Green Belt
The Green belt represents the first grading accomplishment and attainment of a new belt with the Griffon Program. The primary kick is the front kick and the secondary kick is the round-house. The lesson obtained within the form is control of the lower section of the body in moving it in a controlled fashion along two railway tracks. As well as the co-ordination of the arms and hands as the switch and change fists throughout the form.
Palms and closed fists are used in the form alongside the front kick. |
Terms and Notes
Good place
The Good Place refers to that place where your legs are at the appropriate distance apart while you are standing preparing to do your kick combination. At this level both sides of the hips are forward which will allow you to kick as you please. Palm height When lining up the palm in front of you when you are doing your combinations; remember that you are hitting with the bottom part of the palms. This means that they should look as though they are angles up slightly when you are striking. Striking Make your strikes strong and focused with everything behind them but always remember to keep your focus, your eyes, your targets in mind and not to snap your joints. If you keep these things in mind and train them well you will be able to make your uniform sing. |
Front kick
Round-house kick |
The front kick circles from the heel to the back of the leg to the raising of the knee and then releases through the foot.
Body part you are using: Raise your heels and feel the bones on the bottom of the foot. This is often referred to as the 'Ball of foot'. Targets: This can be directed anywhere on a forward facing. Knees, groin, solar plexus and head. The round-house kick works like a front kick except in this case there is a pivot which allows for a variation in length and the ability to strike a sidewards facing part of the body. In the Little Monkeys program is taught more of a sideways front kick using the ball of foot to strike with. - Middle range use your shin on the body - Close range use your knee on the body |
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Warm-ups
Warm-ups are an essential part of your training and can be done both before and after your session to aid joint mobility, injury prevention and increased blood flow.
Once you learn the order done in this video you will be able to do it anywhere that is safe and with enough room. The order done in this video is: Finger wraps starting with the little finger and working your way up - wrist circles - elbow circles - shoulder circles backwards then forwards - gentle neck circles - straight arm small shoulder circles - straight arm middle shoulder circles - swim forward - swim back - double arm swings forwards - double arm swings back - elbows flat torso twists - torso twists with relaxed arms - hour glass torso - waist circles - hip circles - knee circles - ankle circles - chicken scratching - leg swings |
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Forward stance and walking:
One of the best way to keep the feet at the right pacing is to imagine to railway tracks running in front of you not matter which way you are facing. These should be approx shoulder width apart and allow you to make a nice strong stance with enough width in between your legs so that you can roll a nice sized ball through them. We have provided a side and back view of the stepping. The back view also shows a handy way to find the rough place that is most suitable for you, just watch the start of the clip to see what I mean. When you are using the forward stance remember to have your posture erect, your shoulder back as though you are showing some writing on the top of your chest and eyes forward. Your leading knee stay in line with your toes and does not go past them. The back leg is 'straight' without being too locked. 
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Switch hands:
The three fist types used in Green belt are the closed fist, open palm and spear hand. The exercise is designed to help you learn how to switch between all three and allow a greater ease when learning the form as the switching hands is an important aspect. |
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Circling legs for kicks:
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Pivot step for all sideways kicks:
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Front kick 1st combination
- Back straight, elbows in & knees bent - Feet should be in 'Good Place' - Leading hand palms - Back hand palm - Back leg kicks Order for kick: good place - knee - kick- knee- step back down into 1st good place. Palms are to move towards the head balloon and should look like they are going up slightly. |
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Front kick 2nd combination
- Back straight, elbows in & knees bent - Feet should be in 'Good Place' - Back leg kicks ans steps forward - Leading hand palms - Back hand palm then step back Order for kick: good place - knee - kick- knee- step forward & down into good place then step back to original good place. Palms are to move towards the head balloon and should look like they are going up slightly. |
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Round-house kick 1st combination
- Back straight, elbows in & knees bent - Feet should be in 'Good Place' - Leading hand palms - Back hand palm - Back leg kicks For the kick: turn leading foot open slightly, raise knee, lift and pivot support ankle 45 degrees, torso turns and kick, bend knee and return to good place Order for kick: good place - knee - kick- knee- step back down into 1st good place. Palms are to move towards the head balloon and should look like they are going up slightly. |
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Round-house kick 2nd combination
- Back straight, elbows in & knees bent - Feet should be in 'Good Place' - Back leg kicks ans steps forward - Leading hand palms - Back hand palm then step back Order for kick: good place - knee - kick- knee- step forward & down into good place then step back to original good place. Palms are to move towards the head balloon and should look like they are going up slightly. |
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Snake / Sticky hands stepping:
the idea is to learn to remove yourself from the opponents 'kill zone' while staying connected. This is done in the video by keeping contact with the hands while moving the body core away from your partner's. As you can see both partners start with their feet on the yellow line. As one person steps off to the side you can see that even though the back leg swings around behind the leading leg has not withdrawn at all and is still on the yellow line. The person moving should be off on the 45 degree angle aimed at the partners core. 
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S.H: Out - In - Up - Down
The drill shown is what the two arm drill looks like. Each of the four directions uses either an outward or inward turn to move the arms / hands around the partners arms. The thumb keeps the orientation of being close to the partners arm. Think of it as though you are going to move around their attack and then follow with a strike or grab. This will be taught later on. Out and Up - Use an outwards turn of the palms In and Down - Use an inwards turn of the palm As your partner pushes your arm inwards then you reverse the motion as in OUT. Your palm moves down, and then up and around. Keeping your thumb pointed at their arm Up - As your partner moves your arm upwards the action is like that of OUT only this time you do not have an outward motion but an upward one to move your arm around Down - As you partner moves your arm downward the action is like that of IN. |
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Green Belt Form
The Green belt form is divided into 2 sections repeated twice with two transitory movements.
Section 1 - Begin in start position - Step 1. Bring hands up by your side and step out with your left leg into a middle / low horse form. As you do, shove both palms forward. - Step 2. Step back to feet together : make fists - bring your right fist palm up to your rite side and your left fist to the pit of the right shoulder with the palm on the chest. - Step 3. Turn eyes to the left, step out with the left leg into a forward stance and bring your right arm and fist across horizontally - Step 4. Switch hands when you step forward with your right leg: bring the left fist to the left side and the right hand palms - Step 5. Right hand grabs the air, left leg steps up and both feet pivot to face the starting direction. As you do so bring your right fist to the pit of the left shoulder palm on chest. - Steps 6 & 7. Repeat steps 3 and 4 but changing the directions - Step 8. Form a fist with your left hand and put it to your chest just like previous steps. Step out and around with your left to form a forward stance pointing towards the start direction. As you do so, swipe your fist down and across so that it finishes above and in line with your knee - Step 9. Switch hands, Right hand punches forward. Front kick with the back leg and use it to step forward. Repeat on other side. Step forward then punch with your right hand. - Step 10. 1st transition. Bring right hand to right hip palm up - left fist to right shoulder pit. Step up with your left leg and pivot the feet so that both feet face the direction you have just come. Your back should be to the Starting direction. Turn head to the left Step 11- 17. Repeat steps 3-9 Step 18. 2nd transition.Bring right hand to right hip palm up - left fist to left hip. Step up with your left leg and pivot the feet so that both feet face the Starting direction. Step 19. Bring hands up by your side and step out with your left leg into a middle / low horse form. As you do, shove both palms forward. Step 20. Step back to Start position while bringing your hands up and over to your side. Making sure not to slap your legs or let your eyes waver until you have completely finished. |
Lots more coming soon
