We are on a smash progression, which must be exited on a slash or jab, preferably a slash as it punishes. Always clean up on a slash or a jab. Do not finish with a smash unless your man is finished.

Now that you have learned the check smash, step back and step obliquely to the bag so that you have taken a step that is far enough out to your stick hand side that you cannot check the bag with your open hand.

As your heel hits the floor drive the elbow of your stick hand across the ribs toward your center line. This will set your hip to the outside, and your turning into the target will power the stroke. The foot has landed on the heel, and as your elbow moves the ball of the foot drops as you pivot on the heel and brake that pivot halfway with the ball of the foot as you flex your tricep into the stroke digging that stick into the bag. It should sound like a gunshot.

The checking hand is on guard to either shoot out at the base of his stick or sacrifice in a high ear shield against a counter stroke.

If he is any good he is countering, so you pivot off line some more letting him pass and either go to a roof block to a forehand counter, or do an inside stick beat to a backhand smash to the face and then slash out on the vertical highline with a #4.

Try these combinations:

1. Oblique smash, with sacrifice checking hand, to a pivot slash: #1, check, #1

2. Oblique smash to roof block, to vertical slash, with a reverse shift or draw step away: #1, roof block, #4

3. Oblique smash, to inside stick beat, to back hand smash, to vertical slash out: #1, inside beat, #3, #4

Basically, when you are slashing out, you want to pivot away with the #1, letting your rear foot drag around as your keep the pivoting foot planted, or you want to shift away or draw step [boxing step and drag] away while coming down with the vertical slash.

Next up is the Cut Smash.