What are Combinations? Why are they taught in that order?
Combinations (also called Defense Maneuvers in some Shaolin Kempo schools) are a set of defenses against punches and are designed to teach important concepts of motion. Supposedly based on the original 18 Hands of Lohan and the subsequent 108 movements of the ancient style, 26 Combinations have found their way into most modern systems of Shaolin Kempo. Shared by nearly all Shaolin Kempo practitioners, the first 26 are relatively the same throughout most systems while remaining Combinations are not taught in all schools and may be the same or vary widely from instructor to instructor. The basic defenses are designed against straight punches from a right handed attacker stepping in with the punch. Of course, variations are encouraged to be practiced and some techniques work better off left handed punches, high/low attacks, over committed strikes, etc. Combinations are taught in their obscure order (usually 6, 7, 3, 5, 2, 18, 4, etc.) and are presented in order of complexity (Combination
