Defences to try against someone who 'blitzes' suggestions ?

[hertsmas]

LO all, I have noticed that I am finding the worst opponent being one who rushes foreward with multiple attacks ( usually fists) and probably has a reach advantage over me. If I am shifting back then I'm not in a position to strike them properly and of course the end of the mat or getting caught with one looms.

Dont get me wrong some opponents walk straight on to a well placed kick in the chest from me but if I dont score with it they are on top of me quickly.

I am thinking perhaps that I should work more on moving sideways/foreward I.E in to them but accross so that I am in a good position to catch them as they fly in. Is this practical for your average 3rd Kyu ( like there is such a thing ! )

Basically I am looking for some inspiration as to what to practice in this regard.

Cheers

Mas

[sensei8]

One of my most favorite things to do when someone blitzes on me...I use my longest weapon...kicks...to intercept their attack. For me, that just works quite well for me. If their weapon can't reach you, then their weapon is greatly diminished in its effectiveness.

It takes a lot of fortitude to blitz and to defend against the blitz. Timing drills are important to develop the senses as to know when and when not to counter any said blitz.

Footwork drills are also important because for Shindokanists it's all about ones footwork. In Shindokan, we don't back-up no more than 2-3 steps, and in that, we move angular in a forward motion and we try to keep our opponent tight to us; slipping into an attack takes a lot of guts and training to become natural in motion.

Don't react negatively to a blitz because expecting it will eliminate the deer-in-a-headlight and/or the flight-in-fear reaction. That takes a lot of live partner work and your partners have to have the mindset that they're going to try to remove your head from your shoulders because the sooner you become calm in your defense, the sooner will become more proactive in your counter attack to any blitz.

Good luck and please keep us all informed.

[JusticeZero]

Don't "shift back" as a defense. Ever. Full stop. The only reason to move backward is as part of an attack, or in some freakish situation where you are standing on top of an environmental hazard. (The attack can be an extension of a momentary shift back that has a side effect of defense.)

Treat the edges of the mat as if there were rusty spinning saw blades outside of it or something. Every time I see people run out of mat in sparring or competition, I feel embarrassed for them, since the mats are generally so big. If they're in a space that's only ten to fifteen feet from edge to edge, I can see being driven to the edge. I've jogoed in a space 9 feet in diameter, and it's hard to stay off the edges while lining up for kicks in that size of space. However, if they're in a space twenty-something, thirtysomething or even more feet across it's just sad; it's a bit like seeing people bouncing around with their hands dangling at their side get popped in the face, over and over and over again. A lot of those competition mats are unfathomably large areas. You have to work pretty hard to get all the way out to the edge on those.

Anyone moving forward like that is counting on the person they're in the space with moving backward like a raw white belt. You have about a hundred eighty degrees of good directions to move in, and backward isn't one of them. Shift and tag them on their off angles until they have to start dialoguing with you instead of just acting like a bogeyman and chasing you around.

[DWx]

Backwards isn't so bad but if you're going to go backwards, make sure you're doing something useful like a well placed side kick to stop them. And if you are going to go backwards you need to learn to move back quick enough to create the range so you can get an attack out. Can practice by getting a heavy bag and swinging it. Dodge/shift out of the way then throw a counter or practice letting the bag swing towards you and then stopping it dead with a kick or something.

Or if going backwards is something you want to avoid, do this drill: start about a stance length away from a wall and have someone attack you (or use lines on the ground if you don't have a suitable wall). You have to move off0centre because the wall wont let you go backwards.

Assuming the person is bigger than you (?) with a longer reach, do not fight on the end of their range. Know how far they can reach with their longest techniques and fight on the inside of that range or way out of it if you have to. Fighting on the inside limits their choices and they are effectively reduced to using their hands as they can't kick.

Get ideas from watching videos on YouTube. If you know any good fighters from your style or just search for competitions in your style you can see what other's do. You'll have to wade through some rubbish but hopefully it'll give you some ideas

[JusticeZero]

Backwards isn't so bad but if you're going to go backwards, make sure you're doing something useful like a well placed side kick to stop them. And if you are going to go backwards you need to learn to move back quick enough to create the range so you can get an attack out.

Well yeah, hence "as part of an attack"..

If EVERYONE is bigger than you and has longer reach, then you may want to focus a lot more of your training time on techniques that operate close in, or alternately on limb destruction, or something else specifically to counter "everyone has longer arms than me".

[hertsmas]

Thanks for the interest and opinions. I didnt glean any magic technique of course but if was that easy we wouldnt have to practice would we

it sounds like my idea of mastering sideways and angular movement nay be the way to so for now ill crack on with that .

Cheers

Mas

[JusticeZero]

in your katas you'll note that as you do stance transitions you move around. Practicing moving in those transitions until you can move pretty much at will, then try shifting to the side in a transition and simultaneously loading a strike at the place you left. That's probably not the perfect technique, but you want to internalize the idea of sidestepping or stepping around the attacker, while attacking back the way you came without losing form and structure.

[Wastelander]

Thanks for the interest and opinions. I didnt glean any magic technique of course but if was that easy we wouldnt have to practice would we

it sounds like my idea of mastering sideways and angular movement nay be the way to so for now ill crack on with that .

Cheers

Mas

Lateral movement and angles are definitely going to be your friend when it comes to countering people, in general. I do tend to throw front kicks and side kicks to stop people from blitzing me, but every now and then someone is able to slip the kick or has better timing than me and gets in close. It's at that point I usually step off at an angle with a roundhouse kick to the bladder (usually lands for me because their hands are up expecting punches) or I will throw a spinning backfist before stepping off-line (this one lands pretty often, too, because they see me turn my back and think I'm covering up so they feel comfortable dropping their hands into their attack). Every now and then, though, I'll end up with somebody who just DOES NOT STOP MOVING FORWARD--it doesn't matter if I hit them or move, they just keep pressing forward. On those people I usually just do my best to keep my distance by moving off laterally and picking my shots, or I'll clinch up and take them down, but I don't know if your style includes grappling or not.

[DWx]

Backwards isn't so bad but if you're going to go backwards, make sure you're doing something useful like a well placed side kick to stop them. And if you are going to go backwards you need to learn to move back quick enough to create the range so you can get an attack out.

Well yeah, hence "as part of an attack"..

Think it depends on what you class as attack and defence.. To me, throwing out a side kick as I'm going backwards is a defensive manoeuvre.

And for what its worth, IMHO I don't think moving back out of range as a defense is so bad. Say the person throws a front leg side kick, often in my school we'll slide back so the kick just misses then as the leg and weight go down, come back at them. Obviously if you're back-pedalling only you have a problem, but for the odd little thing I think its ok.

[JusticeZero]

Honestly, I try to get people to classify everything as "footwork", since you preferably shouldn't have much of anything that isn't welded together in some way.

It's a goal to get people to shortcut to where they don't blink at thinking of an advancing spin kick as a defense, or crouching into an x-block then stepping to the side as an attack.