The U-Combination is a method for fighting across the pocket from his empty side to his stick side. If possible, when close, you avoid the checking hand and gang up on his stick hand, immobilizing the stick with your checking hand and whacking him with your stick.

Do a close cut smash, or a check smash, or a close oblique smash with a #1 to the head-neck-collarbone.

Stop and think, if this is a dude and not a bag his empty hand is coming up for a sacrifice block that is too late or for a disarm attempt.

If you pull this stick back in a return to guard from thrust you need to leave and will probably get hit doing so.

If you bring your stick back for another whack to his head then he will probably grab it.

If you go for a body smash, which you can get because his hand and elbow are rising, then he will snake that stick.

As his hand rises you drop your stick past it, slash his bottom rib, rip that stick across his gut or solar plexus and slash out across the other ribs. This does not stop him, but brings his hands, and maybe even knees, down.

This slash needs to be done without pulling back the stick. You drop the stick and then drive it with forearm action and leg action.

The leg action is a wide step across his front with the checking hand foot, maybe even onto his stick foot or driving your shin into his ankle, or stepping around it, to a knee bend. The other knee, under the stick, drops, putting ass into the stroke, and is then driven by the rear foot, putting calf muscle into the blow.

The entire time you better have a checking hand on his head, shoulder, elbow, stick or hand.

Now you have ripped a shoot through his cuts and are communing up to put the other upright on your U. The stick hand has been driven to your left hip. Now as you push him down or off and release your checking hand so that you do not break your own thumb, you uncork a vicious backhand to the head, looping that stick up over his shoulder and then engaging the golfer’s pivot and trying to take his head off. If he has raised his stick up, then cut the rising aspect of the stroke short and rip the power back hand into the elbow or shoulder.

This backhand is a slash, rip it through him.

The U-Combination was taught to the Modern Agonistics group by Aaron Seligson, who basically owns this drill. It is a must for any fighter who wants to be able to launch a smash attack. The smaller you are in comparison to the foe the more important this is. When in close with strong men you must stun them with shock and “Awl, fuck!” levels of pain.

Next up is the Power Fan.