With combination attacks and angular movement, you will be able to: (1) expose different areas of the body to hit, (2) move in and out of ranges, and (3) compound the purpose of your movement with confusing your opponent (e.g., slipping to the outside of an opponent’s punch).
This photo shows an example of slipping on the outside of an opponent’s punch. A very subtle but effective approach to fighting is to use angular movement. Whether you are moving forward, side-to-side, or retreating, be conscious of your diagonal movements, as well. Diagonal movements allow you to slip punches and to sneak in punches when your opponent is pressing forward. You can either step in diagonal directions or simply move your upper body in diagonal directions to defend or attack.
Emphasize Body Manipulation
Always find ways to control your opponent’s body in the clinch or while grappling. By doing so, you keep him unbalanced and vulnerable to your strikes or finishing moves. Also, by manipulating your opponent’s body, you can flow into and out of ranges (e.g., getting inside to throw your opponent).
Here, I am positioned to throw my opponent over my shoulder. Learn to manipulate your opponent’s body using proper form and leverage so that, once you are in close against your opponent, you can throw him, sweep him, drop him, or lock him quickly and securely.
Emphasize Speed and High Hit Percentages
Speed in striking and movement is important to overwhelm the opponent with a high number of attacks from different angles, and to be able to control the ranges. In addition, aim to overwhelm your opponent with hits until you are sure your opponent is down. For example, many fighters are able to absorb direct hits to the face, so one knee or elbow to the face might not finish the fight. Therefore, you should continue striking with your knees and elbows until your opponent is out. Training that incorporates attacking with combinations is crucial to developing high-hit percentages.
Footnotes
1 A situation where the range may be fixed is if you’re fighting in an elevator.
2 In many martial arts, fighting with a weapon is considered a range in itself. However, a martial artist can fight with a knife in any of the four ranges described here. Remember that an opponent can grab a knife or another weapon when you’re fighting in the street.
CHAPTER 2
Adopting Proper Stance and Movement
Whether you fight in the ring or on the streets, your stance and your movement are the foundation of your fighting skills. A good stance will allow you to execute your techniques quickly and efficiently in a relaxed, balanced and protected way. Mastering movement for a fight is all about retaining your stance while you’re in motion. Whether you’re advancing, retreating, moving left or right, striking or defending—you always begin and end in your stance.
Remember: A good stance is your first offense and defense.
The Basic Fighting Stance
The primary purpose of your stance is to be able to hit and defend. A good stance allows you to shift your weight constantly as you move, defend or strike without compromising yourself.
Note the fundamentals for a good fighting stance: relaxed posture, chin tucked, hands up—balanced and ready to spring into action.
The stance begins with your feet, which you should keep a little wider than shoulder-width apart. This helps maintain your body alignment. Always aim to keep your feet under your body as you attempt any move, defense or strike. I like to keep about a 60–40 weight distribution on the balls of my feet. Even though my lead foot is flat on the floor in the picture, in actuality, when I move, I feel most of the weight on the balls of my feet.
The knees are bent to allow for a springy motion and to keep a semi-crouched stance.
Notice that the hands are up and at about eye level. This allows you to protect your face and see your opponent. You can make a loose fist or keep your hands open, as long as you remain relaxed. Your upper body “shield” runs from the tip of your elbows to your fingers.
Carry your head forward with your chin tucked. Your head should feel relaxed. Keep your eye on your opponent and be aware of objects that you can utilize as weapons, additional opponents and escape routes. Keep an eye on your surroundings with your peripheral vision.
Footwork
The whole point of footwork is to advance forward, retreat backward, move left and right or circle around your opponent easily, efficiently and with balance. Aim to develop a rhythmic motion, rocking back and forth and side to side like boxers do.
The following are some strategic footwork concepts:
• Step and slide forward to create an opening and force your opponent to strike or move. This allows you to gauge how your opponent reacts to you, which you can use to your strategic advantage.
• Step and slide backward to draw your opponent into you or to make your opponent lose their balance as they attack you. Depending on what your opponent does when you move backward, you can determine if they are aggressively attacking or patiently calculating what you’re up to.
• Advance shuffle to surprise your opponent by closing the distance and defending or attacking aggressively.
• Retreat shuffle to escape out of a dire situation when your opponent is overwhelming you with attacks or stepping into you too aggressively.
• Movement to the left or right for the same reasons you would when you step and slide forward or backward, except you’re moving left or right instead of forward or backward.
• Quarter-turn to the left or right to circle away from an opponent’s strongest attack and to try to off-balance your opponent.
Note that the instructions for these movements are for a left-foot forward position. If you fight with your right foot forward, then adjust your position as needed.
Step and Slide Forward
Before you run you need to walk, and so, before you can do the advanced shuffle and run circles around your opponent, you need to learn how to step and slide. The step and slide is a formalized way of learning movement and can be used when you want to get in and out of range safely while remaining balanced.
Once you are moving masterfully, you will also be able to make quarter-turns to the left or right around your opponent. Quarter-turns are clock-like movements around your opponent that don’t require you to slide. Instead, you pivot yourself in the direction you wish to face your opponent. This is an extremely useful skill to learn for counterfighting.
Begin in your stance.
Distribute your weight to the rear as you take a step forward. Keep
