Actually Chuck Norris is 8th Dan in TKD not TSD. He did study TSD but i have not been able to determine what Dan rank he reached. We are taught blocks are strikes as well, and actually a few years back one of my instructors accidently broke an opponants arm in a tournament with an inside to outside block that he used to block an incoming punch... I have also had good low blocks strike nerves in my ankles and lower shins that almost incapacitated my legs for a few minutes, i would say it's a safe bet to say that it is a useful practice.
At our school its taught two different ideologies. Blocking as a strike is seen as "clashing" which if done with purpose is perfectly fine, but its force vs force type blocking. The only problem I see in linking this with traditional Tang Soo Do techniques is that many TSD techniques require a lot of hip and to chamber and use hip rotation takes necessary setup time and also sometimes might violate the principle "shortest distance btwn two points is a straight line" - meaning sometimes to go from one point to another in a block will require you to take less of a hip torque. Of course, it all depends on the situation, and the specific instance where you are using the technique. The other way embraces more fluidity, using movement to escape and set up a counter attack and using the block more as a form of insurance or to manipulate the opponent's momentum - main difference is that it is less force vs force and more going with the opponent's force and redirecting it. I myself prefer to use the more fluid momentum redirection type blocking in order to grab kicks for potential sweeping. General blocking I do with something generally in the middle, not too hard, not to fluidlike. But using blocks as strikes I try to do passively by keeping elbows down (not flared out) and using them as protection of the midsection (natural byproduct of having a fighting stance where you have both elbows pointing downward), also using chambers/raised knees to block kicks (ie TKDers love skip kicking... raise your chambers and drop your elbows - they even do it to each other) often hurts the other opponent. The only other "blocking = striking" I've seen in my school is from my master. I've been with him for about 4 years now and he's gotten very comfortable with my sparring, to the point where he can tell when I'm about to throw a back kick. He blocks it alright, he blocks it by jamming his foot into the back of my knee as I'm turning. So yes blocking can be striking, full manifestation of which when you hit the opponent's attacks out of the air before they reach you. The thing I described that my master does is extremely painful, as it serves to pop the knee from the other side. You get an opponent who likes to pull off his favorite moves over and over or someone who telegraphs alot, sure use a block as a strike or a strike as a block ie punch what ever he throws at you out of the air as hard as you can. Trust me it hurts like hell, especially if it turns out to be like a charlie horse or something against your joints.
For the blocks are strikes analogy to work, the converse also has to be true... strikes are blocks. This isnt true. How I've been taught to interpret this is that blocks CAN be strikes and strikes CAN be blocks. It is how you use it. Blocks CAN also be escapes (from a grab), blocks can also be joint breaks... etc. It all depends on how you use it. Let me describe what it takes to turn a basic block into a strike. If someone were to front kick at me and I used the basic downward block without moving, I could very well end up with a broken arm or hand as the leg is much stronger than my arm. If I instead get off the line of attack then my downward block could be used as a strike to the foot, side of the leg or knee. The key is that if I'm going to use it as a strike (and not just as a block), I need to get out of the way of the attack as best I can first. This strike to the side of the leg ALSO can serve the purpose of blocking or redirecting the kick... thus it is both used as a block and a strike. It is how you use it that determines if it is a block or a strike or an escape or a break, AND it can serve multiple purposes, it can be both a block and a strike.
Ah, the exchange of the duality of nature and the law of opposites. Any item in nature exists in some sort of balance with its opposite. You cannot have love without hate. One cannot understand peace without the incidence of war. In fact one gives birth to its opposite and vice versa. The curved line indicates that in nature there are no absolutes. The lines that separate a concept or quality are not sharply delineated, they instead are represented more correctly as a gradual change, sort of blending, a change by degree.
I'm not sure the converse has to be true. Every square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square. At this point, I think blocks are strikes, and that strikes are not necessarily blocks. Right now that makes sense. We'll see how I feel after a few more months or years of study. Tang Soo! Kay
Go with what you feel is right, and you should be fine. If you change the 'definite' to the 'possible', then you get "blocks can be strikes, and strikes can be blocks". One 'block' we have for a swinging punch towards us is a straight punch (strike) inside the opponents arm to their shoulder. [Works best if your arms are roughly the same length or longer then theirs ] It is still a 'block', you're just blocking a little ( ) further down their arm than they expect. I've just caught up with you on your blog, and it sounds like you and your family are doing fine. Keep enjoying yourself.
chuck Norris started training in tang Soo do under grandmaster shin ( wasn’t grandmaster at the time ) . He was stationed In Korea and grandmaster shin taught the soldiers tang Soo do .
