<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Forms and Sets > Long Form 3 > Frequently Asked Questions > Why does Long Form Three not have any major live attacks?

Simply put, this form is not designed to highlight maneuvers against in-flight attacks. Instead, its design is primarily directed toward applied (i.e. grabbing, hugging, holding, locking, choking, etc.) attacks. That being said, there are two self-defense techniques that do not fit this categorization within the form: Parting Wings (against a mid-height push) and Thrusting Wedge (against a high push). Some may also try to include Blinding Sacrifice in this list, but it is ideally designed to be against a throat grab or choke. Although this technique would work equally well against an attempted grab or choke, it is not included in the form for that type of attack.

 

Another interesting way to look at this situation is that Blinding Sacrifice is a gateway or potential transition from a solidly applied (grab) (like Destructive Twins) to a potentially minor in-flight (push) attack (like Parting Wings). Also, along this line of thinking, Thrusting Wedge could be considered the opposite counterpart to Blinding Sacrifice. It is designed against a high push (semi-live), but could equally and effectively be done against a throat grab or choke (dead). This line of thinking is illustrative to the progression of the maneuvers from dead, to semi-live, to live - and the gray areas in between. And, opens the door to a broader spectrum of categorization of attacks.

 

Parting Wings and Thrusting Wedge are specifically included to progress the transition from dead to live, by including semi-live attacks. The final category of attacks (live) is in future forms. Including those types of attacks within Long Form Three would only dilute the purpose and targeted themes of the form. Another way to look at this is that excluding this category of attack from Long Form Three better fits with the overall design patterns and specialized themes of the various forms of the system. Including them at this point would significantly and irrevocably shatter that design. Instead, the inclusion of semi-live attacks along with the exclusion of live attacks in Long Form Three is to illustrate a developing complexity of offense and its impact, significance, and consideration on defense to the practitioner, in both a systematic and progressive manner.