I.
Uppercut punch
A. Safety
1. The punch is done out of distance of your partner.
2. Displace the target- the target is moved somewhere safe, away from your
partner’s body, in this case the target is the victim’s knapping hand.
3. Victim is downstage, attacker is upstage if using a shared knap, but it can
be either way if a chest knap is used.
4. Bodies are offset, so right shoulder would be lined up with right shoulder,
or vice versa.
5. Make eye contact first with your partner, then the attacker looks at the
displaced target to start.
B. Prep
1. The victim puts out a knapping hand- a flat hand with fingers together and
the thumb tucked in so it can’t get caught/bent/broken by the attacker
during the knap- six to eight inches from the center of their chest.
2. The attacker looks at the knapping hand and raises a fist up over their
shoulder in preparation, high enough so the audience can see it, and so
it’s a clear wind up for their partner.
C. Action
1. The attacker sweeps their fist down, then up toward the target.
2. Once the hand is masked by the victim’s body, the attacker opens their
hand and claps fingers with the victim’s extended knapping hand to
create a shared knap.
a) Using your full hand for the knap stings and will sting more if it’s
done over and over in rehearsal, so the knap should be made with
your fingers.
3. The attacker closes their fist again and continues to follow through with
their fist up the center line of the victim, and then drops their fist back
down.
D. Reaction
1. To protect their neck, the victim first has to hunch their shoulders up to
their ears to create a cushion of muscle for their neck and head before it
goes backward to avoid whiplash. The victim also comes up on the balls
of their feet.
2. The victim then rocks their head back onto the bunched muscles, and
immediately brings it forward again.
3. If the victim is uncomfortable with that reaction/can’t support their neck
well that way, they can follow an imaginary bird with their head, so it
would fly toward them and then up over their shoulder and past them, so
they’d look up, extending their neck instead of bending it back, and then
step back and follow over one shoulder to behind them and drop their
chin down.
II. Non contact kicks
A. Snap kicks (can be done horizontally or vertically)
1. Prep
a) The attacker lifts their knee.
2. Action
a) The attacker snaps the foot forward from the knee.
B. Swing kicks
1. Prep
a) The attacker steps their kicking foot back.
2. Action
a) The attacker swings their leg forward from the hip.
C. Upstage/downstage kicks
1. To the face
a) Safety
(1) The victim is downstage, the attacker is upstage,
diagonally offset.
(2) The kick is done out of distance.
(3) Make eye contact first with your partner, and then at the
displaced target, in this case it’s out to the front of the
victim’s face where the end of Pinocchio’s nose would be.
b) Preparation
(1) Snap- the attacker raises their knee to snap their foot
forward from their knee.
(2) Swing- the attacker steps their foot back to swing from the
hip.
c) Action
(1) Snap- The attacker swings their foot forward from the knee
up through the target line and brings their foot back to
balance.
(2) Swing- The attacker swings their leg forward from the hip,
up through the target line, and brings their foot back to
balance.
d) Reaction
(1) to protect their neck, the victim first has to hunch their
shoulders up to their ears to create a cushion of muscle for
their neck and head before it goes backward to avoid
whiplash. The victim also comes up on the balls of their
feet.
(2) The victim then rocks their head back onto the bunched
muscles, and immediately brings it forward again.
(3) If the victim is uncomfortable with that reaction/can’t
support their neck well that way, they can follow an
imaginary bird with their head, so it would fly toward them
and then up over their shoulder and past them, so they’d
look up, extending their neck instead of bending it back,
and then step back and follow over one shoulder to behind
them and drop their chin down.
(4) The victim makes a clapping knap with their hands at the
same time they react.
2. To the stomach
a) Safety
(1) The victim can be either downstage or upstage because
there’s a vocal knap so it doesn’t need to be masked.
(2) The kick is done out of distance.
(3) Make eye contact first with your partner, and then at the
displaced target, in this case it’s out to the front of the
victim’s stomach.
b) Preparation
(1) Snap- the attacker raises their knee to snap their foot
forward from their knee.
(2) Swing- the attacker steps their foot back to swing from the
hip.
c) Action
(1) Snap- The attacker swings their foot forward from the knee
into the target zone and brings their foot back to balance.
(a) For snap kicks, the attacker can kick with the toes
and top of their foot, with their leg and ankle
straight forward, they can kick with the blade of
their foot, which would mean turning the toes in and
hitting the target with the outer side of the foot, or
they can lead with their heel, which means they’d
flex their foot and hit the target with their heel first
like they were trying to horizontally stamp on
someone.
(2) Swing- The attacker swings their leg forward from the hip,
into the target zone and brings their foot back to balance.
(a) For this kick, the attacker can kick with the toes and
top of their foot, with their leg and ankle straight
forward, or they can kick with the blade of their foot,
which would mean turning the toes in and hitting
the target with the outer side of the foot.
(b) I don’t know if this is factual or just something I
made up but it seems to me a swing wouldn’t work
as well for this as a snap would, the swing seems
better for kicking a face than a stomach.
d) Reaction
(1) The victim’s stomach quickly contracts back, their chest
drops, and their face comes up to see the audience.
(2) The victim makes an explosive vocal knap using a
structured exhale (a voiced consonant followed by audible
breath on a vowel, glottal stops aren’t a great call).
3. Profile kick to the head
a) Safety
(1) The target is displaced to be out in front of your partner
because the kick is done in distance.
(2) The victim has their back to the audience, the attacker
stands in profile, and the attacker is a step upstage so
there is a gap between the victim and the attacker and you
don’t kick anyone.
(3) Make eye contact first with your partner, then the attacker
makes eye contact with the target, in this case it’s out in
front of the victim’s face where the end of Pinocchio’s nose
would be.
b) Prep
(1) Snap- the attacker raises their knee to snap their foot
forward from the knee.
(2) Swing- the attacker steps back to swing their leg forward
from the hip.
c) Action
(1) Snap- The attacker swings their foot forward from the knee
up through the target line and brings their foot back to
balance.
(2) Swing- The attacker swings their leg forward from the hip,
up through the target line, and brings their foot back to
balance.
d) Reaction
(1) The victim makes a clapping knap with their hands.
(2) to protect their neck, the victim first has to hunch their
shoulders up to their ears to create a cushion of muscle for
their neck and head before it goes backward to avoid
whiplash. The victim also comes up on the balls of their
feet.
(3) The victim then rocks their head back onto the bunched
muscles, and immediately brings it forward again.
(4) If the victim is uncomfortable with that reaction/can’t
support their neck well that way, they can follow an
imaginary bird with their head, so it would fly toward them
and then up over their shoulder and past them, so they’d
look up, extending their neck instead of bending it back,
and then step back and follow over one shoulder to behind
them and drop their chin down.
4. Profile kick to the stomach/Roundhouse kick
a) Safety
(1) The target is displaced because the kick is done in
distance.
(2) The victim can be facing up- or downstage, the attacker
stands in profile, and the attacker is two or three steps up-
or downstage so there is a gap between the victim and the
attacker and you don’t kick your partner.
(3) Make eye contact first with your partner, then the attacker
makes eye contact with the target, in this case it’s out in
front of the victim’s stomach at about the height of a fire
hydrant.
b) Prep
(1) The attacker turns their standing foot so it points to the
space behind the victim.
(a) Make sure the attacker’s shoes can pivot on
whatever floor you’re on, and if there’s any doubt
that they will, pick up your foot and plant it facing
the right way rather than twisting your knee around.
(2) Lift the kicking knee parallel to the ground and point your
toes.
c) Action
(1) Extend the kick through the target zone.
d) Reaction
(1) The victim’s stomach quickly contracts back, their chest
drops, and their face comes up to see the audience.
(2) The victim makes an explosive vocal knap using a
structured exhale (a voiced consonant followed by audible
breath on a vowel, glottal stops aren’t a great call).