Signature f808z Combo Break-downs
You’ve seen the combos, you’ve marveled, you probably didn’t know what was happening. Luckily for you, I’m here to explain the intricacies and specifics of each of them so that you’ll be able to comprehend what happened.
Introduction
Most people who’ve seen what I do can guess that I utilize elements of various martial arts, including (but not limited to): Bokator, Capoeira, Kungfu, and Taekwondo. This is true, however, and I cannot reiterate this enough, I’ve had no significant formal training in any of them. I’m just a big fan of all the martial arts films I grew up watching, so I just do my best to replicate and emulate cool stuff that I’ve seen, and then I use my background in Tricking & Bboying to fill in the many knowledge gaps I have. Combine all that with the fact that I use my skills for the screen, not the ring, and that’s how you get Fists of F8 the ultimate aesthetic mixed martial arts form developed by me, F808Z.
Just kidding, could you imagine? Anyway, that was the mandatory introduction I have to do every time because a truly harrowing amount of messages I get are people asking me to train them to fight REAL PEOPLE in their lives. Look, I’m usually nice in a street fight, but I’m no professional fighter, so I just have to be clear. Now then, onto the combos!
Oh, and if you haven’t seen the video I’m talking about, it’s here
Breakdowns
Combo 1: Airflare → Flyin’ Hawaiian Drop kick
Crazy enough, even though I created it, I didn’t actually name this one. I also didn’t come up with the nickname Flyin’ Hawaiian, but those are the cards I was dealt, and brother, I’m only going all in.
So the airflare is one of the iconic proprietary moves from Bboying, which feeds perfectly into the flare, which I use as a sweep under the bag/opponents, and then I draw my legs into my chest as they come back around to use as I massive dropkick. Though insanely impractical, this one is actually one of my harder hits since my entire bodyweight and momentum from the airflare goes into it. There’s honestly not much to the combo as far as complexity, the moves feed into each other perfectly, they just happen to be pretty high-level. When I was coming up with it originally, it made perfect sense in my head (these things usually take a LOT of refining before I try), it was just a matter of having perfect spacing and positioning to actually pull it off.
My airflares are on the lower side, which means they cover a good bit of distance, so I start about 1.5 body lengths back and face a little left of the bag. The true challenge of this combo is making sure my legs don’t hit the bag when I flare under it or put me too close/far to fire off the dropkick after. So yeah, the individual moves and the spacing are the real challenge of this bad boy.
Also, I fkn love this combo. It feels soooooo good and I fear no one else will ever know that feeling. So if you, dear reader, manage to get it, be sure to revel with me.
Combo 2: Cheat 720 → S-dobrado → 1990
Ok now here’s a good mix: we’ve got Tricking → Capoeira → Bboying. That’s pretty much my bag.
This one is a far older entry into the F808Z signature combos, so it took me a lot longer to get down. I probably spent just under a week’s worth of fruitless kicking sessions before I managed to land and execute everything in a satisfactory manner. For reference, combo 1 took me 6 tries. This is a great example to point out the differences in execution when it comes to just doing a move and landing one in a combo. A Cheat 720 is a lower-intermediate move in Tricking, landing one on a target is harder, landing one with just the ball of your foot in a way that balances & spaces you out for the next move is significantly harder.
After landing the c7, I want my momentum to move to the left of my target so I can catch my self in an esquiva, then into negativa, then I whip my left leg in front of or under the bag while jumping off my right which will hit it as I balance on my left hand. Ok now comes the hard part: kicking off of the bag, I fully invert and pivot onto my right hand, then finally I straighten out my body above that hand, thus allowing me one full rotation of a 1990. That probably seems like a lot, but that’s only because it is.
This one also feels super buttery to pull off. 1990s are one of my favorite moves in Bboying, and I took tons of influence from Lateef Crowder vs Tony Jaa in The Protector. Also you should watch Raging Phoenix with Jeeja Yanin because they were also on some bs with their breakdance fighting and I loved it.
Combo 3: Compasso (2x) → Masterswipe Round → Flying Back Kick
Banger. This one has such a slick direction change that you might not even notice it, and if you just thought “pshh I noticed it” well then I bet you didn’t know that there are in fact TWO direction changes.
Compassos come from Capoeira and are basically super charged spin hooks, the Flying Back Kick comes frommm Taekwondo? Probably? Idk many martial arts movies have it. The Masterswipe Round, however, is… difficult. Technically, I think this one is also from Capoeira as the Au amazon, but I got the idea from Jet Li’s fight with Siu-Ho Chin in Fist of Legend (which is incredible btw you should watch it), which I later found out he did on wires. So I basically spent a month getting the jumpiest looking version of this, which I probably would never have managed to do without the muscles from lifting and the coordination from Bboying. Yeah don’t go into trying that one without some serious conditioning.
This one just feels… so very right. Like I do it and then the universe makes an imperceptiblely acute shift toward order. If you’ve ever flipped multiple sunny side eggs up at once and then they all land perfectly in the over-easy position before, it’s like that feeling x10.
Combo 4: Tac Roll → Blasterscoot → Full Side Kick (aka Viceroy’s Lament)
MMMMBANGER. This one feels illegal, and it probably is. Everything in this combo also comes from movie.
The Tac Roll (idk if it’s actually called that) comes from Ana de Armas’ shootout scene in No Time to Die (2021) and was done by Monia Moula (probably). It’s basically a flying side kick that transfers enough for the performer to rebound straight into a dive roll. It’s one of those moves that is probably a lot easier if you’re a small thing hitting a big thing, but I’m a big thing hitting a slightly smaller thing, so it took some practice to get this one with slamming myself into the ground or the bag into the wall.
The Full Side comes from mf ANDY LE as Death Dealer in Shang Chi (who got robbed) and is one of the only moves that I’ve gotten to see both in-person and on the big screen. Legendary. So for this one, you either need insanely precise fulls & sides, or you could do what I do and just get hella height on your fulls so you’ve got more time to spot your side kick. I’m calling it Elevated Lazy. Either way, spacing the full is the hard part and working against your rotation to land the side kick is the harder part. Oh and the blasterscoot is just my preferred set-up. Andy and Brian Le use cartwheels, but those get me too high up and I’ve kicked the chain a few times.
Combo 5: Narabong → Au Amazona Dupla
Taekwondo & Capoeira, the match made in heaven in my opinion. I like that this one is two moves with double kicks, it’s like alliteration in martial arts.
Narabong is the name for a tornado kick to skip hook, all I did was adopt TKD footwork and change the round & hook to side & back kicks, which I’ve seen people do. I’ve sparred people… who’ve done it to me… and now I also do it to people. We really become our own monsters.
Au Amazona Dupla is also probably called something else, but I speak neither Portuguese nor Korean, so here we are. I had actually been working a very similar variation for a while when Ip Man 4 came out and Scott Adkins did this to Donnie Yen. They might have used wires for that, but I’m just a guy so I just be doing what I can.
This one sparks joy, but to a lesser degree. I just always feel like everything could be better: longer extensions, more height, stronger exit, etc. but I guess we’ll just say it’s imperfect so as not to offend god.
Combo 6: Boxing → Compasso → Flag Drop
Ok I’m not going to talk about the boxing part of this because that is not my area, and we know about the compasso already, so here’s the skinny on the Flag Drop Kick:
This is an old school, and I mean old school move from all kinds of Hong Kong movies, though I feel like I’ve seen Sammo Hung do it the most (also on wires). My version, of course, has no wires because I am of the dirt, so I just throw it like a spinning back kick with both legs and use the ol’ Bboying tech to catch myself in that juicy flag freeze. This is also one of those crazy strong kicks (when I favor power over pretty) that I kind of possibly want to try out for real one day.
This one is a bit crunchy, but it feels pretty sick if you can manage to leave the ground when throwing the Flag Drop.
Combo 7: Switch Rounds → Spin Hook → Flag Drop Flurry
Again, we kind of know what’s up with the first two, so I’ll focus on the Flag Drop Flurry here. Briefly, I got the Switch Rounds from a Taekwondo drill, and my Spin Hook comes from Tricking, the only tricky part with these is switching from round spacing to hook spacing since I hit with different parts of my leg.
Flag Drop Flurry, oh baby. It’s also probably not called that, but I’m calling it that because I got the idea from the Spider-man 2 game for PS5, and as someone who works in mocap, I can tell they did hella tricks to make that move work. I’ve been beyond the veil, behind the curtain, and I’ve seen and even done tricks like these for other games, but not here. Still of the dirt, so you know I had to figure it out acoustic. It’s essentially a frame-perfect flag drop that allows me to hit three times without losing balance or position.
Everything has to be on point to pull this one off, but when it I nail it, I really feel like spider-man and can’t help but have all the swagger of a Black teen.
Combo 8: Armada → Compasso → Inverted Flying Knee
Delicious, simply delectable. A scrumptious melange of Capoeira, Bokator, and a lil F808Z kick give this combo an earthy body with an acidic bite on the end. We’ve got the Armada (outside spinning crescent) as a feign, the Compasso slices right through, and the Inverted Flying Knee pierces into the bag. Now let’s talk about that knee:
Another original move: I actually created this move for DY Sao to use in one of his movies, but I might just beat him to it! It uses similar set-up tech to the Masterswipe Round and Au Amazona, but it’s more fully inverted, which is what allows me to stick that pose slightly longer. This one is also a conspicuously strong hit due to the rotation and bodyweight going into the target. It’s by far my strongest knee variation.
The IFK took me a minute to design, and then another good minute to perfect, and it just feels so satisfying to flip in the air and stab something with my leg. I’m not sure why, but I wanna say this move feels like biting into mochi, but with your whole body.
Combo 9: Boxing → Compasso → Zulu Spin Round
We’re good on the Boxing and Compasso, let’s talk Zulu Spin.
Zulu Spins come from Bboying and are similar to Negativa/Rollos in Capoeira, which is why I just kinda put them together as a set up for a sneaky touchdown round. This combo isn’t really anything special, but it’s got heart. I’d say this combo feels like Raising Cane’s: unimpressive and unmemorable, but the sauce makes it hit.
Combo 10: Compasso → Reversão → Skip Back Kick → Au Amazona
This one is all Capoeira, but the Capoeira comes from a young boy’s impression of Tekken.
Reversão are actually just Combassos that pass all the way through. This allows skilled practitioners to use a move that is normally seen as acrobatic as two radial kicks at an opponent. I don’t always manage to hit both kicks perfectly on the bag while still being able to pass through, but yeah it basically borrows spacing and recovery from Compasso. Unlike its cousin, however, that weird little landing does give you the perfect set-up into a Skip Back Kick, which then gives you the perfect set-up for Au Amazona. The back kick pushes the bag back, which will then return at an angle, and it’s always easier to land an Au Amazona on an angle.
Good mouth feel on this combo, really like hitting it. I’d say it feels like enveloping your naked body in many fine sheets of silk and then punching a fascist as hard as you can. Soulful
Combo 11: Flying Knee Switch → Elbows → Corkscrew Round
Man it took me a MINUTE to finally get this one down, and nailing it felt so damn ice cold. I literally shivered the first time I got it, like I walked out of the ocean and directly into a Sear’s.
The Flying Kee Switch is a super easy move to get, the only hard part is getting a good silhouette with it (and for me, not sending the bag into the next room). The elbow combo is just fancified Bokator/Muay Boran with some 52Blockz influence, and then I do that tiger claw stance to reset the bag’s swing direction before the cork.
The corkscrew round is one of those moves that I got down so well, I almost forgot about how much of a WITCH it was to learn. I’d already been doing Tricking for years, so I could cork and I could round, how hard would that be to get on a bag? Turns out, super hard. My corks were very flippy, and you need zero flip to make this kind of cork round work on a bag, so I had to learn brand new tech from scratch, which I wanna say took me about a month of consistent practice. From then on, it was just ridiculous amounts of repetition to really understand my spacing + knowing the swing of the bag until I could pull it out in any combo I like.
Also phenomenal mouth feel on this one, and the way the cork round fully stops my momentum so I can push off and hit a sick pose? Bellissimo.
So yeah this was super fun! I feel like I really got to know you. We should do this again sometime.
