The Shadow Shield Drill Matrix
Blade to Boxing Connection Seminar DVD (67 Minutes)
Copyright 2011 Pete Kautz

Pete Coaching Kurt on the Shielding and Counter Punch Drills

On Saturday June 18th we held our second Swamp Seminar for the year, this time with the theme of developing the combative use of the elbow destructions through full-speed, non-cooperative boxing drills known as the Shadow Shield Drill Matrix.

In these drills, you try to hit your partner for real and it's their job to evade or shield and counter...at which point the roles reverse and you have to evade or shield against a real return shot!  Later on elements such as kicking, interceptions, trapping and reverse grip knife are added to the mix, making this a highly variable drill offering multiple layers of technical skill and attribute development.

The Shadow Shields follow a training principle from the Filipino knife arts known as "countering the counter" that teaches you to be one step ahead of your opponent.  Unlike the "pit pat" non-contact version of countering the counter that you sometimes see demonstrated, in these exercises strikes are thrown with force and the intent to land.  To the uninitiated, these drills look like a sparring match!

Entering from the Blade Shields into the Trapping Range to End the Fight!

Another element that makes the Shadow Shield drills different than some FMA counter-counter drills is that the Shadow Shields are a matrix of related actions and reactions, not simply a loop of repeated motion.  For each strike there are multiple correct responses so you must always pay close attention to what the other man is doing or you'll get hit!  This is distinctly different than a loop drill where partners always respond and counter using the same actions (or attacks on the same lines) every time, such as in Hubud or Sumbrada.

Because the Shadow Shields are a matrix of defense and counter attack, there is almost no "oops, I did it wrong" unlike with so many structured drills.  It doesn't matter if you move to the inside or outside of an attack, for example, both work and have follow ups.  The only thing you can do wrong is stand there and get hit!

The basic principles of the drill are what matter, not the specific order of the actions or the exact technique employed, so practice is easy.  In this way it's the polar opposite of having to memorize a long pre-arranged two-man form, the way some arts pass on these skills.

Because of the speed and contact with which you practice the Shadow Shield drills, plus the fact that the elbow destructions target the delicate bones of the hand, boxing gloves are an absolute must in this work.  Even through the gloves you can tell which shields would have caused a break, and even through the thick kickboxing shin guards it sucks to catch an elbow shield.

Kurt and Pete Training Evasion & Elbow Destructions - The Shadow Shield!

(Think about it - how many of you have seen someone just *accidentally* catch an elbow to the foot / ankle / shin in a sparring match?  It usually end the match or pretty close to it and I know plenty of guys who've broken a foot this way!  Now, just imagine what havoc an intentional elbow could cause...)

The shield is an excellent defensive option because the attacker's power is their own undoing.  Much like punching a cactus covered in steel spines, the harder they hit the more damage they receive.  This allows you to have a solid defense against a larger, stronger attacker.

In addition to their destructive ability, the elbow shield's second layer of protection is as a Cover.  If you don't connect perfectly with the elbow you are still OK, the punch will just hit your arm and you'll be in a strong position to return with a counter strike.

So, the elbow shield is not just a one-trick pony where you're going to try and magically pick off punches as some nay-sayers would have you believe.  Instead, it's part of a larger defensive matrix that must be understood if the elbow shields are to be employed in actual sparring or self defense.  Hence our creation of the Shadow Shield series of drills!

Because the elbow shields are the unarmed version of certain reverse grip knife techniques we spent time covering those specific blade applications inside the drill matrix.  This helped make the connection between the knife and the unarmed expressions of the same idea.  This is what makes it ONE universal art!

All my very best to you,

Pete Kautz

The Shadow Shield Drill Matrix
Blade To Boxing Seminar DVD
Make the "Blade to Boxing" connection with Striking, Elbow Shields,  Evasions, Interceptions, Reverse Grip Knife and Trapping in this seminar DVD!  Learn how to train these skills safely at full speed, completely "live" so you know they work!  You've been shown the forms before, now delve into the training and applications that make this happen in real time!