In the style of Filipino martial arts I practice, the Defensor Method, they categorize most blocks into two different energies: Seguida and Contra. Contra means “against”, and Seguida means “to follow”.
A lot of the time, our first instinct when we think of a block is something that meets the attack and collides with it to stop it from fully harming you. For example, if a downward knife attack came at you murder-movie style, you may be tempted to do a high block to defend. This would be a contra block; anything that meets the attack and clashes forces with it directly.
However, in some instances it may be better to do a block that goes with the energy of their attack rather than against. Sometimes with the clashing contra energy, you get stuck in a struggle as both forces push against each other. Consider that same overhead knife attack, instead of doing an upward block to meet this downward force, you could do a passing block that goes with the momentum of their swing. This way you can utilize their own attack against them in a sense by following the energy they’re already committing to, giving you more opportunities to escape the situation. This would be a seguida block; following the attack’s energy and meeting it with its own. Both of these blocks are useful and effective in their own ways.
When I first heard this, I thought it was a very interesting concept; I never considered a block to follow an attack instead of go against it. Just like life, sometimes you have to go with the flow and not fight against it.
