Defending against Strikes

[kickcatcher]

I drill covering and smothering/clinching. Also crashing in with headbuts/elbows again into a clinch.

 

But more specifically I train to avoid defensive actions as I'd want to strike first (pre-emptively from the fence etc).

 

I can't remember ever 'blocking' anything for real -only throwing my own strikes back. But since I've got into RBSD and adopted the 'fence', which I've used on a good few occassions -my covering has never been tested. Touch wood.

 

But cover and clinch seems to be the way forward.

[Master Jules]

Thank you for your kind words Str33t Guy......

 

Fighting styles are really based on ones personality, and moods at the time.......Ive also noticed that mine has changed a lot over the years as Ive gotten older and more "level headed"...lol....

 

I also feel that "one style is not better than the other".....its all in the hands of the practicioner.....

 

This really is an art form, no matter what style you train in....and being an art form, it is quite often affected and influenced by the individual practicioners interpretation and expression of the form......

 

The key is.....no matter what you train in.....always put your full efforts and all your heart into it.

 

Thanks again.

[HanSword]

at mid range , to deal with punches , I prefer elbow blocks like quinton jackson does.

 

at distance, slip and move .

 

close in , work the clinch.

 

large TMA sweeping blocks in my view are too slow to block punching .

[Treebranch]

Everything depends on distance and timing. Blocks are handy when there isn't enough time to move out of the way. Moving out of the way to the right place is probably safest. Parrying I would say works best when you are trying to close the distance. The last thing you want is a punching and blocking match. Learn to use your guard or lack of one to draw your opponents attention to hit you in a certain area. If you have your hands to close to your face you will bring the fight to a closer range. If you keep your guard extented like that of a pugilist they will either go for the legs or they will have go around your guard. If you stand at a safe distance and wait for the attack in a standing position, most of the time they will attack your center and you won't be there for them. Don't let jabs scare you, follow the punch in and jam them up, tipping them so that their balance is off, and drop them. Learn to lure your opponent and you will learn to predict what kind of strike the opponent is most likely to use.

[HanSword]

I don't really agree.

 

if you parry to close , you are leaving yourself open to strikes on the way in.

 

Elbow blocking and counter striking works a treat , look at quinton .

 

most joes on the street don't have a clue what to do after their haymakers have been spiked by my eblows , that's when the counters come in .

 

I like it a lot .

 

hands up - don't mean just out there for show and wait for him to pummel you .

 

use your jab and cross , be offensive as well as counteractive.

 

if you stick your hands out and keep them there , you are giving up punching from the same side and it is open to a number of techniques.

 

parry the hand and open up a combo .

 

grab it , push slightly inwards , his other hand has lost a lot of power . you can launch your own strikes at the hole.

 

grab it , take his back .

 

hands out may work agaisnt a lousy fighter but I'm not so sure o/wise.

 

and jabs WORK , believe me , if you just follow a speed jab in , I'll have my rearcross cocked and ready .

 

a stiff jab can knock people down .

[Treebranch]

Yeah, but you are talking about boxing principles and you are thinking someone is just going to trade blows with you. In reality I can go from your jab to a clinch in that instance. Your guard is your strategy, if you only have one guard to lure with it's pretty easy to predict where your attack is coming from. If someone's guard is right around the face, you can guess they favor boxing, if the guard is slightly open, usually they are making room for the legs to come into play, if the hand are extended out more than a boxer they are more than likely grapplers. The point I am trying to make is that each way of guarding serves two purposes to depend and to lure. So If you only have one guard you've given away your strategy to a large extent. If you are sport fighting I agree with what you said, but if you are being attacked and it's a matter of survival I disagree entirely. If you are really being attacked, it is too risky to let anyone get that close to you. I know we are talking about strikes, but you should handle your movements with the assumption that the person attacking may have a weapon. Concentrate more on taking balance when striking and your strikes will mean more than just trying to knock out someone. You might not be able to knock out everyone you fight.

[HanSword]

firstly , keep the subject on track - defending against strikes , not clinching , grappling , weapons or any other thing .

 

that is for another thread .

 

please see my styles to see what I do , boxing is not the only weapon I have .

 

I'm not sure what you mean by lure and as for defence - no , the guard position is not only for that , it is also a firm base to attack from.

 

in the ring the hands are held high due to the large gloves , this offers a very strong defensive position.

 

in the street , w/o gloves the hands are not so high, but around the chin/ jaw area . eblows are thrown out uppercutlike as blocks .

 

you won't know what I'm talking about unless you have seen quinton jackson in action.

 

also you may not know this , but a boxing punch is a leveraged punch , meaning it has full bodyweight behind it , very powerful.

 

put that on a man's chin and chances are you'll hurt him.

[STR33T GUY]

How about we limit this discussion to what each person has actually USED, in a REAL street fight. And let’s try to keep the theorizing to a minimum.

 

I’ve had good success with the bob-n-weave on the street. I have read posts before that criticize the bob-n-weave because you might get kneed coming down. This is bull in my opinion. The bob-n-weave is too fast for someone to react to it with a knee. By the time the knee gets there, the person is out of position hitting back with their own strikes. In the ring fighters have time to get the other guys timing down so they can knee as he bobs-n-weaves, but fights on the street don’t last long enough to gauge the other persons timing, even assuming your adversary has the skill to time you.

 

I’ve had mixed success with parrying and this is why. In the ring if you are a little early with the parry, gloved hand hits gloved hand, no problem. On the street I’ve parried some punches but some punches hit my hand. I’ve gotten bruised palms and sprained fingers this way. Having a damage hand is the same as losing a weapon.

 

I’ve had good success with blocking on the street. Nothing is simpler than a simple block and simple is best! As complexity increases so does the failure rate. This is a universally truth that applies to everything, not just fighting.

 

Another simple and successful technique that I’ve used on the street is back pedaling. The only problem that I have had with back pedaling on the street is the lack of room and poor footing. My last fight was at the end of a hallway, I didn’t even have the room to bob-n-weave without banging into the wall.

[HanSword]

SG ,

 

when you say blocking , you mean elbow blocks right ?

 

and I agree on head movement , I haven't used bobnweave , but slips definitely , very useful .

[STR33T GUY]

SG ,

 

when you say blocking , you mean elbow blocks right ?

 

I’m not sure what you mean exactly by an elbow block. But for straight punches I’m trying to have their bare knuckle fist slam into my elbow or at least my forearm.

 

For hooks to the head I use the high triangle and for hooks and uppercuts to the body I use the low triangle. For uppercuts to the head I rely on slipping.