Zone 5
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Zone Five is perhaps the most misunderstood area by many students, encompassing as it does almost all the vulnerable areas of the human body. At first glance only the extremities are exposed and many areas are covered by the other four zones. However when considering linear attacks such as stabs or thrusting movements, Zone Five covers almost all the possibilities available to your opponent.
Initially, students are taught to deliver a No.5 Strike (i.e. an attack to Zone Five) by thrusting straight along the centreline towards the chest or belly, and defending the same by moving inside or outside this line accordingly. Both left & right hands are used right from the start.
As with the other zones though, there are an unlimited number of incoming angles with which to deliver a No.5 Strike. This seems simple at first, however a stab to the thigh or groin will force the untrained fighter to move in a totally different way than a stab to the face or throat. Try it and see (but please be careful!) If you then consider multiple strikes from more than one weapon, such as Z1-Z2 with the right, then Z5 with the left, you'll quickly see how tricky Zone Five can be to handle.
Fortunately the Escrima Concepts system has many training programmes devoted to this region. Basic attacks & defences to Zone Five are taught from the second student programme onwards, and indeed our intermediate levels explore a huge range of stabbing possibilities at various ranges & with different lengths of weapon. As always, movement is the key to success with Zone Five.
Read more about the characteristics of other Striking Zones below;
- More about zone one
- More about zone two
- More about zone three
- More about zone four
- More about how the five zones overlap each other
Zone Five forms part of the Basic Box Theory which you can learn more about in other parts of this site.
