Critical Distance and Types of Fighters

[Hikage]

I'm only talking once the fight is initiated and whats the point of training in MA if your just gonna pretend to cry then sucker punch/ whatever the guy. Any person can do that, keeping yourself cool keeps your mind clear and focused, the more concentration the more able you will be to use techniques either by striking, blocking or countering.

I understand that you mean once the fight started, you're right. It's on.

However, if I can avoid fighting, I will. I don't care how good you are, how much confidence you have, etc. Anyone can get in a lucky shot. Why place myself at risk when it's not necessary. If we're talking about fighting some guy for no reason (i.e. drunken bar fight, road rage, etc.) I don't see any reason I should place myself or the assailant at risk. I don't want to maime someone and have to go to jail for their stupidity.

I heard a story about an escrimador, I believe it was in CA. This dude was a master and had ordered a brand new pair of sticks. On his way from the store, some moron tried to rob him. Needless to say, the escrimador was awarded the opportunity to try out his new toys. The thug then sued him for aggravated assault, saying that being a MA, he should have been able to subdue him with less force.

The case went to court and they brought in this dummy that would record the number of times you hit it. The escrimador went nuts on the dummy. I don't remember how many times he hit it, but it was enough for an acuital. The idea was that if he COULD have hit him that many times, he really was holding back with the damage he did encure.

I don't want to have to go through this crap. If avoiding a fight means swallowing my pride, then sure, I'll bawl my little eyes out.

-Hikage

[Mad_Mally]

Of course you could use crying as a ruse, to lull your opponent into a false sense of security and then wam take him out when his defenses are down.

[electrorok]

im with hikage on this one. if i can talk my way out of a fight i always will take that route. they can call me anything they want and i will just swallow my pride and take it. U know yourself what u are caple of doing to your opponent so why bother. u have to be smart about it, if he has 4 friends with him and your by yourself or with your partner the chances r your not gonna win, so just apologize and move on. u need to take into account that if a fight starts out your getting your friends involved in it aswell. u might be able to look after yourself but can your friends?
but if all else fails and he wants to dance im going staright for the nuts and then im out of there. theres no reason to go toe to toe with anyone, i mean theres no title up for grabs. and theres no shame in trying to survive.

[LoneWolf1]

I'd say thats all pretty true in true self defence situations but if it's a school yard scrap or just a drunken brawl I don't think u really need to go for the nuts. I would rather go toe to toe than be kicked in the nuts, It helps to think from their perspective aswell. But yeah if your in a bonified self defence sitch then yeah do what yah have to.

[HtTKar]

Just an opinion

I'm with Hikage on this one. I like being underestimated. It's my best defense.
I wont back down, but I am very good at playing stupid. I just act like they mean well. If we're in a bar, I'll act like I cant hear them talking (musics too loud), and keep asking them to speak up. They'll usually lean in real close to tell you what they think. Being underestimated and having a neutral attitude seems to work, this includes controlling your facial expressions.

Play with their minds. If they are going fast, slow it down. If they're going slow, speed it up. Control the momentum of the game.

1.) chargers are usually off balance and swinging hard. They can usually be pulled forward towards the ground leaving the back of their head, neck, and spine open. Usually its best to move out of their way or push block and take their balance. Use their momentum against them. Stay smart and take your time, and when you have your chance, explode on them.
2.) Blocker. Grab his hand, and break his fingers. Elbows to the face. axe kicks to knock down their guard (a lot of people try to block axe kicks) Odd style punches. Charge over him, and go for breaks. Be as fast as you can. Luckily I've never met anybody that can block everything.
3.)Backwards runner. If they're running backwards, and I can't catch them, I'm doing something wrong. It would be nice to step on their toes and hit them, but who knows. I would have to adjust to see how they can go backwards faster than I'm going forwards.
4.)elusive runner. Hopefully hes' not an elusive accurate, powerful striker as well. Hopefully hes not running away and then throwing things at you, and running away again. Try to cut him off, throw things at him to slow him down. Conserve your energy and take your time catching him. Make sure he knows whats going to happen when he's caught. When you catch him, tie him up and punish him for making you chase him.

Grapplers, Kicking specialists, elusive stikers, and good street brawlers use a lot of different tactics. You will have to get very mean with these guys to win. Think like a dog does when they fight. A person is usually in the mindset "I'm going to mess him up". A dog thinks "I am going to kill...now". Get real mean, real fast, and hurt them in as many ways as you can, as fast as you can. simple right?

[Hardball]

I'm with Hikage on this one. I like being underestimated. It's my best defense.

Thanks for your contribution I enjoyed reading your post.

[Hardball]

One of the quickest ways to know which type of fighter you are up against is to do a quick assessment of there stance. In the street, your enemy will give away a lot of info just based on the stance he takes. Of course you have to be experienced with cross training to pick up on these subtleties.

[Hikage]

One of the quickest ways to know which type of fighter you are up against is to do a quick assessment of there stance. In the street, your enemy will give away a lot of info just based on the stance he takes. Of course you have to be experienced with cross training to pick up on these subtleties.

Do you find that most people on the street actually give you a stance? It might be different where you're from, but 'round these parts, the only people who give you a formal stance are those who have been trained. For the rest of them, their "stances" aren't really definable (which of course are the best stances) because they don't really know what they are doing.

-Hikage

[Hardball]

Do you find that most people on the street actually give you a stance? It might be different where you're from, but 'round these parts, the only people who give you a formal stance are those who have been trained. For the rest of them, their "stances" aren't really definable (which of course are the best stances) because they don't really know what they are doing.

-Hikage

Sometimes it's subtle and the stance may involve the upper body alone. But in the case of no stance that's when I employed the principle of "Critical Distance". I simply "creep" out of range of any attack or if the situation demands I may get out of range quickly. At any rate this is a discussion designed to help martial artist and your contribution has really been appreciated. Thanks.

[jcmack]

Interesting question. However, I would never think that way in real life. I never approach a real fight with any given strategy. It doesn't matter how much you have trained, a strategy may not work. Then what? If you put stock in strategies, you will be surprised when they fail. A fighter should learn how to evolve the way he approaches a fight with the opponent's reactions. Then, if he has trained correctly he won't be surprised since he doesn't expect any particular action from the fighter. For example, a fighter can be primarily a grappler, but may also have ungodly powerful punches. If you expect to keep him on his feet and fist fight him, you may be sadly surprised.

These strategies sound nice on paper, but may not actually work on the field. You could try to angle your way out of the chargers grasp while attacking at the same time, but what if your charger is 6'6 with long arms and an incredible sprint. This may not work. He may be so fast and have such a long reach that you can't get out of the way without being snagged down by his reach. Perhaps in this situation it would be best to let yourself be taken down, but in a way that is in your favor.

Point is, fighters are so vastly different, and there are there are so many unpredictable variables, it makes no sense to prepare to fight anyone by generalizing them into a category and making a plan to fight people in that category. If you want to properly prepare to fight different types of people, train with those different types of people. Utilize freestyle sparring. Just ask these people to attack you and train to respond. Personally, I could respond 10 different ways to the same attack by the same person.

Happy training

[Mad_Mally]

I agree, entering into any confrontation with a set battleplan is suicide. It is best to be calm and ready to respond to what your opponent is doing. In combat you can't be inward thinking you must focus on your envirnoment, and your opponent. You must observe your opponent instead of thinking what to do if charges etc... etc... Only by being mindful of the moment can you destroy your enemy. This must be done without compassion or any type of emotion. In combat you must be unthinking, yet sharply aware of your environment and your opponent.

[Hikage]

I agree, entering into any confrontation with a set battleplan is suicide. It is best to be calm and ready to respond to what your opponent is doing.

That is a battle plan.

-Hikage

[koto_ryu]

That is a battle plan.

-Hikage

True dat Personally whenever I'm in a fight, I accept the fact I'm probably going to get hit or stabbed and plan on winning any way I can. I totally agree with Hikage, as just being prepared for a confrontation is a battle plan in and of itself.

[Mad_Mally]

Its a plan of having no plan. It's like have a rule to have no rules. we can play this game all day. It doesn't change the truth of what I'm saying

[Hardball]

It's really a matter of opinion.............I can't imagine a battle without a plan and if your ambushed then you put together a "HASTY PLAN"