Pananjakman

Pananjakman is the Filipino martial art of low-line kicking, part of Eskrima and related to Panantukan. Some claim that pananjakman is an art in and of itself, while others feel that it is simply the kicking portion of Eskrima, separated only for marketing purposes by certain schools to teach it as a "new system". Pananjakman is not known in the Philippines itself and is generally only taught as such in the West.

Pananjakman can be regarded as a study of the leg muscles and bones and how they are connected, with the goal of either inflicting pain or outright breaking or dislocating the bones. Most striking techniques involve applying pressure to bend the target areas in unnatural ways so as to injure or break them. Such pressure may be delivered in the form of a heel smash, a savate-style toe kick, a stomp, or a knee. Targets include the groin, thighs, knees, shins, ankles, and the feet and toes.

Example techniques include: Kicking or smashing the ankle to force it either towards or away from the opposite foot (severe supination or pronation, respectively); Heel-stomping the top of the foot where it meets the lower leg so as to break or crush the numerous bones or otherwise disrupt the opponent's balance; Smashing the opponents knee from the side to break the knee (with severe supination and pronation as the desired result).

In pananjakman, the upper body (arms and head) are used only for defensive maneuvers, and as such this art would seem ideal for when combatants are engaged in the clinch. When used effectively, pananjakman's strikes can bring an opponent to the ground or otherwise end an altercation by making the opponent too weak to stand.