A classic principle of boxing is to “hit and not be hit.” Anticipating strikes is an important part of the striking aspect of a martial art or combat sports that I seldom see written about, and this article summarizes some of my thoughts on the subject. They are meant to be general and system agnostic.
How does a martial artist / fighter / boxer anticipate strikes?
IMO, this depends on the type of striker. What style of striker are you engaging? Are they aggressive/offense oriented? Defense oriented? A counterstriker? That should be kept in mind with regards to the content of this article.
Let’s first go over some ways in which a strike can be prompted:
- A portion of the guard can be left open
- Distance can be adjusted (being in and out of range)
- A feint or movement can result in a strike being thrown back
- Offense resulting in a counter movement
- Responding to offense with greater offense
For #1: Many times people use active defenses (head movement, footwork) rather than a static guard when at range. Having the guard open doesn’t necessarily mean that the other person will throw a strike that will allow you to throw a specific counter; experienced strikers typically operate on identifying movement patterns rather than striking at openings.
For #2: Because distance is used as a gauge of when to throw a strike, moving between being in range and out of range via head/torso movement (can be forward and back, side to side, or a combination) or footwork is a good way to invite strikes. It doesn’t have to be a pronounced movement, in fact precise movements are best (be an inch within range, an inch out of range). Range establishment techniques like the jab, teep (in boxing, Muay Thai respectively) can be used to work with distance.
For #3: feinting is about doing movements and observing reactions. Feinting certain attacks or offensive patterns may produce a counter as a response (or the other person may take a defensive action)
For #4: there are many ways to counter a given attack or offensive pattern, and you can integrate defense into your offense to preclude some of them. For example, if you step in and throw a combination and then duck, you’ll avoid counterstrikes targeting head level. This puts you in an observation position to either counter the counter or follow up with subsequent offense. If you throw a kick which misses, spin around and lift your shin, you’ll be in a position to block a counter kick and kick back. If you throw a punch and step back or pull back, you’ll be out of range of the counter… well, unless they decide to step in with their counter :)
For #5: if someone is hard to hit, you can always let them hit you in order to hit them back harder. You see this a lot in professional boxing: a person who has power and a good chin will fire through someone else’s offense. If you are engaging a person who is trying to land shots by taking yours, taking defensive actions after offensive ones is important.
Thus, it’s ideal to rotate offensive and defensive patterns. Vary the techniques and combinations, vary the defenses and counters.
As far as I can tell, there are two levels of feinting in sports. The first is visual (techniques). The second level is rhythm (pattern/information asymmetry). For an example in mainstream sports, the crossover sequences used by basketball players can be observed.
Have fun! If developing one’s boxing, the jab is the most fundamental yet also important technique. It is quick to throw both offensively and defensively (establishing timing), has the longest range (establishes distance), and can be combined with nearly every other technique or movement pattern.
