What do you do if someone runs at you with punches?

[marques]

My personal thoughts on this is that you should ask your friend to come at you again so that you can find out the answer to this question on your own.

This is my concept of ideal training. After 3-4 years' training and all the suggestions you have here, there is already a lot of hypothesis.

If you have the opportunity to do it, do it. Ask him to go slower as an intermediate step, if needed.

 

[Flying Crane]

If done right, charge punch is devastating. I'm not talking about Bart Simpson flailing at you.

From close, you drive with the legs and drill that first punch, followed by two more, each powered by another driving step, and it's over in under a second. If the timing is good so you catch him at a vulnerable moment, you've got him. You charge right over him as he goes down.

It isn't so easy to defend against. I think in sparring and whatnot, a lot of people do it with low committment, it doesn't work. Do it like you mean it, it works very well. It can't be done from a distance, too much broadcast. It has to be from close enough that the first punch really drills him hard, with full body mass driving in behind it, with zero warning.

 

[crazydiamond]

The stop kick to the knee is one of my favorites, though I admit to questioning its reliability on unpredictable surfaces.

More or less what comes to my mind. Jeet Tek in my MA

or Teep (also taught in my MA)

 

[Ironbear24]

For me the side kick usually keeps them out of reach and they can't land anything when doing that.

 

[Flying Crane]

More or less what comes to my mind. Jeet Tek in my MA

or Teep (also taught in my MA)

There is way too much distance there, that is the wrong setup and wrong distance to try to use charge punch.

 

[frank raud]

There is way too much distance there, that is the wrong setup and wrong distance to try to use charge punch.

So, a straight blast?

 

[drop bear]

Yeah but if I try to do leg kicks I the person throwing wild punches will probably get in some punches while I do a low kick or? Idk

Move off line then kick.

Cover dig in and throw punches back.

Learn good footwork. And move out of their way.

 

[Flying Crane]

So, a straight blast?

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by a blast.

Think of it as three driving steps, not quite actually running, we try to keep some more stability than that. But each step has a punch that it is powering. But it can't be set up from a distance, where the guy can see you. Better from some engagement where he has his mind on something already, then BAM BAM BAM like lightning.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Yeah okay got it! I have a hard time to see openings etc though since my reaction time isn't good enough, can't even see if my opponent is gonna throw a jab or a hook before it lands :/

You have that backwards. Your reaction time is slow because you don't see the openings. Much of the skill in martial arts is pattern recognition - seeing the openings that are about to happen.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Jabs, crosses and hooks.

Okay, the hooks and crosses probably leave some room in the center. The jabs cover that. None of those are covering low, so that's your first place to think. And none of those are likely to keep you from moving off-line (taking an angle), so there's a second place to think, and perhaps a place to move, to get access to the ribs that are exposed while he's throwing all those punches.

Have him slow down, and keep working the scenario. He should slow down until you can do something useful about 75% of the time. Then he can start to speed up, to keep you at about that success rate.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Why unreliable on unpredictable surfaces (if there is no rotation on the supporting foot)?

I prefer this one in relation to the front kick since it is safer (against takedowns), faster (because shorter), and can be done from shorter distance (so still an option if the reaction time is slow). It will hardly produce a TKO, but it nullifies largely footwork, 'punch work' and everything.

I also like leg/low kick. Still done from longer distance than punches. But a bit more complex in a stressful situation and on irregular ground... So instead I use a lot an inside low kick (just above the knee - SP 10 Sea of Blood) done with the toes or shoes (long, safe, unpredictable and painful - just needs accuracy), which requires little to no rotation. Never used in real life (or competition), but in training they are great. When the partner starts managing it, I am already doing something else.

PS: It looks like I am a kicker. I just like to avoid the opponent strengths (wild box in this case).
PS2: I am trying to put too much in too little words. Again...

It's a risk of any kick on unpredictable surfaces, because you have to pick up one foot. It's part of the trade-off.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Yeah okay got it! I have a hard time to see openings etc though since my reaction time isn't good enough, can't even see if my opponent is gonna throw a jab or a hook before it lands :/

If you were my student, then this would be the first thing I would recommend. If you can't stay calm enough for your brain to analyze what is coming at you then much of what the others are recommending isn't going to be use to you.

When I teach my students how to fight. I refer to this as "sitting in the storm." What this means is that my first move is to protect my head and at the same time watch and analyze my opponent for an opening to either, counter, attack, escape, bait, or move to a position that give me an advantage or takes me out of danger. I make students learn how to do this without closing their eyes. They need to see every punch even if it slips in and hits them in the nose.

Here's of a video of me "sitting in the storm." My sparring partner rushes in with some good combinations. I sacrifice my stomach because I know I can take a punch there better than I can take in my head. So it's really not much of a sacrifice. When you watch the slow motion part at the end, you can see that my punch follows as his punch retreats. You can see how my one punch stuns him and knocks him backwards. It wasn't a hard punch just a well placed one. In this video that punch landed on his heart. Also pay attention to my head and you can tell that I'm analyzing him while he's attacking me.

You don't have to go fancy when dealing with charging punches, but you will always have to be able to analyze what is coming at you, while you are defending against a punch.

 

[JowGaWolf]

This is my concept of ideal training. After 3-4 years' training and all the suggestions you have here, there is already a lot of hypothesis.

If you have the opportunity to do it, do it. Ask him to go slower as an intermediate step, if needed.

5 different people can attack me with charging punches and there's a high possibility that I will respond in a different way for each of the 5 people. Sometimes I've done a heel kick, and other times I take an angle. If my feet are in a good position to do a heel kick as a counter, then I have to use something else. If my body position isn't good enough to take an angle then I'll "sit in the storm." There's never really a standard answer where "if my opponent does A, then I do B."

I agree with you 100%. I like your recommendation about asking the partner to go slower. I'm a big fan of that. If the punches are coming in too fast and too hard then he'll never take the risk to try any of suggestions.

 

[JowGaWolf]

If done right, charge punch is devastating. I'm not talking about Bart Simpson flailing at you.

From close, you drive with the legs and drill that first punch, followed by two more, each powered by another driving step, and it's over in under a second. If the timing is good so you catch him at a vulnerable moment, you've got him. You charge right over him as he goes down.

It isn't so easy to defend against. I think in sparring and whatnot, a lot of people do it with low committment, it doesn't work. Do it like you mean it, it works very well. It can't be done from a distance, too much broadcast. It has to be from close enough that the first punch really drills him hard, with full body mass driving in behind it, with zero warning.

These are actually very easy for me to defend against. The more committed a person is to their punch, the harder it will be for them to change directions. The more committed they are to their punch the less they are thinking about their legs.

 

[frank raud]

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by a blast.

Think of it as three driving steps, not quite actually running, we try to keep some more stability than that. But each step has a punch that it is powering. But it can't be set up from a distance, where the guy can see you. Better from some engagement where he has his mind on something already, then BAM BAM BAM like lightning.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Yeah okay got it! I have a hard time to see openings etc though since my reaction time isn't good enough, can't even see if my opponent is gonna throw a jab or a hook before it lands :/

You can force your opponent to open himself.

If you protect your

- center, your opponent will use hook, or hay-maker to punch you from the side.
- sides, your opponent will use jab, or cross to punch you from the center.

Which door that you want your opponent to come in is up to you.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this video is probably not a good representation of how to charge in with punches. That type of charge doesn't have power, it's unstable, and a quick person would knock the mess out of him charging in like that. Mike Tyson does the appropriate charge it's rooted but mobile and quick.

 

[Flying Crane]

These are actually very easy for me to defend against. The more committed a person is to their punch, the harder it will be for them to change directions. The more committed they are to their punch the less they are thinking about their legs.

Ok.

 

[Flying Crane]

If you were my student, then this would be the first thing I would recommend. If you can't stay calm enough for your brain to analyze what is coming at you then much of what the others are recommending isn't going to be use to you.

When I teach my students how to fight. I refer to this as "sitting in the storm." What this means is that my first move is to protect my head and at the same time watch and analyze my opponent for an opening to either, counter, attack, escape, bait, or move to a position that give me an advantage or takes me out of danger. I make students learn how to do this without closing their eyes. They need to see every punch even if it slips in and hits them in the nose.

Here's of a video of me "sitting in the storm." My sparring partner rushes in with some good combinations. I sacrifice my stomach because I know I can take a punch there better than I can take in my head. So it's really not much of a sacrifice. When you watch the slow motion part at the end, you can see that my punch follows as his punch retreats. You can see how my one punch stuns him and knocks him backwards. It wasn't a hard punch just a well placed one. In this video that punch landed on his heart. Also pay attention to my head and you can tell that I'm analyzing him while he's attacking me.

You don't have to go fancy when dealing with charging punches, but you will always have to be able to analyze what is coming at you, while you are defending against a punch.

He isn't committed to the charge, but that's what happens in sparring. It isn't a genuine test of the strategy. It can't be.

It's easy to defend against when you know it's coming, and when everyone is wearing clunky boxing gloves.

 

[Flying Crane]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this video is probably not a good representation of how to charge in with punches. That type of charge doesn't have power, it's unstable, and a quick person would knock the mess out of him charging in like that. Mike Tyson does the appropriate charge it's rooted but mobile and quick.

Tyson isn't charging in the video. He is pressing, at times. He is not charging.