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I’ve been to a few fight classes now and I’m very frustrated. I’m getting good advice in class, but between the physical exhaustion and adrenalin levels, I’m having a really hard time retaining much of it.
Specifically, I can’t seem to put together any sort of plan for when I move into range. More often than not I seem to move in just far enough to be in range of my opponents jab, but not close enough to land any effective strikes of my own. I think this is partly because if/when I take the first hit I must hesitate a bit before continuing to close, which leaves me open and results in my taking additional hits. When I do manage to complete the move inside, I only manage to throw a couple of strikes and must hesitate again before continuing or backing out, which of course results in my taking even more hits.
After all that, I guess my question is, how do you formulate a plan of attack? Do have a repetoire of combinations that you rehearse and in any give exchange just commit to one, move inside, attack, and hope it works before you get out? Alternatively, is your attack/response determined completely on the fly as the exchange takes place (waaay beyond my capabilities at this time)? Any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated.
Re: I need a plan…
“All plans fail on first contact with the enemy”
-General EisenhowerI’ve found that, while it’s nice to have a plan, you have to expect that it will fall apart and be ready to look for new openings and improvise. If you move in fixating a certain combination, but your opponent blocks your first strike and responds with a something of his own, the nice 3-4 move combo that you were planning on will fail.
If I understand your problem correctly, it reads like your having problems moving in on taller (or lankier) opponents. I don’t consider myself to be particularly large but I tend to be a bit taller than most of my opponents. I’ve found that the smaller guys do well when the simply eat a kick and barrel in and get in close where I’m bunched up and can’t make effective punches but they’re in perfect range.
Another effect trick is to distract your opponent with a longer range kick and followed up with a quick bursting in. You can use a rear-leg round kick to distract your opponent, but instead of fully recoiling your foot back to your fighting stance, drop out front so you end up in an opposite fighting stance. That way you’ve advanced several feet while keeping your opponent occupied.
Also, don’t forget the classic inside/outside defenses with counters. I’m always amazed that otherwise excellent L2 students seem to forget these basic drills when it comes to fighting. They’re a bit tougher to do effectively with big pillows strapped to your hands, but they certainly work.
I know it sounds odd, but you have to relax and not worry about getting hit. I’m not saying don’t block, but if you do get hit, let it slide. If you start thinking about the hit you just took, you’ll be so distracted that you’ll get hit again, then the cycle will repeat.
Give it time. I know it’s frustrating (I’ve had, and continue to have, similar problems) but relax, have fun, and before you know it you’ll be blocking punches, and noticing openings, all w/o really even thinking about it.
Re: I need a plan…
Unfortunately, because I’m still learning how to range effectively, I’m having this problem with opponents that are taller or shorter than me.
The idea of bursting in on a kick is a good one, which I’ve heard before, but I think your point of landing forward on your kicking foot to better close the range is what I’ve been missing. I tend to land back in my fighting stance and then need to close the distance, which is much too slow.
Sounds like I just need to keep practicing until I learn to read my attackers better and respond appropriately. Right now my response time is so slow that the only way I’ve been able to get a single strike in is to go on the attack with specific combo in mind and get out.
Thanks for the response, it’s definitely given me some good ideas.
Re: I need a plan…
Shorter opponents are easily fixed!
Don’t close on them. Let them come to you. Make them pay with your reach advantage. Let them work hard to “get inside” pepper them with jabs. Set the table with the jab and double up with the hook off of the lead jab. Then when they burst in, you throw a rear hand uppercut. Nice things happen if you can get the timing down.
Re: I need a plan…
Plan? Learn the techniques so that you dream them at night, until you wake up throwing blocks and counters. Bust your ass in every class like your life depends on it. Work until you can barely stand upright. Then, when the fight really does happen, and the controlled chaos ensues, your body will retain all that in muscle memory. All you’ll have to do is step back and let your reflexes, your reptile brain, take over. You do that, and you will win the fight.
Re: I need a plan…
quote Nickolas Cook:Plan? Learn the techniques so that you dream them at night, until you wake up throwing blocks and counters. Bust your ass in every class like your life depends on it. Work until you can barely stand upright. Then, when the fight really does happen, and the controlled chaos ensues, your body will retain all that in muscle memory. All you’ll have to do is step back and let your reflexes, your reptile brain, take over. You do that, and you will win the fight.Pretty hardcore . . . sounds a little overboard . . . but definitely, definitely true.
Re: I need a plan…
quote Nickolas Cook:Plan? Learn the techniques so that you dream them at night, until you wake up throwing blocks and counters. Bust your ass in every class like your life depends on it. Work until you can barely stand upright. Then, when the fight really does happen, and the controlled chaos ensues, your body will retain all that in muscle memory. All you’ll have to do is step back and let your reflexes, your reptile brain, take over. You do that, and you will win the fight.This much of a plan at least I’ve got covered; I currently spend 10-12 hours a week training and I give it everything I’ve got in every single class. I tested to level 2 about a month a go, but I still go to 3-4 level 1 classes a week exactly because I want all of the techniques to flow smoothly and without my having to think about them.
My biggest problems right now are in our weekly fight class, which is what prompted me to post. Today for example was a very rough day. I took four poorly or un-blocked jabs to my nose and I received a bruise on my forehead the size of someone’s hammerfist (my wife is going to kill me when she sees it; I already wasn’t very pretty and this ain’t helping!). I was lucky that the jabs to my nose were from someone who was being at least a bit charitable.
I guess the good side is that I did manage to protect my nose from a lot of other shots, including the hammerfist that wound up hitting my forehead. I was also able to follow your advice CarpeCanis and land forward on a couple of kicks, thus enabling a couple of additional strikes, although unfortunately I still took hits each time.
I must say though, I leave each fight class more frustrated than the last!
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