KS4 · Physical education · Year 11
Stances and basic strikes
Health and wellbeing: martial arts and self-defence
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/9
Your learning goal
I can demonstrate the basic principles of martial arts including fighting stance and basic fighting techniques.
1 of 9
Stances and basic strikes: slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
What you’ll learn
I can demonstrate the basic principles of martial arts including fighting stance and basic fighting techniques.
Key learning points
- Move: adopting the correct guard stance in martial arts is fundamental to performing attacking and defensive skills.
- Think: listening to cues, alongside observing your partner, requires concentration.
- Feel: trying to learn and continually practise new skills requires courage and resilience.
- Connect: providing positive feedback to one another creates a positive learning environment.
Words to know
- stance
- the position of the body for balance and readiness to perform
- punch
- a strike using a closed fist
- guard
- a defensive position used to protect the head, body and vital areas from strikes.
Common mistakes
Pupils will often tuck their thumbs under fingers or stick them out.
Pupils should lock thumbs around the outside of their fist to adopt the correct guard stance.
For parents, carers and teachers
- Emphasise that we are looking at basic martial arts movements as we do not have the padding and protective clothing necessary to do any contact work. The skills we learn are used across a range of different martial arts.