Even if a fight is a frantic affair from the outset, a trained martial artist will be aware of how the attacker is holding his body, and what that means. This article is about the process of discovery I used when I formulated a plan for handling attackers. The good news is that it is observable as workable in freestyle, so you don’t have to go out and get mugged to see if it works.

When sizing up an opponent one of the earliest things I learned was based on how he moved when you made a quick move towards him. If he blocked he was a blocker, if he moved back he was a runner, and if he moved towards you he was a fighter. This theory 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 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 made me aware of whether he was setting up for a kick. Distance played a part in this, and I gauged how far an opponent was, and how I should angle my attack. The real key, however, was just being aware of how he was standing, whether he was shifted to free one leg up 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%.

Fighting always holds a bit of mystery. Still, if you analyze the body in halves, up and down and side to side, you’re going to have a distinct plan that will reduce much of the mystery. When you play with this, feel free to send me your observations, I’ll be very interested in how it effects your effectiveness.

Tags: Self Defence