Five Karate Freestyle Concepts That Win Every Fight!
Freestyle, whether it is the brute force in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, or the well guided darts of classical karate, is a staple of martial arts training.
A black belt cannot be considered a black belt, after all, unless he can use techniques of freestyle to reduce the mugger.
Even in the Mixed Martial Arts training, a good base of classical karate freestyle goes a long way towards helping a fighter adapt to usable ring concepts.
That all said, I should caution the reader that one should have polished his classical forms if he wishes to make the following strategies work.
I know many people have given up form training, but form teaches control of the body, and of the mind, on an intimate level.
And while the purpose of freestyle is to destroy somebody, control is what defines the true art.
The first thing one must understand is how to set up the fight.
This is the structural position one takes when facing another fighter.
The idea is to understand and adjust the structure of the body so that one has max traction with the feet, proper angle of the leg and therefore pushing muscles, and the correct turn of the hip so that max weight can be moved with minimum effort.
Another thing that should be done is to keep your eyes on your opponent.
Simply, you are not going to be able to fight what you cannot face.
Don't look at the whole body, or generally focus the eyes, look at the eyes of your opponent and know that you are looking through the windows to a mans soul, and therefore will be able to see the moment of thought, if not the whole thought, and what the intended technique is going to be.
Lift the arms and angle them towards the opponents shoulders.
Your opponent will have to go through your arms to fight, and that means he no longer has a straight line.
Now he has to go around your arms, and that gives you the straight line advantage.
If you wish to make your attacker entirely predictable, spread the hands slightly and give him an alley down which to strike, or tighten them slightly so he will have to go around to strike.
You may have lost a slight advantage, but now you know exactly what he will do.
Predicting an opponents actions is the majority of the game.
Balance the body so that he doesn't know if you are going to attack high or low or right or left.
Turning the shoulders so he can't predict which side you will come in on makes you unpredictable.
Not letting the opponent know which foot you are standing on, and which is free will stop him from predicting which foot you will use to launch a kick.
Now, admitted, the techniques and strategy I have presented here are of the quick twitch samurai variety.
Still, whether you are facing Matt Hughes in the UFC, or the rival school in a friendly square off, or the rabid home invader, these techniques will hold true, and will open the door to further exploration and awareness.
Whether you are fighting in the ring or on the street, whether you are practicing a traditional karate method, like shotokan, or a more modern method like Kenpo, or even a rare version of Shaolin or Wudan, these tactics will train you to win the fight.
A black belt cannot be considered a black belt, after all, unless he can use techniques of freestyle to reduce the mugger.
Even in the Mixed Martial Arts training, a good base of classical karate freestyle goes a long way towards helping a fighter adapt to usable ring concepts.
That all said, I should caution the reader that one should have polished his classical forms if he wishes to make the following strategies work.
I know many people have given up form training, but form teaches control of the body, and of the mind, on an intimate level.
And while the purpose of freestyle is to destroy somebody, control is what defines the true art.
The first thing one must understand is how to set up the fight.
This is the structural position one takes when facing another fighter.
The idea is to understand and adjust the structure of the body so that one has max traction with the feet, proper angle of the leg and therefore pushing muscles, and the correct turn of the hip so that max weight can be moved with minimum effort.
Another thing that should be done is to keep your eyes on your opponent.
Simply, you are not going to be able to fight what you cannot face.
Don't look at the whole body, or generally focus the eyes, look at the eyes of your opponent and know that you are looking through the windows to a mans soul, and therefore will be able to see the moment of thought, if not the whole thought, and what the intended technique is going to be.
Lift the arms and angle them towards the opponents shoulders.
Your opponent will have to go through your arms to fight, and that means he no longer has a straight line.
Now he has to go around your arms, and that gives you the straight line advantage.
If you wish to make your attacker entirely predictable, spread the hands slightly and give him an alley down which to strike, or tighten them slightly so he will have to go around to strike.
You may have lost a slight advantage, but now you know exactly what he will do.
Predicting an opponents actions is the majority of the game.
Balance the body so that he doesn't know if you are going to attack high or low or right or left.
Turning the shoulders so he can't predict which side you will come in on makes you unpredictable.
Not letting the opponent know which foot you are standing on, and which is free will stop him from predicting which foot you will use to launch a kick.
Now, admitted, the techniques and strategy I have presented here are of the quick twitch samurai variety.
Still, whether you are facing Matt Hughes in the UFC, or the rival school in a friendly square off, or the rabid home invader, these techniques will hold true, and will open the door to further exploration and awareness.
Whether you are fighting in the ring or on the street, whether you are practicing a traditional karate method, like shotokan, or a more modern method like Kenpo, or even a rare version of Shaolin or Wudan, these tactics will train you to win the fight.