Movement in a fight accomplishes one of three things: it moves you away from danger, it puts you in a position from which you can attack, or it is part of an attack. If your movement isn’t accomplishing one of these things, then it’s likely that it’s unnecessary and unwarranted. A real-life confrontation differs from a ring or cage fight, in that you don’t have the time to feel out the person you are dealing with, and you’ll expect the same to be true of them, therefore any movement must be both economical and effective; time is not on your side. Understanding this can sometimes fool us into thinking that the only direction we should be moving is forward i.e. towards the target, in order to engage with the aggressor, however this may not always be the best thing to do. There are times when moving back, will allow us to create more room, and moving to the side, will make us more unpredictable, as we change the angle of attack, etc. In short, we need to practice moving in all directions, rather than just focusing on moving forward with every attack. This will certainly give us the advantage when we are dealing with an aggressor who is only able to move in one direction i.e. forward.

Stepping offline, can be an extremely effective tactic, when dealing with an aggressor who is adrenalized and experiencing tunnel vision i.e. you can literally disappear from their field of view, by moving off to the side. Most people when they become adrenalized aren’t used to, or won’t notice, some of the effects this causes; they don’t register that their vision narrows. This is something that we need to be aware of for ourselves (scanning is a good way of managing and mitigating this effect) and understand how we can use it to our advantage when dealing with others. One of the most effective preemptive strikes I was shown, involved stepping offline as you moved forward and delivering an elbow strike to the Xyphoid process – a small piece of cartilage that sits in front of the diaphragm (the bellows that work the lungs). A solid strike here interrupts the process of inhalation, leaving the person severely winded. The pain will also be unexpected, because as you step off to the side, you will disappear from your aggressor’s sight. As with all pre-emptive strikes, you will want to put yourself on a good legal footing so that you can make a claim of “self-defense”; one way to do this is to step back, so that your aggressor is forced to move towards you, if they want to put themselves in a position where they can commit battery i.e. touch you. If you can time your strike so that as your aggressor moves towards you, you meet them with the strike, the impact will have more power. You will obviously want to be to the side of them when this occurs. For a great example of “disappearing from sight” against a focused, forward-moving attacker, the boxer Billy Joe Saunders, provides a masterclass in it, during his fight with David Lemieux.

Being able to move laterally, means that you can get off your attacker’s “train tracks”, and put them on yours i.e. if you can move to the side of your aggressor, but still be facing them with all your weapons (hand, feet etc.) then you are in a position to attack them whilst not having to face their weapons/be on their tracks. The other advantage this gives you, is that your striking becomes more unpredictable, as your assailant must now deal with strikes that are coming from angles, rather than from the front. As you move to these positions, you should be covering your movement with striking, in order to occupy your assailant, rather than allowing for them to react and respond to your movement, by repositioning themselves. Lateral movement, that causes an attacker to move and shift weight, can also increase the effect of your striking. If you can get an assailant to be rooted, when you strike them, more force will be absorbed, rather than translated into movement. Moving backwards can also achieve this effect, as if/when your attacker steps forward they will be shifting their weight, onto their forward leg, meaning any strike landing on it will be fully absorbed. If you only focus on moving forwards and towards your attacker, you will be denying yourself many of these opportunities. It isn’t enough to be able to simply throw good strikes that are technically perfect, you must be able to position your assailant so that they absorb them.

Moving backwards and utilizing your control of range is also a good way to force somebody to over-extend, which compromises their balance and stability. If somebody has to reach to hit/punch you, because your movement is forcing them to do so i.e. you’re keeping yourself just out of reach, it is likely that the person you are dealing with will over-commit, sometimes in frustration, in order to land a strike. This is something that can be exploited, as it will take longer for them to reset to a stable position, and the subsequent shift in weight will be significant – this is one of those times when people make themselves vulnerable to having their legs reaped and taken out from under them, as their weight is transferred backwards. Equally, if they are taking larger steps to try and get to you, sweeping the forward foot becomes easier, and more effective, when you take the supporting leg/foot away as they make a big transference of weight.

In any confrontation you want to be driving it, having your assailant respond to what you are doing, and not the other way round. If you can control the movement of the fight, then you control the fight. There is a place for aggressive, forward movement, but make sure that your assailant isn’t moving back or sideways in order to put you in a vulnerable position, as you charge past them, etc. Movement, in all directions needs to be practiced so you are able to utilize a whole range of techniques and tactics, rather than becoming a one-trick pony who can only move forwards.