Kung Fu: how to react to an attack

Master Kongling All, 6DKF techniques, Fighting strategy, Self defense Jeet Kune Do 1

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How to face an attack: instinct or reason?

In 6 Dragons Kung Fu we train to split the reaction to any type of aggression into 2 parts (that are closely interlinked):

Immediate defense (through instinct and muscle memory)
Tactical consequence (through quick reasoning)

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

No matter if the attack is more or less sudden: the idea is that while we defend instinctively, we have to choose a good tactical response (eg. a counterattack).

A note by Master Kongling – Substantially, by mechanizing simple but effective moves, we train the instinct to protect us. Even if it is impossible to react correctly to every kind of aggression, the ideal goal is to build a sort of shield, a “continuous protection” that does not need to force the conscious mind (inevitably slower in the first instance).

Instinct is fast but has big limitations

If instinct is faster than reasoning, why don’t we give it responsibility for the whole combat management?

The reason is simple, even only against an intermediate-level martial arts practitioner, instinct presents too big gaps:

It is mechanically activated (and therefore provocable)
It easily repeats itself (it has no tactic)
It is irrational (it could lead to an extremely wrong reaction)
…

Instinct is fast and could even be “precise” (in certain cases) but due to the problems we have listed, it risks being predictable and exploitable.

A note by Master Kongling – What we are trying to say is that if an adversary knows (or starts to know) our fighting style / method / system, we risk forcing our options to prevail on a purely physical level (the faster / stronger / reactive wins). Wrong, this is a too limited and ineffective martial vision (in 6 Dragons Kung Fu, the body mechanics are at the service of the mind, never the contrary and the reason is that the part of our body that allows covering the biggest gaps that we could have against our adversary is and remains the brain).

If instinct can be predictable, why don’t we exclude it completely?

It would be an incredibly big error. Pure instinct is certainly a bad fighting partner but if confined to the right tasks, it becomes a winning card.

In fact, through reflexes, instinct is for sure the fastest type of reaction that a human body can perform, we olny have to implement it as a “tool”:

To give time to our intellect to prepare a more sophisticated reply
To activate mechanical action schemes in the most desperate contexts (sudden aggressions, etc.)
To correct / adapt (in real-time) the choices of our reason (eg. slightly changing a trajectory, etc.)
…

The combat management in 6 Dragons Kung Fu

Reached an advanced level of combat perception (read Body and mental perception), our mind must not be focused on the present but rather, strategically, projected on what move we should perform in the immediate subsequent moment:

In relation to our and the opponent’s position
In relation to our and the opponent’s psychophysical conditions
In relation to the conformation of the environment
In relation to our and the opponent’s skills
…

A note by Master Kongling – At the highest level, having our minds free during the instinctive defense, creates the condition to always have time to be tactically one step ahead of the current move of our opponent.

How to build the right instinct and quick reasoning

It is through the fundamental technical exercises that characterize the backbone of 6 Dragons Kung Fu (read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///) that we force ourselves to think faster and predict positions / reactions of the combat scenario elements (weapons, obstacles, body elements, etc.)

In a few words: these practices allow us to gain time.

The training goals

Mentally we must develop:

The knowledge of the basic mechanics of the human body
The knowledge of the most common combat dynamics
The ability to always maintain a solid concentration (read Become the absolute zero)
Deep knowledge of the fighting techniques we will use (ours)
A good understanding of strategy and its interchangeable sub-tactics

Physically we must develop:

Reflexes and speed
Spatial intelligence
The ability to concentrate power in small space / times
The right muscle memory

A note by Master Kongling – Once again to follow this path we need: preparation, concentration and discipline.

Final notes

It must be stressed that, despite the fact that we were initially talking about 2 distinct moments (immediate defense and tactical consequence), in 6 Dragons Kung Fu this separation is purely didactic (as it happens in Jeet Kune Do, the defensive gesture transforms itself into attack)
The fact of thinking about strategy and tactics in a real combat scenario is something totally out of the reach of a beginner (worse than all while executing an instinctive action); we must understand that this is a gradual path but once we will have accustomed our minds to it, we will become very dangerous
…

In the next article of this series, we will deepen the connection between instinct and reason (read Concentration: reason and instinct).

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – The fundamental exercises that will allow you to acquire real martial skills
Advanced speed and reflexes training – How to improve and express the maximum speed of your body and mind in combat
Advanced combat tactics – The connection point between physical capabilities and combat techniques
How to use feints in combat – The right way to use deception in the economy of a combat
Worst combat errors to avoid – All the crucial mistakes that make the difference between a good fighter and a poor one
Self-defense basics: how to – A complete explanation of all the steps of the S.A.F.E. method (safety, argument, flee and engage)

In-depth articles

The right way to develop muscle memory – The secret behind the most effective combat automation
Fighting with the reason at the speed of instinct – The connection point between reason and instinct

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

In combat, have you ever had a wrong instinctive reaction that made you lose the fight?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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