One cannot deny that most fights occur in a very linear pattern, with the two opponents facing each other until one of them takes the upper hand.
This follows a fundamental logic, which is not to lose sight of your opponent.
In self defense, being locked into this linear pattern is a considerable disadvantage.
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Why should you avoid your opponent’s central line during a fight?
Keep in mind that standing in the central line of your opponent means exposing yourself since you face him.
As such, you offer him the best possible position as his targets are visible. Moreover, he can see your blows coming (if they are not fast enough or too visible).
His psychological ascendancy allows him to maintain the pressure by moving forward and firing a series of blows at you. You are then condemned to suffer until you counterattack.
Obviously the more you endure, the more dangerous the situation becomes.
Moreover, fleeing in such conditions is tricky as he can keep getting at you, even if the exit is behind you.
In such a case, if you are in an open space, then the space is the only thing you can use to deal with the situation.
Managing space during a fight remains the best way to defend yourself
Being able to manage the surroundings is essential, even more in self defense than in combat sports where the notion of distance and movement is fundamental.
Being able to deal with an open environment, however, requires control, as it is much more difficult to be aware of your surroundings under intense stress. This awareness that we lose under stress (since our brain focuses on the immediate threat), is particularly challenging when we know that the smallest pavement edge can become a major threat.
To manage one’s environment is one thing, to manage the space is another.
During a fight, managing one’s space implies, logically, taking into account your opponent’s position. Knowing the striking distances requires an ability to recognize them, which can only be achieved by dint of practice.
Controlling distance – and therefore space – entails controlling movement.
Earlier we discussed the danger of standing in the central line of an opponent. Now the ability to get out of this line requires to master the notions of distance and movement.
Being aware of distances means understanding that getting out of the central line is all about opportunity:
- At short range, moving out of the central line is possible and advisable. This involves a move.
- At medium range (which means the attacker can come back at you without much effort), the opponent can easily adapt to the switch of angle.
- At long range, you’d better run away.
Moving around may appear to be a completely trivial gesture! However, in the middle of a fight, moving requires full control, and this comes with practice. Dodging a blow requires a subtle perception of the fight. One can even argue that knowing how to dodge in time is the quintessence of the art, rather than withstand, or worse, suffer.
Fluidity and speed are the key words, and doing the wrong move at the wrong time can prove catastrophic.
Understanding and acquiring these concepts allow you to move at the right moment (after a counterattack, in order to stack all the odds in your favor) to bypass the central line and escape.
In practice, this implies going behind your opponent’s back or at least to his side in order to get out of his axis (and his field of vision) and, into the bargain, to push him back in the opposite direction to the one you want to reach, that is the exit.
