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The attack is the best defense (sometimes)

We continue with the trapping topic (read Trapping) with the first simple type of interaction we teach, the one we call: “move and hit”.

A note by Master Kongling – Let’s imagine to face an adversary with a certain martial arts preparation, trapping is almost useless against a low-level opponent (not able to maintain a guard, etc.).

Let’s try to make it as much simple as possible with a scheme:

Our goal is to reach the best targets over the body surface of our opponent
The opponent is naturally covering them with his guard stance (read How to rapidly learn Kung Fu: guard stance)
Once we have reached the right distance to hit, the problem is to overcome his defense (a conditioned fighter can, in fact, resist almost without damages to a lot of strikes, if pointed to the wrong targets, read Hitting effectively: distances and targets)
If we are fighting against a prepared fighter, the only real moment where his defense is reduced is when he is in action (attacking, defending, losing balance, etc.)
Here comes our interaction number 1, it is in this context that we have the best opportunities to manipulate the structure of our opponent
The core concept is that we work on an obstacle (or simply a neutral element) with a temporary contact (no grabbing, etc.) to open a way to our target

“Move and hit” theory

What does it mean to “move and hit”?

Let’s try to understand it with a few examples:

Our opponent is in front of us, throwing a straight punch toward the base of our nose, he is using his right hand (read also How to punch (simple explanation)); first, we exit to the right, then we deviate his attack with our right forearm (“move” phase) and finally we hit him with our left arm (“hit” phase)
Our opponent is in front of us, throwing a left roundhouse kick toward our hips; first, we lift our right knee, then we deviate his attack with an outward rotation of our lifted leg (“move” phase) and finally, exploiting the movement, we reach his jaw with a left hook punch (“hit” phase)
…

A note by Master Kongling – These are only didactical examples and the solutions proposed are not necessarily the best ones in these situations nor the right ones for you (the variables are a lot, level of preparation, spatial intelligence, flexibility, balance, timing, tactical goals, scenario, etc.).

The idea is substantially to create a contact that offers a striking opportunity.

The types of “move” contact we can use

Not all the contacts are the same, let’s see some of the options we have for the first interaction (“move”):

Active channeling – We remain still, the opponent is redirected (eg. when he is less stable)
Passive channeling – The opponent remains in his original trajectory, we exploit his power to move us away (eg. when his attack is too strong to being deviated)
Hard impact (neutral channeling) – We simply rigidly hit the point of contact
The combination of the others – Interactions that are composed by the previous 3
…

A note by Master Kongling – It is important to stress that these are not all the possible interactions that 6 Dragons Kung Fu offers; to deepen the knowledge of the ones we teach, it is important to read 6DKF’s interactions: from the strong blow to the light touch (we will see other ones in the next types of trapping interactions).

The ways of chaining the sequence “move and hit”

The timing aspect is absolutely important, it is the way we connect the “move” phase to the “hit” one that makes all the difference.

Let’s see what we can basically do:

Consequential action (basic) – The 2 phases are strictly connected by an immediate timing connection
Simultaneous action (advanced) – The 2 phases, when possible, happens at the same time
Broken action (for experts) – The timing is tactically falsified to force the opponent to act out of measure (too early, with too much power, out of balance, etc.)

A note by Master Kongling – The indication, “basic”, “advanced” and “for expert” is related to the level of difficulty and not to the effectiveness of each of them: the best thing is always to variate.

Final notes

Conclusive thoughts:

The first (macro) categories of interactions are easy to understand but require advanced capabilities to be executed (outside a training drill with a cooperative partner)
In a real combat, time and space of action are reduced to the minimum possible and only with high precision and good adaptability (combined with the right speed) is it possible to carry out this type of exchanges effectively
…

In the next article of this series, we will see the second category of trapping interaction “control and act”.

In-depth video courses

Basic free hand fighting techniques – All the core combat techniques of 6 Dragons Kung Fu
How to punch faster – Method and training to improve the speed of our upper limbs striking

In-depth articles

The most important skill in combat – What is the capability we have to focus on our workouts?
Speed and quickness – The subtle difference between execution speed and body quickness

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Would you be able to make an example of this?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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