong legs are an asset to martial artists, especially those in the kicking arts.

Chicken Wings. Chickens have wings, but their wings are useless for flying. We have arms, but they are useless for kicking. A person is always vulnerable when attacking, that is why some of us prefer to be counter attackers. When you move toward a counter-attacker to attack, he or she will step forward into the attack and counterattack with a fury. A counter-attacker will either jam the attack, deflect it, block it, or sometimes get hit by it, but either way, the opponent will get nailed, often many times.

Why do they get nailed? It is usually because they are flapping their arms similar to the way a chicken flaps its wings trying to fly. Both are useless. You see this sometimes while students are punching, but you moistly see it when they are kicking; they wave their arms about as if they were being attacked by bees. Some do not wave their arms, they drop them or extend them backward away from the kick; either way, they expose themselves to a counterattack. Again, arms are for blocking and attacking, not for balance. If you are using them for balance while kicking, you are not kicking properly and you are leaving yourself open for a counterattack.

Kickers tend to flap their arms away from their bodies similar to chickens flapping their wings. Punchers tend to flap their elbows while keeping their hands in close to the body, they look as though they were doing the “funky chicken” dance.