Be hard to hit

If you're easy to hit, you're going to get hit!

In class recently, we were asked, “What is one of the most important things that a counter-attacker needs to do?” I responded, “Not get hit.” The person who was fighting at the time got upset saying that it was patronising advice, yet for four rounds of kumite before, she had stood there with both feet rooted to the floor, never moving as her opponent freely ranged around her choosing targets. My advice may have been elementary, but it was clearly something she needed reminding about.

Counter-attackers play a dangerous game in kumite. Their game-plan depends entirely upon being able to thwart or avoid an opponent’s attack, and get in with a scoring technique of their own. They may block, or they may simply try to strike back faster. Either way, a counter-attacker needs to have finely attuned senses and hair-trigger reflexes. If you don’t have those, then you had better have excellent anticipation and the ability to read your opponent’s intentions very early. If you can’t do that either, don’t be a counter-attacker!

At the national tournament recently, I watched dozens, maybe hundreds of fights, and I doubt if I saw half a dozen fighters who had any sort of movement beyond simple bouncing on the spot, or rushing and retreating.

It’s such a rudimentary equation which is best summed up with a joke.

A farmer goes away on business and returns home early. He goes up to the bedroom to change, and there he finds his wife in bed with a lusty young farmhand. The farmer roars in anger and picks up a nearby shotgun pointing it at the Casanova’s family jewels. The lad screams in terror and begs,

“I’m sorry sir, please, give me a chance!”

The farmer ponders for a second and then growls,

“Okay, swing ‘em…”

Simply put, it’s harder to hit a moving target. But not just any moving target.

If you move in straight lines, forwards and backwards, closer and further from your opponent, your opponent only needs to throw out a straight punch or kick. He doesn’t need to change the mechanics of his punch, simply the range, which is a far easier adjustment to make quickly than the direction. To change direction, you’ll need to turn or open up your shoulders, and you may need to turn your hips or your entire body, which takes time.

By adding sideways, circular, and diagonal movement, you make yourself exponentially harder to hit. When I introduced it to my tournament repertoire, I was shocked by how effective it was. My opponents attacked far less often, and people whom I’d seem demolish other opponents, became frustrated and reckless with me.

Footwork is one of the key skills for any tournament fighter, yet in all but the crudest sense, we almost completely neglect it. In fact, it’s the one consistently negative trait of GKR karateka at every level.

Increased movement takes a lot more stamina, and even now, I’m working hard to bring my fitness up to the level of my movement. Usually by three or four rounds of a tournament, I’m completely exhausted, but hey, at least I’m still in after three or four rounds! And when I’m too tired to move properly, I only drop back down to ordinary bouncing, which is all most people are doing anyway!