The Science Of Street Combat
There are thousands of different martial art styles. Regardless of your particular discipline every human being must adhere to the same fundamental roots of martial science to maximize effectiveness. When you’re attacked on the street where “anything goes” there is little margin for error. You must know how to handle a single attacker, multiple attackers, and even multiple attackers with weapons.
Undoubtedly, excellent footwork is the foundation of any effective martial art system. If you look at the most dominant boxers, the greatest football players, or the most exceptional dancers, they all have phenomenal footwork. Developing good footwork with your martial art will allow you to deftly evade lethal knives and larger stronger attackers who may outnumber you. If your footwork is weak not only will your evasion and survival skills fall apart, but your punches, kicks, joint locks, chokes, and throws will suffer greatly as well.
It’s imperative that your martial art training focuses on strengthening your awareness. If your awareness is high it is much harder for an attacker to creep up on you and catch you off guard. If your mind is trained properly you can learn to spot trouble long before it begins. You can learn to remove yourself from situations before they escalate to a physical level.
Peripheral vision or wide-angle vision must be utilized for street combat. It can empower you to see multiple opponents at the same time and enable you to use your surroundings such as stairs, chairs, or rocks as potential martial art weapons. If you train properly peripheral vision can even allow you to see your opponents moving in slow motion.
It’s important to learn to recognize the nine angles of attack. Many martial art schools overcomplicate their teachings by having their students memorize hundreds of random techniques. If you can learn to spot the nine angles it makes no difference if an assailant comes at you with his right or left hand, a kick, a charge, a bat, a knife, a crowbar, or a machete. There are only nine angles that you may be attacked on and if you learn to recognize them you will always have an answer for surviving an encounter.
To become a skilled martial artist you must learn to unbalance your opponent. If you focus on unbalancing your attacker the moment a confrontation ensues your assailant is going to have a difficult task trying to fight you while simultaneously fighting for his balance. Becoming proficient at unbalancing enables a smaller person to overcome someone who is stronger, larger, and even more skilled. Fights end swiftly when the opponent is robbed of his balance.
It’s critical that you learn to develop creativity with your martial art. Even if you memorize 10,000 techniques you will still be vulnerable if you’re attacked in an unfamiliar way. If you concentrate on understanding fundamental martial art principles you can quickly learn to create your own techniques and an infinite number of variations. The best technique is the one you create on the spur of the moment that is specifically designed to handle your specific threat.
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Sensei David Weinberg, 3rd Degree Black Belt in Freedman’s Method Ketsugo Jujutsu, Reiki Master, Certified Personal Trainer, and Integrative Flexibility Specialist
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