Darting Viper

He stands in the dark alone, waiting, watching her through the window of the all night diner. Her shift ends at midnight and she is tired and eager to get home. He has been there before, watching her from the dark shadows as she politely waits on the late night patrons. Only a few minutes to go, as she counts her tips for the night. Her relief arrives, she takes off her apron and gathers her things. His heart is beating faster, his warm breath fogging in the cold night air. She smiles and waves to the night crew as she walks toward the door. He backs into the shadows beside the building. He knows which direction she will walk, he's been here before. As she exits the door, she turns right and reaches for her keys in her purse. She is tired and just wants to get home. His pulse races as she approaches the corner of the building. A hand quickly darts from the shadows, and she is gone.

BAM! Her back hits the brick wall. She's confused, dazed. "What is happening? Where am I?" she asks herself. She feels bound to the wall, the strong force keeping her pressed against it. She feels his rough face against her cheek as he whispers into her ear, "Keep your mouth shut". She screams out in terror. Instantly she feels one hand grab her throat and the other cover her mouth. He is in control, this is his domain.

It's very easy, as martial artists, to get caught up in the 'excitement' of the art, in the science of motion and the anatomy of a technique, sometimes forgetting the violent reality that may await us, just outside our door. It can happen to the best of us, regardless of rank, knowledge or skill. Suddenly, you are thrust from a casual thought, into an immediate dimension of pain, fear and confusion. All that may stand between you and death, is the scope of your training.

• Did you train enough?
• Did you train intelligently?
• Did you train realistically?
• Did you train effectively?
• Do you posses that skill, that conditioned response to survive this deadly encounter that will last only a few seconds?

Darting Viper is a fast and deadly defense against a two-hand choke from the front, with your back against a wall. Like the snake of its namesake, its initial strikes dart instantly and ferociously to their targets. This is a lethal attack that demands a lethal solution. If you are being choked, you are being killed. There is no turning back, no choices to make. Your defense must be quick and it must be severe, as there is no opportunity for a second chance.

Technique: DARTING VIPER

Attack: Extended two-hand choke from the front with your back against a wall.

Defense:

1. Immediately tuck your chin to your chest and pin your opponents hands by grabbing his left wrist with your left hand, anchoring your elbow. At the same moment, using 'Ballistic Muscle Action', deliver a right four-Finger Thrust (palm up) to his throat. This strike is delivered from underneath and between his arms. Simultaneously, deliver a Right Front Snap Kick to his groin. This first action should 'explode' into action, Darting ferociously to its targets. Each of these strikes oppose the opponent's reactionary direction from the other, creating optimum penetration for each. They are delivered from the Obscure Zone as it will offer the least restriction and will be the quickest and most undetected Angle of Execution.

2. The Ballistic Darting action of your right hand will draw it back as quickly as it struck, circling slightly up to your right shoulder, your right foot still in the air, retracted from the kick. Immediately plant your right foot forward into a right neutral bow stance as you strike downward, hard against his arms with your right forearm. Take full advantage of the Marriage of Gravity and get those hands off of your throat. With his head being violently pulled forward from the force of this move, use the quarter beat, releasing the pin with your left hand and deliver a left vertical punch to his left cheek. This strike must stem from the residual power of the Gravitational Marriage. This punch, accompanied by its Gravitational Marriage, Forward Momentum and Borrowed Force, would easily be able to crush the cheek bone of the opponent, and will drive his head back, yet leaving his body in place, or still descending from the forearm strike.

3. Execute a right outward handsword to right side of his neck and throat, shuffling forward to generate forward momentum in the chop. Again, using the initial engagement of the shuffle to provide the momentum for the chop, followed by an immediate right inward elbow to his left jaw with a left inward palm-heel to his right jaw, causing the sandwich effect utilizing the body of the shuffle as its source of forward momentum. As the shuffle settles, deliver a right outward elbow to his sternum. While not simultaneous, these three strikes should be executed and delivered with a Sophisticated Rhythm which strikes hard, fast and furious, drawing the targets into the strikes like a buzz saw.

4. As your elbow is folded with the outward elbow strike to the sternum, step up the circle with your left foot as you deliver a right outward handsword to his throat utilizing the Angular Momentum generated by the step, followed immediately with a right outward diagonal hammerfist to his solar plexus as you settle into your Neutral Bow stance.

While extensive in the number of strikes, this technique, like all AKKI techniques, is delivered with Ballistic Muscle Action and Sophisticated Rhythm. The nature of the strikes will easily cause severe injury to the opponent, yet are easily delivered in its natural and sequential progression. Knowing the Sophisticated Rhythms are essential for delivering the technique true to its form. The first strike has every probability of dropping the opponent, yet as with any strategy, it is extremely important to have a back up. The strikes outlined in Darting Viper are fast, powerful and concise. This number of strikes would be impossible to deliver effectively without the Sophisticated Rhythm of AKKI Kenpo.

Name: 'Dart' - To aim, and to move, swifty and suddenly. 'Viper' - A venomous snake that will Dart out and strike in the blink of an eye. A deadly attack must be met with a fast, severe defense, like that of a "Darting Viper" that delivers a fast and deadly strike. Avoid and be avoided. Corner, and feel her wrath.

Theme: When you feel the strength of the opponent's hands around your neack and throat, panic will likely set it. In such a choke, it is important to immediately tuck your chin to your chest to give you temporary relief as well as to flex and tighten the neck muscles to help resist the force of the choke. You must learn how to nullify, stop or destroy this aggressive, life threatening action before your opponent renders you unconscious or ultimately chokes you to death. Using Environmental Structural Support, you learn to use the wall to establish your base or foundation. The effectiveness of your counter attack will be your ability to utilize the 3 'S' concept:

Speed, Surprise, and Simplicity = Survival

"In every defense there is an offense, and in every offense, a defense". These two unseen strikes to the throat and groin will break down the opponent's mental efforts to remain focused on his attack, which will result in weakening his choke, allowing the subsequent strikes to be delivered more effectively. You must learn to act and strike quickly on the inside of, and between the opponent's arms, utilizing the concept of 'Time and Space'. In this technique, the Environmental Conditions dictate that you cannot move to the outside of your opponent's arms. To move your hand and foot from Point of Origin, using the correct Line of Entry and the Obscure Zone, striking under and between your opponents arms, is to maximize Speed, Surprise and Simplicity.

This technique teaches to be aware of your Environmental Conditions and use them to your advantage. A two-handed choke is a natural attack in which the attacker tries to 'quiet' his victim. It is a deadly attack, as he is not only cutting off his victim's air, but the blood flow to the brain. It takes but a few seconds to be rendered unconscious while under the application of a carotid choke, whether it is intentional or not. With this in mind, your physical capacity to deliver an effective defense will diminish quickly. Your defense must come immediately, for within seconds, you will be too weak to deliver a defense or will be unconscious, leaving the attacker in total control over your life and your death.

Darting Viper Teaches:

• Concepts & Principles The use of Environmental Structural Support, utilizing the wall to establish your base.
• Plyometric Twitch, to engage Twitch Fibers of the muscles to ignite the Ballistic Muscle Action and to achieve Optimum Power.
  Dual Weapons using the 'with' concept and striking different height zones simultaneously.
• The use of Object Obscurity, the striking hand further obscuring the kick to the groin.
• Progressive Forward Momentum, utilizing the same shuffle to supply momentum for multiple, consecutive strikes.
• Angular Momentum, off-angling to employ the momentum for the outward handsword and generating Angular Acceleration.
• Sophisticated Rhythm, to fire multiple strikes in an Extreme Ballistic fashion utilizing one of the AKKI Master Key Timing Patterns.
  Energetic Expansion, to Harness the Energy and create an Energetic Conversion, allowing the energy from an initial move to generate and expand into multiple strikes.
• Perceptual Separation, to overload his perceptual senses by viciously striking multiple vital targets in short Timeline, sending him into Sensory Overload.
• Sequential Stages of Acceleration, utilizing Progressive Directional Harmony while progressively initiating the proper firing sequence of Ballistic Muscle Action.
• Internal Elastic Recoil, utilizing the natural muscular recoil to assist in the rapid reversal or change in direction of a weapon.
• External Elastic Recoil, utilizing the elastic properties of the impact surfaces to assist the Ballistic Muscle Action in the rapid acceleration of a subsequent strike.
• Progressive Explosive Pressure, delivering a barrage of explosive strikes to suppress his retaliatory efforts.

These are only a fraction of the concepts and principles utilized in this technique. Your actions must be explosive, utilizing a Rhythmic Conversion to accelerate the intonation of speed and power.

There are many thing to consider upon the examination of a technique. The lady in the brief story at the top of the page, could not have known of her attacker, watching and waiting for her. Although Environmental Awareness could play a key role in not being caught in such a circumstance, it is impossible to perceive and prevent every possible scenario. Even if she were aware of the shadows, it would still have been a shock to her system when the attacker sprang from them. Even though you know there is a possibility of winning the jackpot on the slot machine, you would still be surprised and shocked if it hit. "Out of a hundred things that can go wrong, you can only think of five."

In such a situation described, there is a definite restriction of time and space. Being pressed firmly to a wall does not allow for establishing a Neutral Bow stance, nor is the Neutral Bow stance necessary for establishing your base in the situation posed. The wall has become your base, and your attacker has supplied your stability. This would be similar to laying flat on your back with your attacker atop you. In such a position, a Neutral Bow stance isn't accessible nor necessary as you are well grounded. So with this confinement of space, your angles of execution are minimal. Your position has been dictated by your attacker and you must play with what has been dealt. Here, we utilize the Centerline concept, striking directly up the center and in between his arms. With the strong and irresistible pressure applied to you, this is the path of least resistance. An attempt to strike him from above or from the side of his arms, would prove to have less than adequate strength. The confinement of time is of utmost importance. There is no time for mistakes or wrong choices. You cannot attempt a less lethal means first, as you only have time for one shot. Delivering the wrong technique first, will be the last thing you will ever do. Time is of essence. In this instance, to Hesitate will not be to meditate in a horizontal position. It will be to die. To live, will mean that you must utilize all elements of Forward Projection: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual.

Tailoring, as with any technique, will play an important role in this technique. Given that this waitress may have been 5' 4" at 120 pounds, and her attacker 6' 2" and 250 pounds. She may not have the reach to strike his throat with her hand with the kick to his groin. This would lead her to regulate her timing and strike the throat a quarter beat after the kick to the groin, causing her attacker to bend into the strike and adding the borrowed force. An equally sized person may go right for the throat with the kick to the groin, on the first move, his reach and power being of more substance on the initial move. If you are not pressed against a wall, stepping back with your left foot into the Neutral Bow to establish your base will most likely be necessary prior to the initial strikes. If he yanks you forward, your right foot would need to step forward, establishing your base, yet nullifying the kick. Not to worry, the strike to the throat would likely be within reach if he is pulling you toward him. These are just some of the possible variations of the attack.

Work hard on this technique. Attacked in such a manner as being choked, you really only have one chance before you are too weak to deliver an effective technique.

POW! Tha-da-WHACK! ch-BOOM! As quickly as she disappeared from the streetlights, she darts back into them. Shaken, terrified, but alive.

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