Iron Ball, Wooden Staff, Empty Hands: Understanding Structure, Flow, and Maneuver in Martial Arts

Caylor Adkins has over 50 years of rigorous training with a bias for realistic combat. He has always sought broadly based sources of martial arts understanding for himself and his students beyond his original training in Shotokan Karate. His criterion is that the ideas really work. Some of his sources include:

*Chinese ball and staff forms

*Western boxing

*Russian Systema

*Balintawak Cuentada Escrima

*Experts in body structure (medical physiologists, external martial artists, Ida Rolf, and Lu Wen Wei

*Internal martial arts

Adkins transmits his martial arts understanding to improve technique and combat ability. He uses basic techniques, forms, and combat drills in three modalities (iron ball, wooden staff, and empty hands) to explain:

*Structure: integrating body and spirit to hit harder with less wasted power

*Flow: using breathing, chi, and movement initiators to move quickly and efficiently

*Maneuver: defeating opponents with focus, critical edge, disruptive techniques, and centering