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Any move or maneuver that controls, hampers, hinders, restrains, obstructs, inhibits, nullifies, and/or prevents another’s movement in any way.
For the purposes of this appendix, it will be considered that the cover and the check are the same thing, even though; if one were to “split hairs”, they would have to consider them different entities. Here’s why:
A cover is typically considered used in anticipation of motion. For example: If one were to protect their ribs, by anchoring their elbow, one could argue that it was done in anticipation of the opponent's desire to strike that target. Therefore, the defender would be preempting a potential attack by “covering” their ribs. Thus, the term cover.
A check, on the other hand, is typically considered used to inhibit potential future motion. For example: If one were to place their left hand on top of the opponent’s right hand, one would effectively prevent the opponent from moving their hand in some of the possible directions their hand could potentially travel. Therefore, the defender would have hindered the opponent's potential future motion by “checking” their movement. Thus, the term check.
However, for general purposes, most consider the broader definition of a check to be - the positioning of any part of your body (or your entire body) in such a way as to control, hamper, hinder, restrain, obstruct, inhibit, nullify, and/or prevent some form of motion from your opponent.
One might argue – “check”, what is so important about a check? Well, consider this fact – this simple physical action distinguishes American Kenpo from a large number of other martial arts. Point of fact, a large number of other styles almost entirely do not employ checks, or they consider them such an advanced topic that they are not considered until after obtaining a rank of black belt. But, American Kenpo considers the check such a fundamental principle of movement that almost every movement we do has some form of checking employed in its application.
To further enhance this point, consider that each of the following terms can be construed, from a specific point of view, to being a form of checking:
Angle of Deviation, Angle of Deflection, Anchor, Blocking, Margin for Error, Stance, Fit, Strike, Leverage, Break, Sandwich, Contact, Position, Posture, Attitude - just to name a few.
If one were to consider the number of ways that motion could be hindered in some way, they would immediately have to conclude that there are a great number of ways to accomplish this goal. That very reason is why there are so many different types of checks. What follows is a compiled list of the different types of checks employed in American Kenpo. But, it is left up to the reader to determine how each type of check is physically and practically applied.
Bracing, Burdening, Cocking, Collapsing, Cross, Detaining, Dipping, Double, Gravitational, Hugging, Jamming, Nudging, Offensive, Parrying, Patting, Pinning, Positioned, Pressing, Pushing, Rebounding, Rolling, Roving, Sliding, Striking, Sweeping, Twirling