A trained freestylist 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 items 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.
I came up with my own plan of action, as time passed. My observations were not based the fact that if you have feinted towards an opponent to make a response you have wasted a motion, and if he is not wasting motion you’re already in a fight. I realized that in a real fight I wouldn’t have time to feint because the fight was already started
First, I began to take apart such factors as speed and mass. If he was strong and chunky, he would be more likely to close and grapple, and if he was quick and lean he would be looking for speed and striking. And, of course, there wasn’t much value in this general an analysis.
So I began to isolate whether he was left handed or right handed by observing which hand was forward. This was much better because it told me where the power was coming from, and even what angle it would from. Still, this observation only resulted in maybe a ten per cent edge in fighting, and I needed more than that.
Still, knowing which hand he was attacking with let me know whether he was setting up for a kick. I began to dissect potential distances, and what effect this had on an opponent, and how I should angle my attack. The real key to all this was whether he shifted to free up a leg for kicking.
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 puzzle . Try it, and feel free to send me your observations, good or bad, I’ll be very interested in your progress and results.
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