The force of the shoulder strike comes from the back leg

If an opponent pulls you forward, an effective counter is to move forward following his pulling momentum and ram your shoulder into his chest. This is an example of "flowing with the opponent's momentum" as well as of "using minumum force agtainst maximum strength".

In executing the Shoulder Strike, many students make the common mistake of striking from the shoulder. The correct movement is striking from the back leg! In other words, the momentum of your Shoulder Strike comes not from your shoulder but from your back leg.

It is important to provide adequate coverage for yourself as you strike with your shoulder, otherwise it is easy for your opponent to strike your eyes or groins as you attack. The Shoulder Strike is found in Combat Sequence 10, which naturally is called ?Shoulder Strike?.

Please click on the pictures or their captions to view the videos.

Please note that you can download the video clips onto your own computer and view them at your leisure. Enter the webpage (not this one) where the selected video clip can be downloaded. Place your computer pointer at the picture or one of the links, and right click. Choose ?Save Target As?. Select the directory or sub-directory where you wish to keep the video clip. Click ?Save?.

Shoulder Strike	Pushing from Back Leg	Shoulder Strike

Shoulder Strike	Covering Opponent	Strike from Back Leg

Mechanics of Shoulder Strke	From Back Leg

Sequence 10 Initiator	Sequence 10 Initiator	Sequence 10 Responder