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From: Robert LaPointe Subject: Fighting someone bigger Date: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 11:18 AM Hi I got a letter from a customer recently in which he asked me for advice for “the smaller fighter.” This is an excellent question and it applies to all of us. Why? Because if any of us ever gets attacked, it will probably be by someone bigger. I mean really, how many of us have anxiety about the prospect of being assualted by a smaller, weaker, slower opponent? It tends not to happen. If someone comes after us, they probably have some sort of advantage, and size is definitely one of the more popular, so here’s the advice. #1 - Don’t get in fights with people who are bigger than you. Really. Eat a little humble pie if you have to. It’s better to show humility and make a hasty retreat, than to get stomped, then show some humility, then go to the hospital, then spend the next week or so “explaining” to your friends how, technically, you won the fight. I’ve had to listen to these explanations and it really makes you cringe. Incidentally, there’s a great scene in the movie Dazed and Confused in which a High School kid gets a good drubbing, then tries to convince his friends that he really didn’t do so badly. Ouch. #2 - If he absolutly, positively has to beat you up tonight . . . move! I don’t mean out of state, though it may come to that. What I mean is get moving. I notice all the time that martial arts students tend to have lead feet. Also, don’t just move forward and backward. Circle, circle, circle. Your movement may create an opportunity - to run for it, or to strike. Just by moving, you force the other person to react. That means you have the initiative, which is something you never want to lose in a competition of any sort. If you move, he reacts, maybe he reacts poorly. That’s called a mistake. Exploit it. #3 - Everythings a target so don’t just save your best shot for that “perfect” opening that never comes. Hit him in the biceps, or the back of his fist, or a glancing kick to the shins. Stomp on his toes if you clinch. This show’s him you mean business, and it may make him give up some more of his initiative. #4 - Breath through your nose. Most of our energy in a fight goes to nerves. Become aware of how much fuel you’re using. Also, just because he’s bigger doesn’t mean he has more wind. Make him do all the work by staying mobile and controlling your breathing. If he runs out of gas before you do, the odds just improved dramatically. #5 - Winning’s not so great. I tell my students you can win a fight and still lose all your front teeth. Not very appealing is it? Let’s all use good judgement in where we go, what we say, and who we associate with - you know, all that stuff Mom told us. That’s it for now. Train like you mean it, and measure your remarks with common sense.
Rob LaPointe |
