Blogging PostsQuality Articles On Wide Range Of Topics. Share Practical Skills.

A trained martial artist will be aware of how the attacker is holding his body, even if a fight is a frantic affair from the outset, and what his positioning means. This article details my thought evolution when I formulated a plan for handling attackers. What is nice is that it is workable in freestyle, so you don’t have to go out and find a mugger to see if it works.

One of the earliest things I learned, concerning how to size up an opponent, was how he moved when you made a quick move towards him. If he moved back he was a runner, if he blocked he was a blocker, and if he moved towards you he was a fighter, or a jammer. This theory came to me through kenpo, was put forth by Joe Lewis, and supposedly was originated by Bruce Lee.

Time passed, and I came up with my own observations in this matter. My observations were not based upon feinting towards an opponent to make a response, for that means you have wasted a motion, and if he is not wasting motion you’re already in a fight. So I assumed that I was in a fight already, and that I better just get on with analyzing the attacker.

First, I judged speed and mass and such factors. If he was lean and quick he would be looking for speed and striking, and if he was chunky and strong, he would be more likely to close and grapple. And, of course, these generalities proved to be of incredibly limited value.

So I began to isolate whether he was right handed or left handed by asking myself which hand was forward. This told me where the power was coming from, and even what angle, and so was much better. Still, there was only about a ten per cent gain in my overall knowledge, and this certainly wasn’t enough to give me the kind of edge I wanted in a fight.

Still, I became aware of whether he was setting up for a kick by knowing which hand he was attacking with. I began to gauge distances, and how far an opponent was, and how I should angle my attack. The real key, however, was if he shifted to free up a leg or not.

Understanding the importance of the positioning of the feet and the hands, I began to separate the body in half. I would view it as two pieces, and estimate, from the angle he was facing me, what what angle I should take on the defense, and what angle he would take on the attack. This invaluable observation drove my effectiveness up by 70%.

There will always be a bit of mystery as to what is going to happen when you start fighting. Still, if you cut the body in half, top to bottom and side to side, you’re going to have a distinct plan and reduce the mystery. Try it, and feel free to send me your observations, good or bad, I’ll be very interested in your results and progress.