Drill No. 1 Right Punch and Out Parry

· Both you and your partner stand in the right lead. Your forearms are touching with your hands at shoulder level. (Fig 15a) At all stages of this drill you must maintain contact with your partners arm. This contact will help to develop your sensitivity to your partners actions.

· Your partner shoots forward and attempts to punch your face. (Fig 15b)

· You execute an out parry, shooting back at the same time. You roll your forearm around your partners and force their arm down. As an alternative drill, this stage may be omitted. Simply keep your palm up at shoulder level and return a punch from that position.

· After forcing your partners arm down, you execute a punch of your own. (Fig 15c) Your partner continues the drill by carrying out the parry and returns the punch again.

Drill No. 2 Right Punch and Elbow Block

· Both you and your partner stand in the right leading stance with your forearms touching. Your partner executes a right punch while shooting forward.

· You shoot back and raise your elbow to parry the punch. At all stages of this drill you must maintain contact with your partners arm.

· You then drop your elbow and parry the partners arm in the opposite direction.

· Finish off with a right punch of your own. At this stage the drill continues. Always shoot forward on the attack and then shoot back on the defence.

Fighting Distance Fundamentals

In close combat there are three ranges to be considered. These are long range, close range and ground fighting. You must learn to recognise the fighting style of your opponent. Never fight an opponent on their own terms. Always go for the tactical moves they are not using. At the long and close ranges the tactics can be either offensive or defensive. There can also be single or multiple assailants and defenders.

The ground fighting range adds a more complex dimension to the tactics. This is because a ground fighter can be offensively orientated despite the fact that their opponent is standing. It is not necessarily the case in ground fighting that both protagonists are on the ground. The tactics for ground fighting will be treated separately in the final chapter.

Long Range Offence The opponent is usually taller than you and has the advantage of a longer reach. They will be attacking you with kicks and jabs, keeping you at arms length. Counter this type of attack by:

· Going to the ground and attacking their legs

· Retreating to force them into a forward momentum. This momentum can be side stepped or hopped away from before striking out.

· Parry the fist attacks and move in fast to counterattack at close range.

· Side step and kick.

Long Range Defence The opponent is moving around you fast. They are using jabs, kicks and side stepping to keep away from you. They will concentrate on countering all your approaches. Counter this type of defence by:

· Using side steps to disrupt their circling tactics and close in.

· Covering up and closing in fast to use close range tactics.

Close Range Offence The opponent may be shorter than you. They move inside your guard very fast and attack with elbows, knees, head butts and grappling tactics. Counter this type of offence by:

· Using your knees and palm heel attacks to force them off you.

· Retreat fast at the first opportunity and keep them at bay with your kicks and long punches.

Close Range Defence The opponent sticks close to you and spoils all your tactics by parrying, grabbing, grappling and using counter attacks. Counter this type of defence by:

· Breaking away and using long range offensive tactics

THE TEXT BOOK OF CLOSE COMBAT

CHAPTER's 3 & 4

THE FIST AND OPEN HAND TECHNIQUES

General Warfare Tactics. For Public Information and Research Only.

Public Domain Information.