Open your opponent's guard

Kung Fu Wang

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If your opponent is on guard, when you throw your 1st punch, 95% of the time, your 1st punch will be blocked or dodged. So since you know that your 1st punch won't be effective, you may use your 1st punch just to open your opponent's guard. You can then let your 2nd punch to attack the new created opening.

In MA form training, most of the punch is just a punch without "open guard" strategy involved. Did those form creators try to hide some secret away from us, or "open guard" was not in their logical way of thinking?

1. Do you think open guard strategy should be included before each and ever punch? Instead of just step in, and punch, should you step in, open guard, and punch?

2. How will you open your opponent's guard such as

- parallel boxing guard, or 1 arm forward and 1 arm backward TMA guard?
- uniform stance, or mirror stance?

Your thought?
 
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Leviathan

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There are many ways to open the guard:
- hit or kick where it isn't,
- faint a technique to have the opponent move the guard and go to no. 1
- usually a few techniques in a row will create some opening
- move around the opponent
- if you deliver a powerful blow even a good guard has limits; I wouldn't want to block a spinning back kick or a strong Muay Thai roundhouse kick.

I'd say it's important to mix up your strategies.

A good stamina is also key in a fight lasting more than a few seconds. If you're not in shape you'll get out of breath and then the brain starts to process information slowly. At that time you don't keep up with your opponent and leave too many openings. So it might be a strategy: exhaust your opponent, keep the pace and openings will come up easily.

In self defense I don't know if a guard is still much relevant: when you're not wearing big boxing gloves I doubt a guard is gonna do much to protect you from a head punch. I'd rather dodge or deviate the punch.
 

isshinryuronin

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In MA form training, most of the punch is just a punch without "open guard" strategy involved. Did those form creators try to hide some secret away from us, or "open guard" was not in their logical way of thinking?

You may be misinterpreting the form's opening move in a sequence. In karate, that move often is a "defensive" move that does open the opponent's guard. It just may not look like it. This can be because the form has evolved too much into a performance and the obvious meaning of some techniques have been corrupted, or because the "creators [did] try to hide some secret from us."

Okinawan forms were created when karate was still taught in secret and some moves were disguised as to their real meaning. Often, the first move is seemingly a kamae, or a guard position, getting ready to fight, or a slow dramatic opening. But if you speed it up and add some power to it, that move becomes an effective combat technique that serves to either release a grab or otherwise open up the opponent's guard.

The creators of the forms certainly had a "logical way of thinking." Each move in a form has a practical and effective purpose - every move in a form leads to one goal - to disable the opponent.
 
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Kung Fu Wang

Kung Fu Wang

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In a mirror stance (you and your opponent have different side forward), a hook punch can be an excellent way to open your opponent's guard for the following reasons:

- By using hook punch, you have more chance to contact your opponent's arm than by using a straight punch.
- During arm contact, your hook punch can easily be changed into a downward parry (or grab). You can then open your opponent's guard and either punch with your other hand, or punch with your same hand.

Many MA systems don't train (or emphasize) hook punch. IMO, it's a such great tool that should be mastered by all MA systems.

Here is a mirror stance example that he uses his leading arm hook punch (or parry) to open his opponent's TMA guard. He then punch with his other hand.

Unfortunate we don't see this kind of set up in most of the MA form design.

Karate-grab-punch.gif
 
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JowGaWolf

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It depends on the systems. Some systems don't care if the guard opens or not. In other words. They will either attack your guard until you no longer want to keep it up, or attack the guard until the guard gets weak. Either way their attacks will land and cause damage.
 
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Kung Fu Wang

Kung Fu Wang

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It depends on the systems. Some systems don't care if the guard opens or not. In other words. They will either attack your guard until you no longer want to keep it up, or attack the guard until the guard gets weak. Either way their attacks will land and cause damage.
I have tried both ways. When I throw a hook punch and my opponent blocks it, I can:

1. add more body rotation into my hook punch and knock his blocking arm away, or
2. change my hook punch into a grab, and pull.

I find 1 is faster but 2 can give me more arm control. From a striker point of view, I may like 1. But from a wrestler point of view, I like 2.

That pull can help me to move in.

 
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drop bear

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If you punch your oponants guard it opens.
 

isshinryuronin

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In a mirror stance (you and your opponent have different side forward), a hook punch can be an excellent way to open your opponent's guard for the following reasons:

Unfortunate we don't see this kind of set up in most of the MA form design.

Karate-grab-punch.gif

This does not look like a hook punch to me. More like an abbreviated low block followed by a reverse punch. This combo is common in many karate forms.

Red made a big mistake extending his lead hand so much. It was just begging to be taken.
 
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Kung Fu Wang

Kung Fu Wang

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If you punch your oponants guard it opens.
It's easier to use a hook punch to open your opponent's guard than to use a straight punch.

This does not look like a hook punch to me. More like an abbreviated low block followed by a reverse punch. This combo is common in many karate forms.
IMO, there is no difference among:

- hook punch,
- circular punch,
- may-maker,
- downward parry,
- wrist grab.

You just use your arm to move circularly depend on what you intend to achieve.
 

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