The elbow blow is one of the moves of the Binh Dinh Gia Martial Arts School.

Elbow blows in a strong, flexible and getting-close offensive are considered one of the fortes of the Vietnamese traditional martial arts in general and Binh Dinh Gia Martial Arts School in particular.

To bring into full play the advantage of a small figure, the nimbleness and cleverness of the Vietnamese people, long ago Vietnamese martial arts masters, including the masters in the Binh Dinh Gia martial arts school established many devilish and effective strikes. One of the moves of the traditional martial arts is the “getting close” fighting style which can constrain the opponent’s height as well as get access to his weak points.

To enhance the advantage of this fighting style the masters often apply techniques such as lowering the standing position, moving quickly and cleverly, taking opportunities to strike quick blows, using the elbows, knees, edges of the hand and tips of the fingers to knock the opponent out.

The elbow blow is considered the most effective in “getting close” fighting. The practitioner can use his elbows, which are as firm as two metal bars, to attack his opponent at dangerous body points, such as the waist, belly, back, neck, and head. With destructive power many times stronger than that of punches, the elbow blows are considered “deadly blows”. They can immediately kill an opponent. Therefore, there are still many mysterious stories about this strange fighting style.

Elbow blows also have a strong defensive capacity. By using the elbows cleverly, an excellent martial arts master can form them into a steel shield to protect his body against his opponent’s attack. Meeting this shield, the opponent’s blows and kicks not only rebound back at him but also hurt.

To use the elbow blows fluently the master must spend time training hard. Apart from practising to make the elbows hard as steel, which are able to break a stone block or a fresh coconut, he must enhance his capacity of moving quickly and flexibly to bring into full play the “getting-close” fighting style.

Source: VNP