what is a good strategy to use against a faster opponent?

[phantom]

How do you deal with someone who is able to block most of your strikes and who often is able to get a good amount of hits in on you? Thanks in advance.

[Water Dragon]

Take him down and choke him out.

[Arhat of Fury]

I would say if he's beating you to the punch, just simply faster you might want to set it up with a feint. Feint high and strike lowwith a lot of force. Draw his guard away!

AOF

[KC Elbows]

I think it depends on some other factors, like the opponent's size/power, skills, etc. Find their weak area(grappling, footwork, etc) and attack that, although that doesn't necessarily solve the problem.

I have one sparring partner who is faster than me, but does not have the size/power I do. I press him, keeping an active guard so that he only lands insignificant gains, all the while moving to collapse his structure. Once his structure is collapsed, his speed is no longer an issue. Sometimes this works, sometimes not.

[ewallace]

try and control the range. If he is quicker with his hands try to stay out of his striking range. Make him enter striking range first with his feet. Get in a couple good low kicks to the shin or knee areas when he steps in. If he is blocking everything then either you are really slow or he has figured out what you are trying to do. Keep him guessing.

[fa_jing]

Deception.

-FJ

[CanadianBadAss]

Run away... but he would catch up to you and still kick your ass.
It's a lost cause... Your only chance is to play dead...

[JasBourne]

Just 'coz the guy is fast doesn't mean he has it all. There is also accuracy and power. He can be Speedy Gonzales, but if he's aiming for my jaw and he winds up lovetapping my shoulder, honey, he's mine *evil grin*

[Mutant]

Use footwork and timing to control range, distance and positioning. You don't need to be faster striking (assuming you mean just faster strikes, hand/footwork, although it sure helps) if you can maintain the better postition. Don't trade of strikes with him, use your footwork and hit when youve worked inside his strike range . Use this to mess up his fast tempo, keep changing up the speed & distance. If youre in a better stategic position, you'll probably have the upper hand, even if you resort to off-speed strikes.
If you have some grappling skills get inside and do as Water Dragon suggests.

[Merryprankster]

Get inside. Fast guys don't like to be jammed up.

Bottom line--you have to limit their movement and slow them down.

[Sharky]

I'm usually the fast guy. If there's someone faster, use, like people have said, feints and deception. Try to see patterns that they use, things that they do a lot, and feint, and get them as they are coming in. The faster they move in the harder they'll get hit.

I usually train with people who are massive and slower but can hit at least 2354800 times harder than me.

And train to be faster yourself.

[S.Teebas]

Train to be as fast and powerful as you can be, what eles can you do? (other than be the best you can be)

[Fifth Brother]

In combat, it is usually not speed which is most important, but 'timing' which is faster than speed. The old master will have slower reflexes due to age, but he will beat you to the punch every time - experience, timing and strategy will beat speed and youth every time :) So with your sparring partner, you will have to develop your sense of timing.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Fifth brother beat me to it. Good Timing. ;)

[Martial Joe]

If he is faster then you, can block all your ****, and you cant hit him...you better not plan on standing up with the person, you would get handled...so theres always the ground, but if you dont grapple too bad for you...

[Yung Apprentice]

To anyone who is the "fast" guy, have there been instances in your own personal experiences, that a "slow" guy got the best of you? If so what kind of strategies did they use?

[Merryprankster]

It's all relative. When I go against somebody slower than me, they have to SLOW ME DOWN. Generally, this is done by crowding and applying continual pressure. If you can grab them, do so. Contact is a beautiful device for thwarting speed.

[curtis]

Phantom
my suggestion to you would be to change your style of thinking. Instead of thinking of strike and defend (1-2) you must think of 3 as 1.;)
Ok. Let me clarify what I'm saying. The concept is called lin sil di dar (multiple attack theories) the root of this concept is to use three elements at one time. To be offensive/defensive/jamming in every movement that you do . (The jamming element is to take up space or to keep the body in motion at all times. While you're being offensive and defensive.)
If the person is faster than you. All you need to do, is to close the opponents lines of attack, for a moment, while you are applying lin sil di dar. The overwhelming pressure that is created as you close in, while you are attacking, is more than most people can handle.
To keep your mind open to all possibilities. Can you use your hands and feet together? YES, you can! You have to? No.
the big problem with most people is that they think linear (one motion for every movement.) And in that frame of thinking the faster you arethe better. but if you can do let's say two movements for every motion. You'll be that much faster. Now if you apply three movements to every motion.You'll be 3x faster than anyone using a single movement.
So now you ask how do close down your opponents lines of attack?[WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE THAT ANOTHER TOPIC!]
Have a good day. C.A.G.:D

[LEGEND]

Force him into a corner. Fast guys need space. A good round house to the thigh should slow him down.

[Merryprankster]

What legend said.

CROWD HIM ******!!!! Just CROWD him! It's a miracle!

[red_fists]

Hi.

May I suggest switching from being offensive to being more defensive/neutral.

He is obviously good at neutralising your attacks and taking advantage of your flaws.
If that is the case, you can try to punch him, but will run out of steam without doing any real/serious damage.

The other Option would of course be to try to analyze why he can stop your attacks.
Are you signalling them?
Are you using the right attack for that situation?
And so on.

Personally, would assume that you:
signal your attacksuse a pre-conceived attack pattern
over-commit yourself during your attacks.

Hope this helps.

P.S.: Is he faster than you or you slower than him??
Not a trick question.

[Yung Apprentice]

What if your slower than him, in an open space? Not to brag, but I naturally have a lot of power in my strikes. Problem is, I'm kinda slow in advancing towards an opponent. For instance, I remember I got into a fight with a guy who was considerably a lot faster than me. We fought in an open area. He would stick and move. Everytime I would try to crowd, he would move left or right. He didn't rear to much, only when he needed distance, but he was moving side to side a lot. He didn't have a lot of power, but after a while of being socked in the same place, it was hurting. On top of that, it got me very frustrated. Especially since the few times I was able to hit him, it would be akward or off balance, either leaving me open for an attack, or not enough power to really hurt him.Needless to say I lossed.:(


Fast guys give me trouble. I've become very reluctant in fighting smaller guys, because they're usually faster than me.Unless it's in a closed area.:D

[Tigerstyle]

Smother him.

Take a pillow when he's asleep and...
How fast could a sleeping guy be? :p

I agree with Merryprankster. I am usually the "slower guy", and a tie-up/clinch can really slow the pace down. You have to know how to stay in control that close, though. You can still catch a beating if they're not nervous about being in close (Learned that through experience. Often.)

When you're in an open space, it might be best to wait for him to attack, because at that point he's closing the distance so you can focus on options for getting "in his business". Ever try stepping on people's feet? Some people totally freak out when you stand on their foot before you punch 'em in the face :) .

[Yung Apprentice]

Dude, I have FREAKIN done that before! It's so funny seeing them squirm, trying to free themselves. I can only get a few hits in when that happens though, but you'd be surprised how often it works! I should have tried that on a fast guy. But thanx for the good ideas Tigerstyle. :)

[JWTAYLOR]

Well, I'll step in and be the dissenting voice on the crowding argument.

I'm usually the fast guy, and I friggin LOVE it inside. Why? Two words: upper cuts. Get in close and left upper right upper left hook right upper. :)
If you are within striking range, which extends from the tip of my nose to the end of my leg I will try to strike you.

My suggestion is to focus on the position argument listed earlier.

JWT

[Black Jack]

To make sure we are on the same page here, you are talking about a agreed on duelling situation, i.e. sparring?

If that is what you are talking about then a number of people here have already given you educated answers, but if you are talking about this situation in a street enviroment, then the best answer is to hit him first and keep hiting him.

In a fight outside the kwoon you will not have the luxury of knowing who is faster, who is stronger, who is more skilled.

Just hit him first, make it pre-emptive, get committed, do not lose your forward drive, pound his ass into the ground and then stomp a little.

Whoever stated to lose the offensive and become defensive is way off the mark, redfist, anyone that tells you to dance around and let people take shots at you is off there rocking horse.

[red_fists]

Originally posted by Black Jack
Whoever stated to lose the offensive and become defensive is way off the mark, redfist, anyone that tells you to dance around and let people take shots at you is off there rocking horse.

Funnily enough, it works for Tai Chi, Yi Li Chuan, Taijutsu and other arts.
But I guess you never learned sticking and listening skills.

Offensive is NOT always the best way to go, you adjust your offensive/defensive ratio according to the situation/opponent.

Switching Offensive/Defensive and vice versa can take your opponent off-track.

Defensive meaning:
1.) neutralize attack
2.) counter attack at the same time
But I guess that is also total Bull****???

I love to spar against "external" guys that are always on the attack and stiff, so much easier to beat than an "internalist".

He mentioned that while being on the offensive he cannot get attacks in on a faster Opponent.
So WHAT THE **** is keep on being offensive going to gain him, besides tiring himself out while the other Guy beats up on him??

He looses because his opponent is ON the defensive and thus countering his attacks.

Thus by going defensive he doens't play his Opponents game anymore and gain recover some sort of control in a fight.

You are AGAIN hung up on a single word and your definition of it.
Yous the ol' Brain to read what is written and not what you want to read.

[Black Jack]

Thats funny I thought I was on your ignore list:o

If you keep sticking your head in the sands of Never Never land there is a chance you may never clean your ears out you know, though from what I can tell it looks like you already have the infamous Chen syndrome anyway, styles seem to mean more to you than the what they are intended to be used for.

You can talk about listening and sticking skills tell you are blue in the face but they do not mean crap if the other guy hits you first, offensive is the only way to go in a fight, not stiff numbnuts, but aggressive, committed, focused on beating the **** out of the other guy, to keep the pressure on, there is no such thing as being to overcommited to a attack in the mental sense, not in a life or death situation, to overcommit to a techinque yes, but a attack no.

To tell someone that they should stop being aggressive and be defensive is absurd and downright ignorant.

Fights are not like in the kung fu movies, most of the **** you know goes flying out the window when your adrenal dump hits, you can kiss a lot of your fine motor skills goodbye.

To neutralize a attack is to be offensive, be that to punch, kick or throw him, they are not going to be playing the good uke, and let you Steven Segal them while your hair still stays in one place, where after you say something cool like "I told you I would be back" and then stroll out the door with two of the SI model waiteresses.

Oh, and for the record, to counter attack at the same time, is being offensive. The defensive aspect of fighting comes into play in the form of being aware, being on guard, talking your way out, finding a chance to get your ass out of there without fighting, if that fails, then guess, what you are going to have to get offensive.

Call it what you will, but if you are fighting for your life, you will be fighting pretty offensive to say the least.

My two rubbles.

[Braden]

Just FYI, from the taiji classics:

"The form is like that of a falcon about to seize a rabbit,
and the shen is like that of a cat about to catch a rat."

"At the opponent's slightest move, I move first."

"If the opponent's movement is quick,
then quickly respond."

"Sever an opponent's root
so that he can be defeated
quickly and certainly."

[Black Jack]

Braden,

Expressed much better than I ever could;)

[nospam]

Some good responses presented.

phantom,

Your question is somewhat loaded. You never gave specifics, just questions. Are you talking about sparring in class? sparring in tournament? real fighting? a particular experience you had in class? These would have some bearing in, at least my response.

Are you of avg speed? Are you more heavier set? WHat level are you?

what is a good strategy to use against a faster opponent?

Speed doesn't necessarily mean much, unless it is in combination with power, then you're in for a grudge match. If you are in a tournament where point contact awards points, then you're in trouble. Generally speaking though, you might be chasing your opponent's hands as opposed to targeting his body. A person's natural reflex is to react in similar fashion to where a strike is headed or you think is headed. This automatically sets your tempo one-step behind your opponent's, thus effectively decreasing your reaction and therefore speed.

Perhaps you strikes/movements are half-hearted. It is hard to tell without actually observing you in action.

Beginner to intermmediate students are prone to slower tempo, as they are still getting comfortable with technique and when what attack/defense would be best used. It's a long learning curve.

How do you deal with someone who is able to block most of your strikes and who often is able to get a good amount of hits in on you?

It sounds like in this case, your opponent is simply better than you. This might require your opponent to take things down a notch when sparring in-kwoon. If he is blocking most of your strikes, my gut feeling is that you are off on your targeting and sincerity in selling your attacks. Like I said, you might be attacking his arms vs his body, in otherwords you are too far away when you attack, as well as moving too slowly.

What happens when he blocks your attacks and you start getting hit? Are you exchanging blows? If that is the case, then this is where speed means less vs power generated. I would rather get hit 3x's by a fast bloke while he sucks in one of my solid strikes. A fair exchange. You might need to work on your intensity as you execute your attack.

In a real fight, you simply lose. I hope you are talking about in-kwoon sparring. You don't have time in a real fight to adjust. Even if you get hit, you shouldbe hitting as well...make sure your 2 strikes count more than his 3 or 4.

I used to spar a large guy in my class. I was much faster and had better technique. He would control almost everyone in the kwoon due to his size. When I sparred with him I had to hit him harder than I normally would in a training situation as if I didn't tag him good enough, he just kept coming in...so much for my speed. When I added some meaning behind my attacks, he felt it. It would affect his attacks and allow me to actually train as opposed to just being a punching bag.

Assess your situation and as people have provided, try different things. The next time he comes at you, stand your ground and stick one hand out into his body and throw 2-3 solid strikes. I bet you will see that you had an effect on him. Then after you learn and adapt more, don't forget to stick and follow.

Hopefully that helped make you think a little.


nospam.
:cool: