ASSESSING YOUR OPPONENT
When faced with an opponent, one of the first things you will want to assess is what type of fighter are they. This does not mean what kind of stylist (i.e.: Wing Chun, Tae Kwon Do) they are. Most fighters, not all, will fall into one of three categories and most common is the runner. The runner tends to move backward or to the sides with every move you make. Next is the attacker. The attacker tends to charge in or attack whenever there is a lull in the fighting. Thirdly, there is the in-fighter, an in-fighter will stand their ground, they will block or deflect and counter all of your techniques.
To be an effective fighter, you will have to study each type. When you do this you will notice that there are strategies and techniques that work against each type.
First lets take a look at the runner. Most runners are inexperienced fighters, they may have a third degree black belt, but you can almost be sure they were never involved in any type of combat before. The runner will almost always move whenever you move. Runners are easily fooled by fakes and faints. Runners can usually be thrown off balance very easily. The runner’s reaction to a certain technique will usually be the same every time they encounter that technique. For instance, if you throw a front leg round house kick and they jump to the left that means they will almost always jump in that direction when faced with a front leg found house kick. This being true, you could use this knowledge against them. If I know that every time I throw a front leg round house kick my opponent will jump to the left then I could fake the front kick, let him jump and throw my technique to the left. I would then hit him with a technique that I know would work. This is an example of programming your opponent.
Secondly, there is the attacker or charger. The attacker can be very intimidating when you first have to deal with them. Just as you are getting set in your rhythm, they rush at you hoping to catch you off guard, and if you aren’t prepared for them they will. The attacker is usually a very aggressive fighter who is not afraid and doesn’t care about getting hit. He understands that getting hit is part of what he is all about. He just hopes to hit you harder and with better results. Attackers often fall for their own game. If you attack them, it throws off their timing and distancing. Timing and distancing are their whole game plan. To beat the attacker, sometimes it is best to let them attack; only when they start to come at you can you attack them. This will throw off their distancing and you will easily be able to jam their lead technique and counterattack.
Another strategy that works well against an attacker is the idea of working with angles. When your opponent attacks, move off to an angle and fire a strong side kick into his attack. Also, if you take a half step back as they attack and then attack yourself, you will throw off his timing and distancing.
Attackers like to stay at a kicking range. Let the attacker rush in and as soon as he enters trapping or grappling range, use his own momentum against him. The attacker will be rushing in at a speed so fast that it will be hard for him to change direction in mid stream. As soon as he gets close, trap him and throw him. Attackers do not want to grapple; it’s against everything they train for. They need to keep at a distance so that they can use their best assets against you. You have to do whatever you can to stay close to them, trapping and grappling work best.
Never stay in one place too long when you face an attacker. Keep moving and constantly change your distance from them. They rely on distance and timing, you must use this against them. When you at last feel comfortable against an attacker, you will realize that they are the easiest type of the three to go against. This does however require a lot of practice.
The last and most dangerous type of fighter, is the in-fighter. In-fighters are strong willed fighters who stand their ground. They bob and weave and can deflect with incredible speed. In-fighters rarely initiate an exchange of blows; rather they wait you out expecting you to make an error in judgment. In-fighters can judge speed, timing and distancing better than the other two types of fighters. In-fighters love to get up close, so you must avoid entering into trapping and punching range.
When facing an in-fighter, you must try to stay calm. It can be extremely frustrating to fight an opponent who excels at blocking and deflecting. Sometimes, you can defeat an in-fighter by playing at his own game. To do this you must be very fast and be confident in your trapping and punching skills.
In-fighters tend to fall into set rhythms when they fight. Try to break those rhythms by changing the speed of your beat’s. For instance, on a count of 1-2-3-4, you notice that you strike on the beat of 2 and then 4, change that with every exchange, try 2-3, 2-4, 1-3, 1-2, mix it up to confuse your opponent. This is known as the concept of broken rhythm. We will discuss it in greater detail later.
An in-fighter will fool you with his range. He will jab at you and purposely let his punches fall short in hopes of tricking you into a false sense of security. When he sees that you are secure at a distance that he knows he can strike you, that’s when he strikes.
Most boxers are in-fighters. If you watch boxers, they tend to stay just out of punching range, but with so much as a slight lean forward they are able to strike with incredible power. One of the biggest assets of an in-fighter is his footwork. They are almost never off balance. As you would against any fighter, you must try to disrupt their footwork, it’s their foundation. Without it they are useless.
Designed by Ovidiu Semenea
