Chapter 19 – The Power of the Fork
Not a pitch fork, not a spoon and fork, not a fork lift, not a fork in the road, but a fork in chess. This is an offensive move that, not only attacks one piece, but it attacks two pieces simultaneously. For all of you non chess players, imagine two pawns 20 feet apart, and a horse gallops right in the center, the horse is now 10 feet from each pawn. With one leap he could get either one. If the pawn on the east runs away, he hits the pawn on the west. If the pawn on the west runs away he hits the pawn on the east. The value of attacking two things simultaneously, is immense, deep and even profound. This concept is universal and immutable. Regardless if we are discussing business, chess, debate, or martial arts. And in martial arts, the style of kick boxing that truly illustrates this point is Savate. If a regular kick boxer kicks your thigh, they aim, point and kick, directly at your thigh. If that same regular kick boxer wants to kick your head, they will aim, point and kick, directly to your head. If a Savate man however, wants to execute the same moves, he will aim and point his knee in between the thigh and the head. This move will be executed in the form of a fake, and will evoke a reaction from the adversary. They will either guard their head, in which case the Savate man will kick their thigh, or they will guard their thigh, in which case the Savate man will kick their head. Not only does this make it difficult, it makes it down right impossible for the opponent to know which attack will be finally executed. The opponent would literally have to have a crystal ball. Now these forks that we are referring too, when executed be a true “savateur” are always done in combinations. Say two, three, and as many as four at a time.
To me the most amazing thing about watching a “Savateur” perform a combination of forks, is exactly how slow these fellas can pull this off, when they want too. When one is crafty enough, they can literally kick and land, at 25% speed (pinpointing the jaw, the groin, solar plexus, kidneys or thigh) ! There is literally no speed required when one uses a fork. This is why, in Savate, the best Savateurs are between 50 and 70!
And of course the Brazilians have their fork… The difference between a purple belt and a black belt, is how they attack. Both can attack in single direct attacks, both can attack in combination attacks. However what differentiates the two, is the black belt is executing the progressive indirect attack i.e. the fork. The black belt is always attacking two, sometimes 3 things at one time. I put in 6 hours of private wrestling with Rickson every week for 4 and half years. Sometimes literally meeting him at 5 in the morning. And I can honestly tell you, that in the thousands and thousands of times that I have tapped from that man, every single solitary time he faked me out!
He would attack my arm, I would defend my arm, and in a nanosecond he would be attacking my foot, I would pull my foot in, and within a nanosecond I would be tapping to a choke. I am one of the few people that have had the privilege of spending thousands of hours with most of the Gracie brothers, Rolyer, Royce, Rorion, and Rickson. Many people have subsequently asked me how do they differ ?
Please check the Table of Contents for links to other chapters of this Online Book.
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