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How Do You Defend Against?

11K views 35 replies 13 participants last post by  Onganju 
#1 ·
How do you defend against
a) an elbow strike?
b)a knee kick?
c)the ever popular punch or knee to the ribs?
d)a hook to the head, like a left hook or a right hook to the head?
e) a spinning back kick to the head?
So much of the discussion in this forum seems offense oriented, but it seems to me that the late great Bruce Lee made an excellent point when he said that your opponent isn't going to be standing still.He was talking about guys showing off their ability to break bricks...he said that bricks don't hit back.But your opponent probably will at least try.In all of the videos that I have seen, MMA and Muay Thai and kick boxing practitioners seem to abide by the philosophy of that American Civil War general who said that a battle is won by who gets there fustest with the mostest(First with the most).This seems contrary to martial arts philosophy in general to me, but more about that in another thread.But really, in all of these matches, I've never seen somebody block an elbow attack. It is possible,isn't it? If so, how? I've never seen anyone block a knee kick.That,too, is possible,isn't it? If so, how? The same question I raise for all of the devastating offense techniques that I list above.Sincerely,Ferdelance:dunno:
 
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#2 ·
Hmmm... I'll get into this one a little later. Expect a post on each mentioned technique.
 
#3 ·
ahh young ferdelance youhave much to learn.

to start most martial arts have similar defences with slight variations for example tae kwon do block have the meaty part of the bone out most karate has the bone side of the arm out. basic philosophy of bjj is keep them close on the ground so they can't hit you. then apply a submission, sweep or reversal.

there is no one way to defend anything or everything and defence is more often a reaction to the position you and your attacker is in. if you are looking to block knee strikes to your ribs,stomach etc a common defence is to turn sideways and use your leg kinda like a flamingo raised off the ground blocking your opponent. if you have been taking a lot of punishment to your legs and want to block that use your hand to push down on the offending leg of your opponent.

Those are two basic ways to defend knee strikes. I would say the best defence is to hit back so they don't want to get that close to land an elbow or knee. or just keep the fight at a distance. I will post more defence later. otherwise this could be a three page reply that won't get read.
 
#4 ·
If you have a lot to contribute, please do. In the mean time, I'm going to sticky this thread to help avoid similar threads from being created.
 
#5 ·
I guess i'll be useful to the forums and contribute some advice to letter C, getting strikes to the ribs.

Getting punched in the ribs
One thing you must ALWAYS keep in mind is to NEVER EVER drop your hands to protect your body. Its like leaving gold for junk, you keep yourself wide open and fall into your opponents trap.
Since this is isn't clinch fighting, the best advance is to circle around and avoid the body strikes.

If your in a situation where you can't back up or circle around to dodge the body attacks, the best advace is to man up and a take a few shots for a bit.
I say this because:
1. You lure him into your trap
2. The opponent will get cocky and will be consistant with the body attacks.

Every attack has a loop hole, meaning anytime you attack..you leave an opening.
In the case of being cornered, the best thing to do is COUNTER ATTACK.
By taking a few more shots to the body, you make your opponent confident and will keep hitting downstairs.
The lower the opponent strikes, the lower his hands. Once you've taken one or two more body shots, surpise him with an explosive upstairs punch. From there on the tables should turn.

Getting kicked in the ribs
Like I said, don't drop your hands down to protect your body. You get rid of the worst of two evils by keeping your hands up.
Once again, the best advice for defending a kick to the body is by your footwork. Be swift and move around so the opponent can miss or get a weak kick on you.

If your in a situation where the opponent is pressing on you very well, the best advice is to take a kick ot two to get the feeling of the opponent.
Always keep in mind IF THE OPPONENT KICKS ONCE, EXPECT A FEW MORE.

There are two react to a kick to the body.
1. Ignore the kick and take it while you charge foward to counter punch.
2. Grab the leg and take the mofo down.

If the opponent you fight happens to be a grappler, don't lift your leg up to protect your body because:
1. Theres a chance its just a set up for a takedown
2. It won't be all that powerful anyways >:]

I wouldn't recommending clinching, because it can sometimes get real ugly.
 
#6 ·
Ferdelance said:
How do you defend against
a) an elbow strike?
Because elbows are a short strike, the easiest way is to step back and counter with a punch. I assume you are talking about standing, so it's really not very hard.

b)a knee kick?
Again, get out of the way. Usually you will have to step away, which makes this really hard to counter.

c)the ever popular punch or knee to the ribs?
You will probably have to block this by dropping your hands, but the method that I have seen used alot in professional boxing is to take the body shot and return with a punch to the head.

d)a hook to the head, like a left hook or a right hook to the head?
Duck under it and return with an uppercut or a jab.

e) a spinning back kick to the head?
Just move a little bit to one side and counter by kicking out the leg which they have entrusted all of their weight to.
 
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#7 ·
well, although i agree with the solutions posted. When I was in boxing we were taught never to drop our hands away from protecting our head. I was taught to be very tight in the sense of proteceting, so the my arms were tucked in to my stomach, like hands up by the face and elbows tucked into the stomach. and when your tight like that it's easy to throw an uppercut. This being in like a clinch situation, or like cornered on the ropes. otherwise be loose and relax.
 
#8 ·
SilentFury said:
I guess i'll be useful to the forums and contribute some advice to letter C, getting strikes to the ribs.

Getting punched in the ribs
One thing you must ALWAYS keep in mind is to NEVER EVER drop your hands to protect your body. Its like leaving gold for junk, you keep yourself wide open and fall into your opponents trap.
Since this is isn't clinch fighting, the best advance is to circle around and avoid the body strikes.

If your in a situation where you can't back up or circle around to dodge the body attacks, the best advace is to man up and a take a few shots for a bit.
I say this because:
1. You lure him into your trap
2. The opponent will get cocky and will be consistant with the body attacks.

Every attack has a loop hole, meaning anytime you attack..you leave an opening.
In the case of being cornered, the best thing to do is COUNTER ATTACK.
By taking a few more shots to the body, you make your opponent confident and will keep hitting downstairs.
The lower the opponent strikes, the lower his hands. Once you've taken one or two more body shots, surpise him with an explosive upstairs punch. From there on the tables should turn.

Getting kicked in the ribs
Like I said, don't drop your hands down to protect your body. You get rid of the worst of two evils by keeping your hands up.
Once again, the best advice for defending a kick to the body is by your footwork. Be swift and move around so the opponent can miss or get a weak kick on you.

If your in a situation where the opponent is pressing on you very well, the best advice is to take a kick ot two to get the feeling of the opponent.
Always keep in mind IF THE OPPONENT KICKS ONCE, EXPECT A FEW MORE.

There are two react to a kick to the body.
1. Ignore the kick and take it while you charge foward to counter punch.
2. Grab the leg and take the mofo down.

If the opponent you fight happens to be a grappler, don't lift your leg up to protect your body because:
1. Theres a chance its just a set up for a takedown
2. It won't be all that powerful anyways >:]

I wouldn't recommending clinching, because it can sometimes get real ugly.
that sounds great...but if ur facing a good body puncher u wont be able to take to many shots (sometimes one is all thats needed)...

Droping one of ur hands is not that bad...look at Hops, PBF, Archie Moore and Toney they all drop one hand to protect the body while using angles and the other to protect the head. If u dont like that u should use ur elbows with a bit of movement to be able to block the shot. But taking the shot should be the last thing u want to do. And taking a kick to the ribs...well did u see Wandys ribs after the Cro Cop fight? Unless ur used to fighting with bruised ribs I would suggest to cover...

One way I like to defend them is to cover the whole area (ribs and head) of one side of the body. By doing that u just need to distinguish if its comming tru ur right side or left side and cover.

Learn to roll with punches and give angles when u get corner...and like u said counter immediately...
 
#9 ·
How Do You Defend Against...?

Deadly Poet said:
that sounds great...but if ur facing a good body puncher u wont be able to take to many shots (sometimes one is all thats needed)...

Droping one of ur hands is not that bad...look at Hops, PBF, Archie Moore and Toney they all drop one hand to protect the body while using angles and the other to protect the head. If u dont like that u should use ur elbows with a bit of movement to be able to block the shot. But taking the shot should be the last thing u want to do. And taking a kick to the ribs...well did u see Wandys ribs after the Cro Cop fight? Unless ur used to fighting with bruised ribs I would suggest to cover...

One way I like to defend them is to cover the whole area (ribs and head) of one side of the body. By doing that u just need to distinguish if its comming tru ur right side or left side and cover.

Learn to roll with punches and give angles when u get corner...and like u said counter immediately...
I tend to agree with this more. My gut level feeling is to disagree with people who say "take a shot to the body."
After all: Isn't that how Houdini was killed? Also, don't they teach, in a number of different schools ,that if a shot to the body results in damage to the spleen, or a lung being punctured by a broken rib, then you've got some serious problems!
yes?
No?
Thanx everyone,though,for your feedback.
Ferdelance. and yes, i admit: i do have a lot to learn.
Who doesn't?
 
#10 ·
Basic Striking Defense Theorem

As requested by the OP, it is very common that posts within this section of the Forum tend to be of the “Offensive-mindset.” But what of those times where one is on the defensive side of the Stand up battle? While it is true that the “best defense is a great offense” in most accounts, one cannot expect that the live, resisting and trained opponent in front of them will willingly allow them to attack unabated and uninterrupted. The most competitive fights are always between two trained opponent’s steeped in the proverbial “human chess match;” wherein the participants take turns imposing their wills upon one another. This in turn continues until one hits that critical attack, or reversal, or hooks that critical hold that brings upon the end of the match. It is in those moments that fighters usually figure out why they fight. As taken many times from Chuck Palahniuk’s novel “Fight Club,” it is when you’re fighting that you feel most alive. “When it’s on… It’s on… And nothing else matters.

But I digress… I’m not here to provide reviews on literature that I haven’t fully read. I am here to talk about defense. The reason why defense is a key component to fighting can be summarized very succinctly:

If you have dynamite in each fist, or swing kicks that mow down humanity like the reaper's blade, it will not matter in a fight if you are struck down first by your opponent.

Likewise, if you are carrying on through a fight where you are taking two for every one shot you throw, you are most likely (unless you are grossly more powerful or tougher in comparison to your opponent) going to lose that fight. Let’s face it: It is unrealistic to expect to fight against trained opponents never to find out what it is like to get hit. MMA is a sport/competition based in reality. Unlike the movies, none of the competitors in MMA prescribe to the “Black Ninja” school of Martial Arts. If you choose to get into a fight, you can expect to get hit.

Just as Sugar Ray Leonard would say, “Fighters get hit. Good fighters don’t get hit as much.” As plain as that is, its merit in truth cannot be denied. In that end, what seems as a given in the eyes of many seems to go understated by many MMA competitors and Fans. I would think that many fighters would like to train their defensive acumen and fall into the “Good fighter” category.

Before I get too far, let me state that I do not prescribe to the “tough guy” mentality of taking one and returning in kind. Why test your chin when it will lend itself better to test the chin of your opponent? If you take that into perspective, testing your chin and losing in the ring can be bad. However, testing your chin and losing in a self-defense situation on the street can be fatal. It is bad enough to lose in a match, at least you can gain experience and return better trained and prepared. However, the world outside the ring or cage tends to be a lot less forgiving. That is why I think it is worth while to post in this thread.

Before I get too preachy, let’s get into the basic methods of stand-up/striking defense. I will not get into specific techniques at this time, but rather let me state what I’ve found through research and application as to what works. For the sake of those who have not had any training in striking arts, I will keep everything as simple as possible.

In the training of defense, it is found that training defensive techniques with the fewest steps work best and are the most reliable. Many striking schools may teach multi-step defensive techniques that might possibly be effective in an actual fight. However, I don’t prescribe to them because of two reasons: 1) What if the fighter doesn’t attack exactly as the technique describes? 2) In stressful situations, you cannot reliably expect that longer, drawn-out technique sequences will be recognized by the fighter trying to utilize it. On that end the techniques that I will post here follow a very simple, 1-2, “Defend and then counter” pattern. These are the easiest to learn, and usually the easiest to utilize. Besides, why wait for the 5th or 6th punch or kick thrown by your opponent when you can stop them after (or even before) the first attack is thrown?

All defensive technique should be followed with a counter attack. If you are against an aggressive opponent, or any opponent who is trying to win, you cannot realistically expect them to finish their attack and politely allow you your own salvo afterwards. With an aggressive opponent, they will simply continue to attack until they are stopped or they have completely overwhelmed and finished you. So every defense should be followed with a counter.

In my research, Striking defense can be broken down into four (4) different types of techniques. This is what they are, and this is how they differ:

Interrupt/Faster/Pre-Emptive Attack: This is simply hitting the opponent with a faster attack while they are in the midst of attacking you. This can be a straight punch as your opponent winds up their overhand right, a pushing kick as your opponent chambers their own kick, or a knee to the opponent’s head as they try to shoot. This is the “Intercepting fist” of Jeet Kune Do. In this method, you strike the opponent when you first recognize that they are attacking. In this method, the counter attack is already included as it occurs at the moment of defense.

Dodging/Evasion: As Mr. Miyagi would say, “Best defense… You no be there!” This requires trained body movement (both upper body and foot work) to stymie your opponent’s attack by causing it to miss. Now, this is not any intricate or acrobatic type movement. Nope, no Matrix bridges here. Rather these are economic movements that will cause your opponents to miss while you move into a position to attack them while they are out of position to defend. Ducking, slipping, side-stepping, back-pedaling and retreating all fall into this type of defense.

Deflect/Catch: Not a true block, but a simple push, pull or cutting into the strike angle of the attacking limb while moving into an angle that gives you an advantage for countering with strikes. Likewise, catching the limb of the attacker in order to control them as you counter with a strike or grapple also falls into this category of defense. This method of defense is usually the hardest to master, but can make a competitor dangerous to aggressive opponents. By using the energy of an opponent’s attack to pull them into position for a counter, or to create an opening for attack, more effective counter attacks can be made.

Cover Up/Blocking: Many times attacks can be so sudden, or occur in such close quarters that dodging or catching them are not possible. In that case, one may only be able to defend themselves by bring up a barrier to block the attack. This may be your arm, your legs, your shoulders, knees or elbows. As long at the attacking limb does not effectively hit a vital point, the block goes a long way to mitigate the force of your opponent’s attacks. This is the simplest type of defense to learn, as it is the most instinctive. However, as a rule one should always implement the other defensive methods first. With a block, you always end up absorbing the brunt of your opponent’s attack which can result in cumulative damage to your fighting limbs.

With that in mind, I’ll post up your standard punch defense in my next post. Hopefully that won’t be too long in coming.

Sources:
 
#11 ·
great post...

thats even the order of preference when chosing a reswponse to an attack...first choice is to intercept, not let him even finish his attack....last choice, only done in emergency should be blocking....

to ppl with more experience in striking....try to conbine interception with dodging...not just depend on intercepting the attack but get out of the way while ur intercepting...it works like a charm in combat...cause sometimes u make a mistake and cant properly intercept but if ur not there u wont get hit....to do this u need good footwork and positioning...alignment and angulation are key elements in fighting...

as my trainer told me....the best defence is accompanied (sp?) by an offence and the best offence is the one thats accompanied* by a deffence...

P.S. pardon my spelling...spanish is my first language...
 
#12 ·
Thanks... Even though I haven't had the opportunity to spend time in a dojo over the last decade, I have been doing my research. During that time I've noticed that even though MMA has come light years away from when it was a Gracie JJ info-mercial, the majority of the strikers in MMA (even the good ones) don't have world class striking skills. While it wasn't any doubt that many could throw a KO strike, it became doubtful whether they could actually avoid one in an economic manner.

I honestly think that's sad to think about. If these guys can train full time to fight, you'd hope that they could cover the distance between themselves and their opponent without losing balance or leaving themselves completely open to strikes, right? On that end, defensive skills and footwork is grossly neglected in MMA, and still has room to come a ways.

Hopefully my next few posts will make as much sense. Don't be afraid to contribute.
 
#13 ·
I wouldn't say that it's neglected by the really good fighters and the guys in the lower weight classes. Alot of the guys with kickboxing, thai, and boxing backrounds have really great footwork. See:
Mirko Filipovic
Shogun Rua
Anderson Silva
Chuck Liddell
Mark Hunt
Wanderlei Silva
Andrei Arlovski
Ricco Rodriguez
Pedro Rizzo
Tito Ortiz
Pretty much every lightweight and welterweight striker.

I don't think that the feet are as neglected on the pro level as much as people might think. I mean, there's only one successful fighter with flat feet I can think of, and that's Sylvia.

The age of the fat, slow, dumb heavyweight is slowly coming to an end.
 
#14 ·
As far as that list goes, those guys are definitely the exception to the rule. I do agree that the lighter weight guys tend to have a better technical grasp on Strike Defense and Footwork. I think that is more due to the fact that until the recent weight classes, these guys had to train to be able to face larger (sometimes much larger) opponents. Yves Edwards vs Mark Hominick is a great example of this.
 
#15 ·
IronMan said:
I wouldn't say that it's neglected by the really good fighters and the guys in the lower weight classes. Alot of the guys with kickboxing, thai, and boxing backrounds have really great footwork. See:
Mirko Filipovic
Shogun Rua
Anderson Silva
Chuck Liddell
Mark Hunt
Wanderlei Silva
Andrei Arlovski
Ricco Rodriguez
Pedro Rizzo
Tito Ortiz
Pretty much every lightweight and welterweight striker.

I don't think that the feet are as neglected on the pro level as much as people might think. I mean, there's only one successful fighter with flat feet I can think of, and that's Sylvia.

The age of the fat, slow, dumb heavyweight is slowly coming to an end.
they are getting better but its not near what it can be...and a lot of the guys on ur list are not tech strikers but more strong strikers...their tech can get way better....

Anderson Silva
BJ Penn
Cro Cop

those are my top 3 tech strikers (in no order)....oh and u can add Chuck...

U could say Shogun is a great striker, he is, but his footwork tends to get sloppy....and Wandy, as great as he is, is not a technical striker....

the good thing is that striking is getting better and guys who specialize in striking are showing better skill....still MMA striking needs to improve....
 
#16 ·
I wasn't really referring to tech on the feet. I definitely wouldn't have had all of those guys if that was all I was talking about. I was referring to footwork in general. There are alot of wrestlers who have really good footwork, which is why I listed Tito and Ricco, even though there are alot more.

Standup isn't just about the strikes in MMA, you also have to be conscious of everything else that can happen. Takedows, sprawls and clinches are just as important as the other stuff.
 
#17 ·
Standup isn't just about the strikes in MMA, you also have to be conscious of everything else that can happen. Takedows, sprawls and clinches are just as important as the other stuff.
True... That's the reason why I'm going to post defensive techniques with that in mind. ;)

Wandy, as great as he is, is not a technical striker....
I agree. It's the reason why he ends up getting rocked whenever he's in there with a confident striker(not that it means he loses). It happened with Belfort, Mezger, Sakuraba during their second match, Henderson, Jackson in their first match, Hunt, and I don't need to mention what happened against Cro Cop.
 
#18 ·
I'm only a wrestler but i'll give it a shot from my knowledge :D

a)an elbow strike?

Basically if your getting elbow strikes to you head the only thing to do is
keep your hands up, try to squeeze out, or fire back.

b)a knee kick?

Painful. I say take a few and dish out a few. Once you have learned your foe's movements and patterns try to trace that the next time he does it and counter with punches, a takedown, or a kick of your own.

c)the ever popular punch or knee to the ribs?

All I gotta say is never put your hands down to defend your body because you will feel something hit your face and a couple seconds later youll be on the mat wondering what happened. The only counter to these IMO is to defend by using your legs to put over your ribs to block the punch with your leg.

d)a hook to the head, like a left hook or a right hook to the head?

Hands up. Wait for an opening and fire back.

e)a spinning back kick to the head?

Ouch. This one is a toughy because its so sudden but I say keep your distance and if it is unavoidable block with your hand/forearm or leg.

I hope my post helped and if not feel free to flame :D
 
#19 ·
Boxing as a tool to Teach Striking Defense

Boxing as a striking art is very popular in MMA not just for its offensive acumen, but also for defense as the defensive movements and techniques are easy to learn, and easy to apply in MMA. As such, the standard boxing defense (with a few adjustments) can be very effective.

The reason why I am going into this first over the other types of defense is that this is the easiest to learn, and takes the shortest amount of time to engrain into your reflexes. The great thing about the straight boxing defense is that is not only applicable against punches, but it works well against kicking attacks from the waist up. Before I get into the specific techniques themselves, let me go over some basic Theorem.

Learning Defense: The TMA Method
Defense as it is taught within the general TMA styles can be described as routinely drilling your specific blocking techniques as designed for specific attacks. Once one drills the technique against the air, it is then moved over into “application” within 1 or 2-step forms or katas of defense. Within many TMA styles the terms of “Upper Outside Block,” “Lower Outside Sweep,” “X-block,” or other similar techniques are taught and trained to be implemented as one recognizes the type of attack that technique is designed for. Essentially the multitude of TMA went through the same route training as Ralph Machio in “The Karate Kid” without actually painting the floor or throwing back shots of Sake with Arnold from “Happy Days.”

The grand flaw in the practice of Defense within TMA styles is that when faced with an opponent in real life, it became obvious that actual live, resisting, and aggressive opponents did not have the tendency to attack with the same compliance or roboticism as their training partners in the Dojo. Rather, they were soon introduced to the painful reality that when one decides to swing, they usually don’t just swing once, and that fights tend to continue on even if the initial set of techniques are actually successful. On that end, many TMA practitioners found themselves “painting the floor” with their own faces.

Going beyond that, if one took the time to step away from the katas and examine the actual practice of styles during “freestyle” sparring, it became obvious that the standard prescribed techniques fell to the wayside in favor of movement and aggression. Those who rigidly followed the basics of the Dojo only found success when seemingly discarding years of technical defensive training. Obviously, something was amiss.

Learning Defense: Modern Boxing Method
On the other side of the coin, modern boxing practitioners forged further with making “the sweet science” actually more scientific. Although a combat sport far removed from MMA, it is put into practice on a regular basis by many MMA competitors. Why? Well, there are a few reasons:

1) Boxing is taught and practiced under “live” sparring conditions. Sure there are drills that will be run, but all the true learning is done during sparring when one figures out what works. In this end, the practitioner is placed deeply in the chaos that is combat and is placed in that situation until it comes to an end. Nothing was routine or robotic.
2) The defensive blocking/cover techniques were simple and intuitive. When training to learn a boxing defense, one is taught simple covers and is trained to defend the angle of attack not specific techniques. On that end, one can assure that they know how to defend themselves even when the levels of stress and fatigue increase. With the TMA method once the level of stress and fatigue goes beyond the normal threshold of the practitioner, fine distinction between one technique to another becomes highly difficult (close to impossible) causing the practitioner to either be too late in choosing a defensive technique, or intuitively choose the wrong technique altogether. Suffice it to say, that doesn’t work out well if a fight goes past the initial set of techniques.
3) Boxers are taught to incorporate upper body mobility and footwork to ensure that they don’t get hit. Where the TMA method relies solely on the power of the blocking technique to meet force with force, the modern boxer is taught to cover and move out of the way of the incoming attack. In the rigidity of forms that are engrained into the mind and habits of the TMA practitioner, they find themselves offering too many openings to an opponent even if they successfully block the incoming attack.

On those points above, when trained properly on how to box the MMA practitioner becomes a more mobile and slippery opponent. It does not do any MMA practitioner well to “take one” in hopes to land their own. Why? Because it only takes one shot that is either hard enough or placed in the right spot to turn a fight around. Personally speaking, I read the above posts soliciting the idea of taking a shot to the body in order to land one to the head and I couldn’t help but shake my head in disgust. If you are fighting against someone who likes throwing body shots (like Rutten, Hominick, Hoost, etc) or you get hit in the liver or solar plexus, you find out very well that such a mindset is hindrance to actually becoming a better fighter.

In my next post I'll go over the actual boxing covers, and how they apply in MMA.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Savage Strikes by, Mark Hatmaker
 
#20 ·
Boxing D: 101a – Stance and Movement

Okay… Now we move on to the actual meat and potatoes of Boxing Defense. This is a very basic and skeletal break down. However, I believe this since this is so basic it is also the easiest to learn and apply. Let’s take a moment to address Stance and Upper Body Movement.

Stance:
Your basic MMA fighting stance is a hybrid stance of Western Boxing and Greco-Roman Wrestling. Not only must the MMA competitor be wary of strikes, but they must also be aware of takedowns and being clinched. So let me lay out your standard MMA fighting stance or “en garde” position, as all the following techniques will assume you are in this position. We will assume an orthodox position for simplicity's sake, but the standard conventions behind the upcoming list of techniques can (and should) be drilled and utilized in a southpaw position.

Let’s say that you are standing on a clock face with your body facing noon, your left foot would be at 10 o’clock and your right foot would be at 4 o’clock. Your knees would be bent, with your weight evenly distributed on both legs. Your body should be in a position between being completely upright and crouching. Both hands would be up at face level, with your right hand up by your right cheek and your right elbow resting on your ribcage. Your left hand will be up in front of your left shoulder about 12 inches away, with your left elbow resting on the left side of your ribcage. Your chin would be tucked down toward your chest while your lead shoulder is brought up to help keep it protected. Resist the urge to flare out your elbows in an inverted “V” as that opens up your body. That in a nutshell is your basic MMA fighting stance; the “en garde” position.

The stance prescribed above is a modified boxer’s stance. Taking in account that the MMA practitioner is not only going to be wary of strikes from a standing position, but must also be ready to shoot, or sprawl, the stance prescribed above provides a solid base while still allowing ease of mobility. In this stance one can still strike and defend, while still being able to shoot or sprawl if they are shot on. Further, the squared stance lends more rotation of the body when firing strikes off from both the lead and rear limbs, allowing the practitioner the ability to commit more mass to each attack. On this end, even your jabs can be of consequence to your opponent.

Upper Body Movement:
The Upper Body Movements of boxing that are utilized (or advocated for use) in MMA are the Pull/Lean, Slip and Duck. The “Bob and Weave” isn’t advocated. While it is very effective in boxing matches, the danger of knees, kicks, downward strikes, or having the back of your head grabbed and “snapped down” is too prevalent to prescribe the use of that technique. In boxing, the only danger you have in that position is an uppercut.

Pull/Lean – With this you lean away from an incoming strike, in an economic and ballistic manner. You do not want to lean too far back, as it loads too much of your weight solely on your rear leg, making leg kicks and takedowns extremely dangerous. If an attack is so deep you cannot avoid it by leaning back a few inches, you are better served to cover up and step away while defending. All leans are ballistic in manner while leaning back, and while returning back to position (ideally with an attack of your own). Leans that are “lazy” where the fighter loses their guard position, or are slow to return will leave the fighter off balance and open to continued attack.

Slip – The Slip can be described as leaning laterally away from an attack. While that is true in a basic sense, there is actually a bit more technique involved that makes the movement a sound application in fights. The Slip is actually by bending at the knees to drop levels, and turning your body in the direction you are “slipping” to. So if you are slipping left, you would lower your level while bending at the knees, and turn you’re your right shoulder toward your left knee. If you are slipping right, you would be turning your left shoulder toward your right knee. Slips are done with minimal bending of the waist, as it opens you up to too many attacks in a MMA scenario (see the Bob and Weave above). By keeping the torso movement economical, and using the legs to lower your level, you are able to evade in a manner that doesn’t upset your base.

Duck – The Duck is accomplished almost solely by your legs. When performed properly, the Duck is a great evasive maneuver that can be implemented to place you directly on your opponent to counter attack with strikes or grappling options. Mark Hatmaker describes the use of the duck in this manner: Imagine that there is a large capital “V” in between you and your opponent, where the end up each top stroke of the V is at each of your heads. When you recognize your opponent throwing an attack at your head, bend your knees and drop level and approach like you are on the downward stroke of your side of the V. Once you reach the bottom and your opponent’s attack bites the air, stand up into the opponent as you ascend their side of the V. This should put you right on top of them in range to follow up with strikes. Alternatively, you can shoot if you are deep enough when you hit the bottom stroke of the V. When ducking, you have to make a habit of keeping your arms in tight and not to bend forward at the waist (again, see the Bob and Weave above).

Boxing D: 101b - Blocking and Covering will follow soon.

Sources:
Bas Rutten's Big Book of Combat by, Bas Rutten
Savage Strikes by, Mark Hatmaker
 
#21 · (Edited)
Boxing D: 101b – Blocking and Covering

Now that we’ve established the standard Ready Stance and the basic Defensive movements, let’s take a look at the basic Boxing Blocks and Covers. These are simple textbook techniques that can be utilized against punches and high-line kicks (from the midsection up).

The beauty of standard boxing cover techniques is that the training of defense requires that you recognize the angle of attack, and not the individual attack technique. In that end, a high kick is defended with the same cover for a hook from the same side (but with more body movement to help mitigate a lot of the force of the attack) as it is the same the angle of attack. Granted, there are certain counters that exist for particular techniques. However, these specific counters are learned through drilling and sparring. Since the block is your last line of defense (literally) it is best to learn it first. Once your cover techniques are instinctive, it is a lot easier to add layers over that.

There are 5 basic Boxing Covers: The Jab Catch, High Lead Cover, High Rear Cover, Lead Body Cover and Read Body Cover. I will detail each as if you are in an orthodox stance, and your opponent is also in an orthodox stance.

Jab Catch: From the ready position, place your rear hand in front of your face by about 12 inches (it should end up right next to your lead hand) to receive the punch in your palm. Do not just hold the hand out in front of you, but smack into the punch so that it does not force your hand back into your face. Resist the urge to pat the punch away to the side, as that will bring your guard hand out of position. Many times this is used in conjunction with a slip or pull to bring you out of range or away from the direct line of the punch, and also with footwork to bring you in range for your own counter attack. This technique can be used against straight punches to the face.

High Lead Cover: From the ready position, bring your lead hand up by your ear (as if you are doing an Uppercut/Up Elbow) and rest either your fist or your fingertips on your skull above the ear. Turn your lead shoulder toward your opponent, tuck your chin and dip your stance to cut into the angle of their attack as you receive the attack on your forearm or upper arm. If you lean far into the attack, the attack will connect with your upper arm and shoulder. Do not place a flat palm against your ear as the suction created by your palm impacting your ear can ring your bell fiercely. Do not hold your arm out to the side of your head as you bring up your cover. I’ve seen many competitors hold up their arm in a high cover as they block a head kick, only to get rocked as the kick continues through and sends their own fist into their temple. By keeping your lead hand in contact with your head and turning your shoulder into the attack, you create an oblique angle for the attack to be deflected with, while offering your arm as a barrier. This technique can be used for hooks or high kicks coming to your lead side. When blocking a kick, you want to incorporate footwork and movement to take a lot of bite out of the impact.

High Rear Cover: Just like the High Lead Cover, but you bring your rear hand up and turn your rear shoulder toward your opponent as you dip your stance to cut into the angle of the attack. All the above prescribed conventions apply. This technique can be used to block hooks, overhand punches, and high kicks coming to your rear side. Again when blocking a kick, you want to incorporate footwork and movement to take some of the bite out of the impact. The legs are natural shock absorbers, and much of the impact can be mitigated by bending your knees and dipping your stance a few inches.

Lead Body Cover: From the ready position, bring your lead elbow tight to your ribs and turn your lead shoulder into the attack, and bend your knees to lower level a few inches as you receive the attack on your forearm and upper arm. Try to receive the punch on both the forearm and upper arm simultaneously to lessen the amount of cumulative tissue damage to your arms (this can cause a lot of muscle fatigue and can slow down your defense and offense with that limb). With your chin tucked, your lead hand will still be high up next to it. Your rear hand should still be held up high next to chin ready to block any subsequent attacks coming from the other side, or (even better) ready to launch a counter punch of your own. This is real simple and economic in movement. No dropping of the hands and you still cover your vitals. This can be used against uppercuts (both to the body and head), hooks to the body, and mid-level kicks to your lead side.

Rear Body Cover: Similar to the Lead Body Cover, bring your rear elbow tight to your ribs, turn your rear shoulder into the attack, and bend your knees. Same rules as the Lead Body Cover apply. This can be used against uppercuts, hooks to the body and mid-level kicks to your rear side.

And that’s a simple summary of Boxing Defense over the last 3 posts. It is an intuitive, simple and economic system of defense. However, as simple as it is, it is probably a larger task to train this portion of stand up than any attack technique. Rounds upon rounds, and hours upon hours have to be committed into the training of defensive techniques, upper body movement and footwork in order to become an elusive opponent with air tight defenses. Unfortunately, it doesn’t yield results as quickly as straight stand-up offense which is probably the reason why we see so little of it in MMA competition. Besides that, causing your opponent to miss is hardly ever considered highlight reel material (unless you’re Emmanuel Augustus).

In the next post (or so) I’ll apply the above theory and techniques to the OP’s questions.

Sources:
Boxing Mastery and Savage Strikes by, Mark Hatmaker.
 
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#22 ·
Okay, so How do you defend against
a) an elbow strike?
b)a knee kick?
c)the ever popular punch or knee to the ribs?
d)a hook to the head, like a left hook or a right hook to the head?
e) a spinning back kick to the head?
Let’s put this through the technique filters I qualified in earlier posts.

a) An Elbow Strike. I’m going to assume you are talking about either a horizontal/cross elbow, or rotating/corkscrew elbow from a standing position. With that, here are some options:
1) Interrupt/Pre-Emptive Attack with an up elbow on the receiving side of the strike as you step into the attack. The elbow position will act as a fail safe/cover if the incoming elbow is faster than your attack, or if you are reacting slowly. You could also interrupt with a Jab, Cross or Takedown.
2) Dodge/Evade the attack while leaning back and return with a punch off of your mirror side, or an elbow of your own. If you dodge by ducking under, you will have an opportunity to shoot.
3) Deflect the elbow along the same path it was thrown as you lean away from it to unbalance your opponent. After which you can Punch or Elbow the opponent in the head, punch, and knee or kick them in the exposed area of their body, or tie them up and clinch.
4) Cover/Block using the High boxing covers listed above. Make sure to follow up with a counter attack or clinch.

b) A Knee Kick. If this is a knee kick while inside the clinch, read up on my thread Breaking a Clinch to see how to deal with that. If this is a free standing knee without benefit of a clinch, then I offer you the following (this also covers “knee to the ribs”):
1) Interrupt/Pre-Emptive Attack with a jab or cross. In training you can put this into practice by shoving your opponent off at the chest, shoulder or face to simulate this. You can also hit them with a push kick as you see them load the knee. Since your opponent is on one leg, it should be easy to upset their balance.
2) Dodge/Evade the attack by stepping or circling away from the attack and strike with a lead hook or elbow. If you dodge by stepping back, you can return fire with a kick (push kicks work real well), or shooting on the opponent’s leg.
3) Deflect the knee by patting/sweeping it toward your opponent’s centerline from the outside in. Counter with a striking combination of your choice, a takedown or clinch.
4) Cover using the appropriate body cover as you step back to lessen the force. Follow up with a counter attack or clinch.

c) A Punch to the Ribs.
1) Interrupt with a punch or elbow off the opposite side while keeping the applicable body cover in place.
2) Just like knee kick, you can Dodge/Evade the attack by stepping or circling away from the attack and strike with a lead hook or elbow. If you dodge by stepping back, you can return fire with a kick (push kicks work real well), or shooting on the opponent’s leg.
3) Deflect/Catch… Eh… I can’t seem to come up with one on this particular technique.
4) Cover using the appropriate body cover and counter with a strikes, a clinch or shooting for a takedown.

d) Hooks to the head are easier to deal with because of the angle of attack.
1) Interrupt with a straight punch off of the side that is receiving the hook, or with an up elbow on the same side that is receiving the hook as you step forward. You can also clinch high or shoot low if you see it coming soon enough.
2) Dodge by leaning back and returning with a combination of your own. You can also duck in and shoot.
3) Catch the hook by stepping in and reaching into the angle of the hook with the arm on the side being attacked and secure a grip on the back of your opponent’s head. Use that grip to bring them in to an elbow, or knee off the opposite side, or tie them up for a clinch.
4) Cover using the appropriate high cover listed above and then counter attack with your own punches, takedown or clinch.

e) Spinning Back-Kick to the Head. I’m going to say this is a back heel or back hook kick.
1) Interrupt with push kick to the back of your opponent, or shoot a low single on their supporting leg.
2) Evade by stepping back or ducking and coming forward with your own striking combinations or takedown.
3) Step forward to cut into the angle of attack while holding up your high cover. If you get hit with the leg, it will be high up on the backside of their thigh, and will not have the same amount of power needed to hurt you. You can either tie up the opponent and sweep their supporting leg, or attack with combinations.
4) Cover with the appropriate high cover and make sure to dip/bend your knees to mitigate the impact while blocking.

This should be more than enough to get you going. If you need any clarification/details don't hesitate to ask.

Sources:
Muay Thai Basics by, Christoph Delp
Savage Strikes by, Mark Hatmaker
Bas Rutten's Big Book of Combat by, Bas Rutten
 
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#23 ·
Well i might do other stuff depends what situation im in or what i react to what flew into my mind but it would be most probably be these...


a) an elbow strike?
Um either block it which could be ineffective or move into it and catch it letting it hit a place where it hurts less/does less damage(ive never had to defend myself against one)

b)a knee kick?
whats that?

c)the ever popular punch or knee to the ribs?
punch - try to move out of the way and catch it to do some judo:D or arm locks or block with my forearm.
knee to the ribs if were both in a grapple position then try to push sideways the knee away from my ribs and try to do a takedown or throw

d)a hook to the head, like a left hook or a right hook to the head?block it with my forearm pushing it away from me.

e) a spinning back kick to the head?
Id try to duck it and stick my arm out incase im not fast enough, or move into it and catch it(moving into strikes is best when you cant evade them they have less power) or duck and set up a trap where my arm in a hook shape is waiting then i catch the foot and most probably trip them back so im in a ground and pound position.
 
#25 ·
UnseenKing said:
Damn Onganju... maybe you should be writing instructionals for money instead of posting it for free on this forum.
Thanks... But I gotta' get back into training to put a lot of the material to practice. Unfortunately, "real life" isn't so accomodating. If it's kinda' hard for me to find the free time to spend in front of the keyboard to further add to some of my threads, how much free time (and money) do you think I have to train?

It'll all come in time, I guess.
 
#26 ·
Ferdelance said:
I tend to agree with this more. My gut level feeling is to disagree with people who say "take a shot to the body."
After all: Isn't that how Houdini was killed? Also, don't they teach, in a number of different schools ,that if a shot to the body results in damage to the spleen, or a lung being punctured by a broken rib, then you've got some serious problems!
yes?
No?
Thanx everyone,though,for your feedback.
Ferdelance. and yes, i admit: i do have a lot to learn.
Who doesn't?
First of all, houdini was surprised by a young man as he turned to face him in a bar... the guy wanted to test one of his tricks but caught him off gaurd. Also, Houdini wasn't a martial artist and didnt condition or build muscle in his midsection.
And theoretically yes, u can get hurt form a body shot.. realistically, even top contenders dont break ribs. You have to consider that they're wearing gloves which offers a wide area of contact against the flat surfaces of the torso, and nobody has the time within range to put all their power into the shot, not to mention fatigue (k, i mentioned it).
Point is, sometimes u just gotta take a shot, its better than taking one to the head in any case
 
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