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As described numerous times throughout this guide, the Dictionary forms repeat a common pattern - in / out / up / down. But to analyze this pattern to its core, one must first define what is "in", what is "out", what is "up", and what is "down". On the surface this appears to be easy, but it is not always as easy at it appears.

 

First of all, the general term used for the purposes of this discussion will be directionality. Directionality is the identification of a path in which a maneuver takes as it travels through space and time. To narrow the scope of directionality down further, this discussion will be limited to simple linear and circular motion as used in defensive and offensive maneuvers.

 

To start with, directionality needs to have some sort of reference point. In this case, the person executing the maneuver will always be the reference point. As a side note, using the Point of View concept one could have used the first person (defender), second person (attacker), or third person (bystander) as the point of reference. Therefore, all references will be limited to only the practitioner, ignoring all other environmental objects - such as the ground, sky, walls, etc. Using these definitions and limitations the determination of directionality can begin.

 

Starting with "up", one can quickly say that, while in a standing position, "up" is motion that moves away from the feet and toward the head, until the motion gets above the head, at which point the direction must move both away from the feet and the head, but the object moving will always be closer to the head than the feet.

 

"Down", on the other hand, would always be the reverse of the "up" definition.

 

"In" and "Out" are a little harder to determine. In the "up" and "down" definition, the head and feet were used as reference points on the body to help define the motion. Therefore, new reference points are needed for "in" and "out". The easiest reference points are the outside edge of the body and the center-line of the body. Using these reference points, any motion that moves from the outside edge of the body toward the center-line of the body can be considered "in". And, any motion moving in the reverse direction, center-line toward the outside edge of the body, would be considered "out".

 

Relating these definitions to the basic blocks, upward blocks move toward the head and downward blocks move toward the feet. But, both the vertical outward and the inward block pass through the center-line and move back toward the outside edge of the body. This can cause some confusion. In American Kenpo, we chose to call the block that travels through the center-line from the same side of the body the inward block and the block that travels through the center-line from the opposite side of the body the outward block. But, this didn't have to be this way.

 

Some systems call our outward blocks inward blocks and our inward blocks outward blocks. Why? Because if you take into consideration the opponent as a second point of reference, the inward block is more commonly used to open the opponent's center-line - or move the opponent's arm outward away from their center-line. While the other block most typically did the exact opposite - close the opponent's center-line with the opponent's arm.

 

So, who is correct? It really doesn't matter, as long as we all, in the same system, agree on the same names for the same maneuvers. But, one thing this discussion does expose is how sometimes things are just arbitrarily chosen to be the way they are, and we never stop to think about why they are the way they are until we analyze them further.