Distance is the hard counter to a
faster training partner, by controlling the distance you negate their speed and
determine the when and where a technique is applied to them, while preventing
your training partner from placing a technique on you.
For this exercise there are three
distances to understand and be able to manipulate, and then a fourth distance
where we want to always operate from.
Imagine you and a training partner
in the dojo…
You are standing in the center of
the mat and they are fifteen or so feet away which is the first distance. At
this distance you are very safe from a direct attack because your training
partner can’t physically get to you without taking a number steps in your
direction.
Even with a running start it will
take them a few moments to reach you, and in that time you can prepare for the
attack and easily counter them- obviously a bull rush straight in is never a
good idea. We would all LOVE for our
training partners to begin an attack in this way, but it is rarely going to
happen.
The next distance (2nd)
again has you in the center of the mat with your training partner now ten feet
or so away from you. At this distance to
now execute an attack at you, your training partner has to take a step or two
forward to close the distance. You are
in “danger” at this range, but this is a good start and place to be in- by
having them take step or two before the punch, grab, or tackle (attack) you
have a moment to be able to counter them.
Keep in mind this 2nd
distance gets adjusted +/- a few feet depending on the terrain and the length
of your training partner’s legs- with how much distance they can cover in each
stride.
For example with one person the 2nd
distance might be eight feet, but if you and I were working out that distance
would be ten feet since I have very long legs and stride.
The 3rd distance is where
you are on the training mat and your partner is only a foot or two away from
you and this is THE worst place to be! Without even having to take a step they
can punch/kick/tackle you and this is the distance were is comes down to pure
speed (not where WE want to be)- is their punch quicker than your legs.
At the third distance you are at the
most danger and we don’t want to be here unless we can then use timing and
balance against our training partner- more on this in a bit.
Before we get to the 4th
distance- the sweet spot we want to exist in, we have to understand the other
three distances and be able to both see when we are at those distances, and be
able to float in and out of them with our footwork and martial arts body
movement at a moment’s notice- so get to work figuring this out for a few…
NOW we are ready for the 4th
distance and how to implement it- go back to the center of the mat and have
your training partner assume the 2nd distance- the one where they
can get to you with a single step or two. Once they have set this up, before
they attack, take a slight step back, an inch or two, and now you are at the 4th
distance- you appear to be in “range” of an attack, but are really just outside
of it.
You have now shifted form the 2nd distance to the 1st distance without your training partner even knowing it!
A MISS is a MISS be it by an inch or
a mile, and now you have the illusion of being in range when you are not really
in range. When an attack comes into play against you from your training partner
you now all have all the time in the world so to speak to deal with it, fully
negating their speed against you- having them miss without even knowing it.
Now that you have an understanding
of distance you are going to have to take a look at your style of martial arts
and the type of footwork it uses to move around, playing and adjusting it to
begin manipulating the distances.
You have now shifted form the 2nd distance to the 1st distance without your training partner even knowing it!
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