Zyaga Writing about whatever the hell I want, cuz it's the Interwebz!

Hiding Intention

A lot of times, opponents can block attacks because you telegraph, or give them signals, as to what your next movement is going to be. I talked a bit about paying attention to vital areas of your opponent to read him like a book, so that you know when, where, and how his next movement is going to take place. This time, I’m going to go over things to do to make sure you are not telegraphing your movements to others.

There is not a whole lot one can talk about this subject, other than to provide hints for things you should check for when you’re practicing. Each person is going to have a variety of things that give them away to any opponent that pays enough attention. The idea is to minimize these down to a very small amount(with the goal being none ).

Here are some things to pay attention to:

1. Eyes – Your eyes can give away a lot of information to your opponent. Make sure that you’re keeping your eyes on your opponent at all times, don’t look away or look at your own hands, feet, etc. To be more precise, keep your vision on his. The idea is that by looking into his eyes, you’re not only hiding your intent that way, but you’re also attempting to read his.
2. Feet – Kicking is definitely a highly relied upon skill in most Martial Arts because kicks can be so fast and powerful. The point is that they can be fast and powerful, as long as they are executed precisely, intelligently, and without showing intent. For the most part, the most effective kicks are low kicks. The reason low kicks are so effective is because of how little intent you display when you just bring your leg forward, rather than up really high. Another reason is because of the vital areas you can kick. If you kick someone’s shin, thigh, or knee joint, you can put them down for good. Just make sure that when you kick low, you’re not kicking in two motions like higher kicks. When you kick to the chest, arms, or head then you usually have two motions(though you can minimize this into almost one when you get really quick), but in a low kick there is no need. Don’t raise your leg and then kick. Simply bring your foot up to your target in one swift movement and then slam their leg downwards or scape it, etc. If you raise your knee first, which does generate more power, there is a good chance they’ll see it coming and have time to move or block it. Even if you don’t get as much power out of the one motion low kick, it doesn’t take very much force at all when kicking the shin, thigh, or knee join to put the opponent down.
3. Hands – The biggest thing to watch with the hands is basically the same thing as the feet, just make sure that you’re not pulling(cocking) your arm back right before you go to throw a punch. Doing this gives off the intent that you’re going to throw a punch with that hand. Always keep moving forward. Obviously you want your hand to snap back to some degree after you land a punch, but that’s after you’ve already landed a punch. Many people have the problem of pulling back their arm right before they go for a punch because their attempting to gain more power.
4. Nervous Habits – We all have our own stupids nervous habits that we sometimes do without realizing that we’re even doing them. These habits can be a dead give away to your next move. These habits may include things such as: blinking, eye movements, twitching, leading a certain way, etc. Just pay close attention to what you’re doing at all times.

I’m absolutely positive that there are plenty more ways we give off our intentions, so don’t take this as a complete list. Pay attention to every movement you make while keeping in mind what your opponent might be reading from you. Later on, this leads to the great ability of “faking”.