Table of Contents

The Premise ---------------------------------------------2

How To Use This Book-------------------------------3

The Meaning of Style---------------------------------6

What Type of Fighter Are You?------------------10

A Better Way To Think of Style Types---------18

Primary Weapons------------------------------------28

Exchanges and Planned Patterns---------------35

Structure & Mechanics-----------------------------56

Control Factors & Themes-----------------------104

1
The Premise

As complicated as a fighting system can get, you

should be able to summarize the basic premise of your
style in a few sentences. And the same holds true for this
book, so here it is in a paragraph or so.
At the most basic, the idea of any martial arts or
combat sports is to hit and not get hit (or submit,
takedown, etc.) To hit, the book asks you identify your
best attacks and find ways to optimize them. Developing
concrete methods of keeping the right distance, using
the best footwork, timing, etc. In regards to not getting
hit, this book asks you to find ways to not only defend an
opponent’s attacks, but punish them for it. You will pick
out the correct counters, guard, head movement, and
other factors that will work to tire or damage your
competitor.
And that’s it. It sounds simple right? But while the
premise might be simple, the execution will be complex.
That’s not to imply that you need to have a complex style.
In fact well-crafted, simple styles often work best. But the
process of tailoring a style to fit your strengths, that
minimizes your weaknesses and that matches your own
individual proclivities will be challenging. But when have
we ever backed away from a challenge, right? Let’s get
to it.
2
How To Use This
Book
This book is not intended to teach about certain
techniques in depth. My prior books on footwork,
defense (guards and head movement) and power cover
those individual techniques and patterns in great detail.
It’s not necessary to go that far in depth, assuming you
know the basics of the style you’ve been taught thus far
you should be fine. If you need additional resources then
you can find all of these concepts on my YouTube
Channel, The Modern Martial Artist, for free. I make sure
to reference a lot of fighters as examples in this book, so
searching them should lead to some easy-to-find results.
But that’s extra credit, it likely won’t be necessary.
This book assumes you already know the basics at
the least, and are ready to put them together in ways that
work for you. However, even if you are a beginner this
book can be beneficial, assuming you have learned the
core curriculum of your particular martial arts.

For Beginners:

This book will help you pay attention to the things

your coaches and teachers are drilling into your head
3
every class. You will be able to understand the meaning
of certain techniques and tactics and may progress much
faster than your gym mates since you will be able to see
a bigger, clearer picture of what’s happening. You can
start paying attention to what works for you, and how that
may be different from the things that work for most other
people. You can begin to have conversations with your
coaches on what kind of style you think you would be
great at, and even bring up some things that you think
are not working for you in particular. You will have a
strong platform for developing a reliable, consistent and
powerful system that leads to success.

For Intermediates:

As an intermediate student, you are at the stage

where you are truly developing your own unique
tendencies and inclinations. This book will help you to
get to the advanced level at a more rapid pace than you
otherwise would have. You will decide your specific
goals, cement your intentions, and practice the patterns
that will stay with you the rest of your martial arts/combat
sports career.

For Advanced Students:

The main emphasis for advanced students will be

to fine tune their styles and get rid of the tendencies and
tactics that don’t mesh well with the rest of their system.
Since most of your style will already be hard wired, the
4
book will be most useful as a tool to weed through the
components of your style and examine what’s working
and what isn’t working in a structured, no nonsense way.
That said, I have had two separate Top Ten MMA
veterans contact me thanking me for my work and saying
that they’ve learned a lot from it. Granted, they are from
the era when MMA was just blossoming and there was a
lot of people from one sport that lacked knowledge of
other sports. But still, the fact that these men that
achieved so much still lacked knowledge in certain areas
just shows how complicated and intricate martial arts is.
I’m not saying this as some kind of bragging right; to be
clear both of these men could absolutely obliterate me
easily. I’m mentioning this to point out that even the best
of us can still benefit from a new way of looking at things.
So please keep an open mind while reading. You
may have a few instances where something clicks for
you in a way you didn’t expect. Not because you lack
knowledge, but because this book encouraged you to
look at that knowledge through a different lens.

5
The Meaning of
Style
The whole point of creating your own style is to use
it to do what you want to do against your opponent.
Yes there is a great deal of freedom and beauty in
self-expression; in finding a style that allows you to use
the movement of your own body to show a part of who
you are. Martial arts and philosophy have always gone
hand in hand, and this is the case for combat sports as
well. If not more so! How many times have you been
hooked by the personal story of a certain fighter, then
watched their story play out in real time in the ring or
cage?
At that moment do you care about the mechanics
of their style, the technicalities? Or do you care about
what they represent; their struggles, their triumphs, their
history? In that instance their style is about who they are
and what they want to do. This of course is far more
potent a feeling if you’re fighting yourself!
But even in those moments style is a means to an
end. Hopefully, the end of the fight. The point is that this
form of self-expression should be geared to move
towards a goal. On the macro level, that goal will be
victory. Whether that is for combat sports, self-defense,
or personal achievement. The idea is the same, whether
6
you want to be world champion or progress in class at
your local gym.
On the micro level the goal will be to execute a few
specific techniques in order to end a fight, be that a strike
or a submission. That is the end goal, and we need to
reverse engineer our style from here. The idea is not to
pick out a number of things that you like from a few of
your hero’s styles. You won’t go far if you try to create a
style that has Ali’s head movement, Tyson’s footwork,
Pacman’s left hand, Silva’s spinning elbow, Hug’s axe
kick, Seanchai’s trips, and Canelo’s guard. Most of those
won’t fit together (And you’ll probably know the exact
reasons why each wouldn’t fit by the time you finish this
book.)
We are instead looking to create something
cohesive, where all moving parts work together. And yes,
this must be rigged to work for you. You must know what
you do best, you must know your weaknesses, you must
know your tendencies, and you must work with all of
these things. In an artform where a delay of half a second
is the difference between victory and defeat, your style
must be as seamless as possible. Any incremental loss
of balance while transitioning from one movement to
another could cost you badly. Any small improvement in
functionality that gets your shot there a half second faster
could gain you everything.
So in this book we will build your style bit by bit.
We’ll look at the big picture; are you a long range boxer
puncher, a pressure fighter, a knee fighter, a submission
specialist, a ground and pound kind of guy?
7
 And we’ll also go hyper specific by picking out your
Primary Weapons; do you have a great lead hook, are
you a combination puncher, do you have crazy leg kicks?
Then we’ll look at all the steps in between to figure
out how to get from A to B; looking at your footwork,
striking, takedowns (if applicable), guard, clinch work,
head movement, and timing.
All of these have to fit together for the express
purpose of executing your Primary Weapons. By the end
of this book, you will have the tools to not only know
exactly how you move, but why, and which specific
patterns lead to success.
Knowing why is the essential part. If you grew up
with the same kind of father I have, then you may have
Bruce Lee’s philosophy of style deeply engrained in your
head. The best style is no style! But Lee’s points are
often turned into black and white arguments that
completely ignore the nuance of his statements. Ironic
since he was so big into Taoist philosophy!
His point was not to ignore practicing techniques or
patterns. After all the man loved coming up with his own!
Jon Jones has used Lee’s three primary weapons at long
range; the sidekick to the knee, oblique kick, and the eye
poke (ha!) to great effect after all. Lee was simply
emphasizing not to become rigid, and to not get bogged
down in your style and keep using it even if it’s not
working for you at that moment.
The style is for you, the human being. The style is
not for its own sake, its own tradition and history. That

8
was his point, or at least a large part of it. It was a pretty
good point.

9
What Type of
Fighter Are You?
In this chapter we will look at how fighter styles are
generally categorized and why.

No person can be shoehorned into a mold that fits

everyone. That being said, putting a name to certain
types of fighters can be highly convenient and give you
a general idea of what you’re going for. Listed below are
the types of fighters usually listed as the prototypes of
their specific combat sport. I would recommend reading
all of them. Even if you’re a boxer, reading the different
kinds of Muay Thai fighters could stir up some ideas. A
lot of these styles tend to be used by fighters with a
specific body type. This can be a helpfully guide, but
don’t think it’s all encompassing! Certain things might be
unworkable, sure. A fighter with a very short range and
height probably shouldn’t try to be an Out-Boxer. But
certain techniques that you would assume could only
work for certain body types can actually still work for you
if you’re creative or athletic enough.

10
Boxing
Pressure Fighter

This boxer relies on pace to get his opponent tired

and panicked. When they start to make mistakes he’ll
capitalize. Henry Armstrong may be the most successful
pressure fighter in boxing history. Really any body type
can do well with this style. Since closing the distance and
combination punching is such a large factor, pressure
fighters usually place themselves at mid or close range.
As such, tall fighters with long arms may feel
cramped if they’re using this style. Circling to either side
to create space to punch can help somewhat. The
biggest element of being a pressure fighter is cardio
though. You are betting you have superior stamina in
comparison to your opponent. Speed doesn’t hurt either.

Out Boxer

This boxer relies on their longer range to out point

opponent’s and wear them down. They usually circle the
ring to cut angles and can throw their jab in a variety of
different paths with several unique rhythms. A young
Thomas Hearns would be a great example, before he
also started throwing a lot of power punches to become
a knockout artist. These fighters are usually tall with long
arms, relying on their range to help them land first and

11
evade punches. A short boxer with short arms should not
try to out box.

Brawler

This boxer is aggressive and hits hard. They tend

to rough up opponent’s and although they may look
clumsy, somehow few shots ever seem to reach them.
That’s because the successful ones have stellar head
movement built into their wild swings. A young George
Foreman makes for a prime example. This system can
work well for pretty much any fighter.
Shorter boxers can extend their reach by stepping
into shots and press in close to use their shorter arms to
dig to the body. Larger fighters can use their bulk to
muscle and turn their opponents. Brawlers as a rule tend
to have relatively wide shoulders, which makes perfect
sense for bullying opponents.

Boxer Puncher

A boxer who can outpoint from the outside but can

just as easily use his jabs to set up big punches. Riddick
Bowe is a great example. While having good reach is
again important here, the threat of larger punches means
it’s not as big of a deal as it is for an Out-Boxer. Instead
of just sniping with the jab, the jab can be used to work
in a little closer to put the lead hook and cross in range.

12
Muay Thai

* These same style templates can apply to Kickboxing

as well

Muay Femur

A tricky, highly mobile fighter. Focused on

esthetics and timing, they will use craftiness and skill to
befuddle their opponent’s and make them look clumsy by
comparison. They are most often counter strikers.
Seachai and Samart are great examples. Taller fighters
can benefit here from their superior distance, but shorter
fighters can work angles and easily trip their opponent’s
with their superior speed. Broad frames may make it
more difficult to move around with the grace and
smoothness that’s a staple of this style.

Muay Khao

A fighter specializing in knees. Obviously they

must excel at the clinch. Deisolnoi and Langsuan are
prime examples from the Golden Era. A big reach can be
a huge advantage here, as it helps to get into the clinch.
And the taller fighters knees will already be closer to their
opponent’s ribs and head.

13
 But shorter fighters can benefit from negating their
larger opponent’s superior range. There’s no need to
worry about teeps when you’re clinching, after all.
Overall the main factors here will be
cardio/stamina. You must not only have great lung
capacity, but also the kind of stamina and endurance
specific to wrestling. Most of the work done by knee
fighters is moving their opponents around in the clinch.
The knees are just the pay off.

Muay Mat

A style that emphasizes punching, utilizing

powerful combinations paired with hard low kicks.
Buakaw would probably best fit here. A tough, durable
frame with broad shoulders is ideal for this style. A
Muay Mat must have very tough legs since they will be
bracing against a lot of kicks rather than checking them
as they sink down into their punches.

Muay Tae

A style that relies on hard kicks. Great kickers can

knock an opponent back even if they brace and
block/parry with both arms. It’s not terribly uncommon
for an opponent trying to block a May Tae’s kick to get
their arm broken. Although he primarily competed in
kickboxing, I would put Ernesto Hoost as a Muay Thai.
Tawainchai fits as a more modern example. Height is
14
important here, as the longer your legs the less chance
of getting countered with a punch. Long legs don’t hurt
either.

MMA
* Since MMA covers a broader spectrum, a fighter can
have many sub styles within the styles. For instance if he
is primarily a submission artist, then his striking style may
be that of a long distance fighter or a brawler. What
matters is that he has a way to get the opponent to the
ground. An out fighter may bait a strike to shoot in for a
reactive takedown, like GSP. In contrast, a brawler might
punch their way into the clinch, then drive the opponent
to the cage to take them down from there, like Khabib.

Striker

A MMA fighter who likes to keep things standing,

looking to out point or KO opponent’s. They need
excellent take down defense to keep on their feet where
they’re best, and if they knock an opponent down they
may let them get up rather than risk creating a grappling
exchange on the floor. Wonderboy Thompson is a great
example. These fighters benefit from reach and height.

Wrestle Striker
15
 This type of MMA fighter will take it to the ground
and then get to work softening up their opponent’s with
strikes from the top. There’s a lot of potential variety for
this kind of fighter. Some may be better at striking on
their feet and takedowns than submissions. They may be
lost if they end up being the one on their back. But they
specialize on getting on top, then using ground and
pound to finish their opponent. Other’s may be less adept
at striking on their feet but can reliably wrestle their
opponent’s to the ground and reign down blows from
there. Broad shoulders and a durable frame can be more
important than height or reach for these fighters.

Submission Artist

This type of MMA fighter may lack in striking but

can pull off submissions that others just couldn’t. They
tend to be a high level in BJJ and avoid striking at all
costs. However MMA is complex and just because the
end goal is a submission doesn’t mean that everything
else needs to be lacking. This has become more and
more true as the sport has evolved.

The All Rounder

For instance, Demetrious Johnson’s fights usually

all end up with him on top for long periods of time, but he
spends a lot of time first softening his competitors up with
16
striking and clinching. Just because the main game plan
is to get the opponent to the ground doesn’t mean you
can’t knock them out on the way there sometimes. All-
rounders are moderately good at everything. Or in DJ’s
case, exceptional at everything.

17
A Better Way To Think of
Style Types
In this chapter we’ll go deeper into specific factors that
can work well for categorizing and planning out styles.
By the end you should be able to identify your own
strengths and weaknesses. We’ll look at how to execute
these strategies successfully in a future chapter, once a
few more important concepts are covered.

While the aforementioned prototypes are useful

categories for fans or for those just getting started, when
building a style what really matters is the concepts
behind them. Each of these styles have basic premises
that allow those who use them to dominate the
competition. But styles rarely rely on one premise alone,
and there are a million and one ways to go about
everything.
You could be a close range pressure fighter who
grapples to set up shots, like Roberto Duran. Or a mid-
range pressure fighter who gets into long exchanges
while dodging his opponent’s punches by moving in and
out of range, like Manny Pacquiao. Or a counter
punching switch-hitting pressure fighter, like Mike Tyson.
You can see the possibilities here!

18
 So it’s best to look at what advantages you want to
hold over your opponent, basing this on your body type
and natural inclinations. Only then can you look at how
you want to go about that. These are areas where you
are betting you will be far above the competition. So
much so that you can not only impose your style but
negate their own, controlling the ring or octagon.
We can call these areas where you plan to
dominate Control Factors.

Control Factors

• Range/Distance

Controlling range and distance is important for every

fighter, to the point that if a fighter is not able to keep the
range they want then they are most likely losing the fight.
But a fighter who focuses on distance specifically to the
point they can use it to dominate a bout is someone
special. These fighters can consistently stay a quarter of
an inch out of range, letting punches just graze their
cheek before stepping in to land themselves. Then
they’re right out of the way again, frustratingly close but
never close enough. Or they might effortlessly move
from close to mid to long range at will, never in any one
place long enough to get caught. Evander Holyfield is a
great example of a fighter who used range and distance
as a Control Factor.

19
 • Speed

Not all fighters are blessed with speed, but those that
are should use it. While getting there first is important for
every fighter, this does not necessarily require speed.
However, it does make it a whole lot easier!
Beyond beating the opponent to the punch, a quick
fighter can also throw punches in bunches. Super-fast
fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard could use their lightning
fast combinations to overwhelm competition. Or at the
least, quickly score five to ten points before their
competitors knew what hit them. Ramon Dekkers had
both speed and power. Watching his bouts, its entirely
obvious how powerful those two are in tandem.

• Timing

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I consider timing

to be the most important factor in fighting, bar none. If
you have incredible reflexes and the guts to use them,
then you can dominate with timing alone. Roy Jones Jr.
is an example of a fighter who used timing to completely
decimate competitors.
But there’s no need to be as fast as a prime RJJ. Once
Ali lost his speed, he famously regained his title for a third
time using superior boxing alone. Anderson Silva wasn’t
particularly fast if you actually look at the speed of his
movements. But in his prime his timing was second to
none. If a great fighter suddenly looks clumsy and
20
awkward, it’s likely they are fighting someone with far
superior timing.

• Power

Power is perhaps the most immediately noticeable gift

a fighter can possess. A fighter with great power can get
away with things they shouldn’t, like tanking a few shots
to land one of their own. In the end they take a few to
give one that ends the fight. They can also punch through
an opponent’s guard, or knock them off balance even if
their competitor blocks. Power is an amazing thing to
have. In fact the biggest problem with fighters who rely
on power is that they end up relying too much on power.
Eventually their luck runs out.
That’s why all fighters who rely on power should also
use it responsibly. It’s possible to knock opponent’s out
without taking an insane amount of damage yourself.
Canelo is a great example of a boxer who uses his power
to dominate, even outside of his natural weight class, but
doesn’t let himself get hit unnecessarily. Even when he
loses, it’s not because he was being reckless. He’s
always defensively responsible, right up until his
opponent hits the canvas.

• Stamina/Cardio/Pace

Max Holloway is a great example of a MMA fighter

who has used his high volume and incredible pace to
21
make a career for himself. The guy just never stops
throwing, and when he’s at his best his performances are
just beautiful to watch.
However, do not think that high volume on your part
is the only way to tire your competitor. Making them expel
more energy than you while you move less is also very
possible. There is nothing more tiring than repeatedly
missing punches or repeatedly having your takedowns
stifled. Similarly gaining dominant clinch positions or
dominant positions on the ground can force your
opponent to expend a lot of energy to defend while you
yourself barely move.

• Positioning

Fighters who specialize in positioning place

themselves where they can attack, but they’re
competitors can’t. Lomachenko or Pacman are terrific
examples in boxing. They use footwork to find superior
angles where they can hit but can’t be hit. This tactic
works especially well for southpaws, or for switch hitters
like Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Willie Pep. Dominik
Cruz is a classic example in MMA. Mr. Low Kick, Rob
Kaman, exemplified this tactic in kickboxing. And Samart
is a great example to study in Muay Thai.
In case you can’t tell by the previous sentence, this is
one of the most entertaining and fun ways to fight. But it
is incredibly dangerous because there are so many

22
different ways to get caught and a multitude of factors to
consider.

• Counter Striking/Wrestling

Countering is essential. You would be very hard

pressed to find a successful fighter who waited for
opponent’s to stop throwing and only then launched their
own offense. There are no turns in combat. In fact, a
good way to look at a fight is that it is always your turn.
This isn’t darts. It doesn’t matter if your opponent wants
to attack, it is your turn to attack. The difficult part, of
course, is staying safe while both of you are attacking.
How you do this very much comes down to your
defensive style. And your defense should in turn hinge
around what themes you’ve chosen to base your style
around. If you have chosen a low guard with your hands
by your hips to compliment your jabs and body hooks,
then you are likely going to be relying on head movement
to defend your head. Your hands are just too low to
always reliably block. So in this instance, you would be
relying on head movement to stay safe and set up most
of your counters.
Likewise if a high guard works well for your offense,
then you have the option of taking a shot on your guard
to give a harder shot back. We’ll be going more into detail
on how to pick these components of your own style out
in later sections, so hang tight for a moment. I promise
we’ll get to it!

23
 It goes without saying that fighters who specialize in
countering must have amazing timing. It helps greatly if
they are gifted with natural speed or power, or ideally
both. If they are gifted with speed then they can reliably
reach their opponent before they get touched
themselves. If they have great power, they can afford to
risk absorbing the damage of some lighter shots, like
jabs, in order to connect with a shot that hits much
harder.
Like all other elements of fighting, there are many
ways to counter strike. Juan Manual Marquez is one of
the greatest counter punchers ever, and would often
expand on his single counters to turn them into long,
punishing combinations. Ezzard Charles would defy all
common sense to counter his opponent’s power
punches with his own. Lerdsila relies on defensive
flourishes to unbalance competitors or get them to move
out of position so that he can follow up with knockout
blows.

• Specializing (Specific Kinds of Strikes or

Grappling Exchanges)

It’s interesting to note that while boxing-type

categories tend to focus on strategies or range, Muay
Thai, kickboxing and MMA categories tend to look at
different elements of fighting in general. Muay Thai
breaks it into what kind of strikes you’d like to throw, and
MMA looks at if you like to strike or grapple. This makes
24
sense as humans don’t like things to get too complicated,
so the categories are going to get broader the more
complicated the subject. There’s a lot more to learn and
a lot more to specialize in for MMA than there is for
boxing.
Each of these have merit, but Muay Thai has an
especially good point in picking out specific kinds of
strikes. The idea is that both fighters can have the same
preference when it comes to range, pace, basically
everything else, but prefer to emphasize completely
different striking arsenals. Two fighters could both prefer
mid-range and keep a frantic pace, but fighter A might
like leg kicks while fighter B prefers punches. Or both
fighters might like to work in the clinch, but fighter A likes
elbows while fighter B prefers knees.
The idea here is to specialize. To get really, really
good at one specific element of fighting. This can apply
to boxing or MMA as well. Maybe both fighters prefer
wrestling, but one is an expert at trapping and freezing
his opponent against the cage and the other likes to
dynamically scramble for better positions. In boxing, one
fighter could be amazing at landing body shots while the
other is a head hunter.
It’s not about landing specific moves like a lead
hook or a spinning back kick (We’ll get into signature
moves in the next chapter.) It’s about finding broad
concepts that work for you, where you can feel assured
you will always be better than your opponent. Then you
do your very best to make sure that the opponent is
forced to compete with you in that particular facet. It’s like
25
picking a favorable battle field. If you had a lot of cavalry
and the rival army didn’t, then you will would want to fight
on an open field. So position yourself to make your
opponent fight where you’re strongest.

Identify Your Best Control Factors &

Use Them As Themes For Your Style
We will go over how specific styles can best use their
Control Factors to make them Themes of their style in a
later chapter. But for now start thinking about the ways
in which you are already proving superior to your
competition. When you spar or fight, where do you
excel?
If you can always outlast your sparring partners or
opponents then you may want to find ways to up the
pace. You can try upping the pressure to tire them out
even faster.
If you find that you’re much faster than your
competition and have incredible reflexes that let you stay
a step ahead, then maybe counter punching is a good
idea for you.
If you hit much harder than the competition, then
maybe slowing down the pace and picking your shots so
you can put massive power into each one is a great idea.
If you love tricky footwork and head movement and
opponent’s find themselves stumbling around after you,
then positioning might be what you want to spend your
time training.
26
 While it’s important to try to dominate or at the very
least compete in all of the Control Factors, you will want
to pick certain ones to specialize in. These will become
the Themes of your style, the things you are best at and
use to dominate the competition.
It’s also crucial to look at your weaknesses so that you
can mitigate them or make them less of an issue.
Lack reach? I bet you’re great at boxing on the inside
or kneeing and sweeping in the clinch. So what are the
best ways to close distance?
Are you terrible at throwing crosses but have great
lead hooks? Ok, how can you better set those up?
Maybe fake a cross first, then throw the hook? Now we’re
getting somewhere!
In fact, we’re getting to one of the two main
foundations of building your style. The first was Control
Factors, which we’ll go over in depth later. But for now,
let’s look at something we’ll call Primary Weapons.

27
Primary Weapons
In this chapter we will look at how all fighters tend to rely
on a few techniques that lead to the large majority of their
victories. We will examine how they engineer the rest of
their styles around these movements. You will be asked
to think about and identify your own Primary Weapons.

Primary Weapons are the specific strikes,

takedowns or submissions that have the most impact on
your fight. They are your best attacks, the ones you are
naturally better at than your competition. Along with your
Control Factors, they are the most important part of your
style. Aligning your Primary Weapons to work with your
Control Factors will benefit you immeasurably. Your
Control Factors are the areas in which you hope to
dominate, and your Primary Weapons are the tools you
use to achieve them.
In fact, you’ll probably be able to pick out the
Primary Weapons of most fighters that I list without even
thinking about them. Joe Frazier? Leaping left hook.
Thomas Hearns? Flicking jab and chopping right cross.
Ali? Jab. Cro Cop? Rear left high kick. GSP? Jab, double
leg, punches from mount. Connor McGregor? Left
overhand. Rico Verhoeven? Lead leg low kick.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler? Leaping lead straight.

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 These moves are synonymous with these fighters
because they worked so well for them. They became
their signature moves. Yes it’s fun to give them special
names and point out how they’re unorthodox, but when
it comes down to it these are the moves that won these
fighters their fights. They started out as text book attacks
but worked so well that the fighters based their style
around them and then refined them even further. They
are responsible for most of their KO’s and submissions,
or at the least they are responsible for wearing their
opponent’s down to the point where they could KO or
submit them.
Usually, Primary Weapons will not be so dramatic
or unusual as the ones listed about. For most fighters, a
jab is a jab, thrown in the usual way without
corkscrewing, whipping, hopping, cross stepping or
leaping into it. But no matter how a Primary Weapon is
performed, it’s use is the same. It is the main, most
impactful tool for winning the fight for that fighter. There
wasn’t much unusual about Riddick Bowe’s cross or
uppercut, but everyone in the division at that time feared
them. Because if you were getting knocked out by Bowe,
it would be by one of those punches. As such, most of
his style revolved around setting those punches up! This
is what I mean when I say that styles are built around
Primary Weapons.
While reading this, you may have realized that you
have one or two Primary Weapons yourself. Is there
something that you always seem to land while sparring?
Maybe you struggle in other areas, but that one move
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never seems to miss? Does your coach keep telling you
to set a specific strike up, giving you ways that you can
achieve it? Or is there something that just feels right.
Maybe the rest of your grappling or striking still feels
awkward, but when this one thing sinks in or connects,
something just clicks. Maybe it’s something that’s not
even supposed to work well. But for some reason, for
you, it does.
If any of these scenarios ring a bell for you, then
you probably already have one or more Primary
Weapons. Maybe it’s your cross, maybe it’s your double
leg, or your knees. Maybe it’s a dominant position where
you can reign down blows.
Or maybe it’s something without the potential for
so much damage. But it doesn’t matter because it lets
you win and it feels right. If you’re an out boxer who finds
he can always sneak a way through his opponent’s guard
with his jab, then that’s a great start. If you can punish
your competitor for their power shots with counters as
well, then what you have there is the foundations of an
entire style. In fact, you have the same building blocks
as Ali’s style.
That doesn’t mean the blue print will be the same!
Ali’s style was beautiful, but man was it just plain weird
too. But the Primary Weapons would be the same. You
would just go about setting them up differently. How?
Well that’s up to you. That’s what we’re going to examine
step by step in this book.
But before we start, let’s take a quick look at what
a Primary Weapon has to have in order to work. If you
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can’t achieve these things, it won’t work for you. As much
as you might like a 540 round house to be one of your
Primary Weapons that’s just not going to happen.
Although I hope someday someone proves me wrong,
I’d be their biggest fan.

A Primary Weapon Must…

Be able to land consistently.

There is no point in trying to develop something

that you can’t count on connecting. You need to be able
to count on performing this strike, takedown, or superior
position against those with the same skill level as you at
the least. It should be easy to execute against those at a
lower level. And you should still be able to count on
pulling it off sometimes against those at a higher level,
even if nothing else is going well. This is your bread and
butter after all. If you can’t do this, then it’s not a Primary
Weapon.
We’ve all seen professional fighters get their
Primary Weapon taken away before. Barrera rendered
Prince Naseem’s style completely ineffective. Khabib did
the same to McGregor. They got destroyed because of
it. And these are some of the best fighters in the world. It
took a world class level opponent to figure out their style
and render their best weapon useless.
But if you try to make a style off of a technique that
doesn’t work for you, then their bad experience will be

31
your experience every single fight. Don’t waste your time
on something that you have a hard time doing.

It must damage/disturb the opponent.

A great jab can easily win a fight, but a bad jab can
easily lose it. You can connect with your jab all you like,
but if an opponent can walk through it and land
something harder then it’s null and void. That’s not to say
that each jab should be punishing. But it should do
enough to close their eye and rattle them over time, and
it should hit hard enough to give you a split second to
follow up with a shot that does hurt them. The less
impactful your jab, the more you will need to have
completely perfect defense. That’s a tall order.
And this is just one example. If you’re setting up a
lead hook but it doesn’t do anything, but they can throw
a devastating lead hook, then you are going to sleep. It
doesn’t matter if a weak technique lands. You get a point,
they get a knockout.

It must work well with your style and not require any
special preparation or effort.

There is a little bit of wiggle room here, but as a

standard rule your Primary Weapons should flow easily
from your natural movements and not require you to
change your stance or posture. A big preparation will let
them know you are coming a mile away and cost a lot of

32
time and energy, while possibly exposing you to a lot of
danger.
As I said, there are some exceptions. You might
like to step in and lean to the left to set up your lead hook.
In this scenario it might be best to set that up with a jab
first or by slipping your opponent’s jab. These are things
that flow naturally into each other that do not alert the
opponent.
If you have a Primary Attack that requires a big
telegraphic movement to set up, then it is better to adjust
your stance, guard and posture around it. This way the
Primary Weapon can flow naturally with as little set up as
possible.
But it would have to be really worth it. If you’re
dropping people with your left hook like Frazier or Tyson
and you want to square up and widen your stance to
make that easier, then by all means go for it. That’s a
serious conversation to have between you and your
coaches.

It is not necessarily the attack you use the most.

You may throw your jab the most, but that doesn’t
make it a Primary Weapon. If you are a long range out
boxer, then yes, your jab may very well be your Primary
Weapon. That’s a very valid and viable strategy used by
many great fighters.
But for other types of fighters the jab is merely the
means to an end. They use it to keep distance or work
their way into the clinch or set up harder strikes.
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 A Primary Weapon is simply an attack that wins
you the fight if you land it. It is your ultimate goal to
connect with it, and your jab or teep will most likely just
be there to help set it up.

It is not necessarily your most powerful attack.

A Primary Weapon is about more than power. It has to
also land consistently, flow with the rest of your style, and
all of the other considerations. A backlip axe kick may be
something you can pull off from your summer taking
Tricking Classes, but it will never ever land and won’t
really mesh with your footwork. So as hard as it could hit,
it is not a Primary Weapon.

It must feel right.

The world is full of people who emulated their

heroes and then gave up because they kept getting
knocked out. Sorry to get dark but that’s the truth. Some
are lucky and can fight just like their favorite fighters,
adding on their own unique take here and there. If that’s
you count yourself fortinute. But it’s probably not. Do
what works for you, or fail miserably. Those are your
choices here.
Your Primary Weapons will feel right. They will
come naturally. And they will call to you to do things so
that they continue to work well. Those things may run
contrary to what you wish your style was. Embrace that.
Throw away your ego. If you idolize great footwork but
you turn into a brawler in the ring, then you are a brawler.
34
Be the nastiest, meanest, most aggressive brawler there
is. Be the kind that would have beat your hero even with
all his fancy footwork.

35
Exchanges and
Planned Patterns
In this chapter we will define exchanges and why they
matter, then examine how a fighters Primary Weapons
influence how they plan out, drill, and perform
exchanges.

An exchange is when two fighters engage in

combat. At some point one or both fighters will close the
distance and start throwing or grappling. Maybe Fighter
A steps in and throws a one-two, and Fighter B slips the
punches and returns a lead hook, which Fighter A
weaves under and backs away. That’s an exchange.
Once they stop and move back to a safe distance, then
the exchange is over. Put simply, it’s where everything
happens. The same concept applies for grappling
exchanges. The two become tangled and vie for
superiority. It may go to the floor and progress from
there. But once the two separate, the exchange is over.
What’s important to note is that these exchanges
are not random. They are planned sequences with
specific goals in mind. There is a reason that high level
coaches practice the same drills with slight variations
over and over and over with pro fighters. These drills will
36
stay consistent over years. This is because there is a
whole lot of planning and thought behind them!
It’s crucial to think about every phase of an
engagement, as each step should help to set up one or
more of your Primary Weapons
For instance, imagine a shorter boxer, we’ll name
him Bob. Bob focuses on the Control Factor of stamina,
hoping to outpace and wear down his opponents. His
Primary Weapons are a rear uppercut and a lead hook
to the liver. So Bob enters by ducking in with a jab,
pressing in close to shove his head into his opponents
chest and driving it into their lead shoulder. This puts him
at his optimal range to deliver his Primary Weapons.
Meanwhile, it keeps him safe from his taller opponent’s
attacks by smothering them.
Before his opponent can gain space, Bob throws
two short body shots into his lead side. When the
opponent adjusts his guard to defend these attacks, Bob
lands a rear uppercut. Bob has succseffuly landed one
of his Primary Weapons. His opponent fires back with an
uppercut of his own and Bob quickly disengages and
shuffles back.
With the action stopped the exchange is over, and
Bob is clearly the winner. But since he is hoping to wear
his opponent down and out pace him, he jumps back in
right away, ready to keep throwing and wrestling until his
competitor has nothing left.
Now let’s look at a drastically different example
from a completely different kind of boxer. Imagine a tall
lengthy fighter. We’ll call him Robert. He likes to focus on
37
the Control Factor of positioning. His Primary Weapons
are his jab and cross. Robert begins his exchange by
stepping deep inside to his left, towards his opponent’s
open side, and feints a jab. When his opponent tries to
jab back, Robert slips and steps right to the outside, to
his opponent’s closed side. In simplest terms, his
opponent thought he was going left, but he changed
directions to go right. To quote the great Bobby Boucher,
he zigged when he should have zagged.
In more complex terms, Robert used the threat of
one of his Primary Weapons to trick his opponent into
overcommitting to a jab, then used his stellar timing to
alter his position. His opponent is now in a bad position,
and Robert easily lands the cross, his other Primary
Weapon. Before his opponent can get back into position,
Robert circles away to exit the exchange.
Two very different kinds of fighters, two very
different kinds of exchanges. It should be abundantly
clear at this point that it is not just prudent but necessary
to think deeply about how the themes of your style should
dictate each and every exchange.
So here is a simple way of looking at them to get
you started. Condensed down as much as possible,
there are 4 phases in an exchange, each of which
transitions and builds upon the others. We will then
create a number of different exchanges tailor fit for you
and your own Primary Weapons, based off these 4
phases.

1 – Preparatory Movements
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 Preparatory Movements are footwork and body
movements used to prepare for exchanges. When you
see a fighter constantly milling their hands or bobbing
their head in and out of range, these are preparatory
patterns. Or it can be as simple as dipping left to load up
a lead left hook. We’ll go into these more when we build
your stance, guard and posture in the next section.

2 – Entry

Entry is the actual start of an exchange, when you

initiate with a strike or grappling technique. There are a
million and one ways to enter, and the way that you do is
highly dependent on the Control Factors you hope to
achieve and the Primary Weapons you hope to land.
Depending on your style, you may wish to enter by
shifting in deep with an overhand or tentatively step in to
jab just at the end of your reach. Both are valid, but both
are geared towards drastically different styles.

3 – Adjustments

Adjustments happen during an exchange, as it is

still ongoing. Put another way, adjustments are the
alterations in position made mid exchange. You can only
have one Entry and Exit, but there may be several
adjustments in between. Throwing another strike,
changing your head position, stepping to your right,
these are all adjustments.
39
 Adjustments often reveal the true skill of a fighter,
and can win or lose the fight, regardless of what variety
of fighters they may be. An adjustment may be shuffling
deep outside after your first punch to force an opponent
to turn. Or your adjustment may be turning your missed
rear hook into a collar tie to drive your competitor into an
elbow. Unless you are exiting immediately after throwing
the first one or two strikes (Which is a worthwhile and
viable option, but often not sustainable) then you will
need to give a lot of thought about what adjustments to
make to stay effective, both offensively and defensively.

4 – Exit

You should always have an escape plan. In fact,

you should have multiple. There is a consistent trend of
pressure fighters who get rocked once and then do not
know how to respond. Often they will keep moving
forward rather than allow themselves space to recover.
So yes, even pressure fighters should know how to
move backwards. But usually your exit will be proactive
rather than out of any desperation. The exchange will
have ended and you will have done what you wanted to
do. So you plan a way to leave, maybe with some parting
shots or maybe at a deep angle so your opponent
doesn’t have time to follow up. Once again, your method
will reflect your style.

40
Exchange Sequences

Now let’s build the sequences that will become the

base of your entire style. These are patterns that you
use while sparring or fighting that accomplish specific
scenarios, such as if you are creating more distance,
escaping the ropes, setting up a power punch, etc. It’s
important to have a plan for everything you wish to
achieve, and a response to every question your
opponent asks you. As outlined above, for each of
these scenarios you need to have a Preparation, an
Entry, an Adjustment, and an Exit. Or at the least, an
Entry and an Exit. The good news is that this is much,
much simpler than it seems. Even if you are a beginner,
you probably already have a few of these patterns that
you use regularly. Now it’s time to examine them in a
more systematic way, as well as create some new
ones.
If you’ve ever watched videos of legendary
fighters drilling with their coach, you’ll notice that they
usual practice very specific scenarios and have well
thought out sequences for each. Even Mike Tyson,
whose style centered around using insane pressure,
drilled ways to escape the ropes with his coaches.
Granted, his “escapes” also had power punches built
into them that resulted in a few real life Kos. But those
never would have happened if he hadn’t drilled them.
You must have a plan for any eventuality. If even Iron

41
Mike had a plan for the unlikely situation of him getting
backed up against the ropes, then you can take the
time to plan out basic solutions too.

42
Primary Weapon Sequences

We’ll first create some sequences that set up your

Primary Weapons.

1. Entry Plans

How do you enter the exchange in a way that best

sets up one of your Primary Weapons while also keeping
you safe? You want to maximize your offensive potential
while remaining defensively responsible. Both of these
will come down to the same thing…positioning. Consider
your footwork, head movement, guard position, and any
preliminary attacks. How do they put you into position to
better align your attack and add more power? How do
they keep you out of the line of your opponent’s fire?
Let’s say that you’re trying to set up a lead hook, your
Primary Weapon. You have so many ways to do this.
1. For footwork, you can spring forward diagonally to
your left to create a big angle for your hook. To match
this footwork with your head movement, you can duck in
to your left. This will keep your head off the line of attack
while simultaneously loading up your hook with more
power. Since you will be too far off line for your
competitor to easily hit you with his right, this will free up
your own left hand from needing to stay pinned to your
head. But your right hand should be glued to your temple

43
to stay safe. Entering in this way you are primed to land
a big lead hook.
2. Now let’s look at another way. Rather than one big
step to the left, you can enter in with two small steps
forward. For the first step you’ll throw a jab, for the
second you’ll throw your lead hook. For head movement,
this time you’ll be slipping to your right. This can keep
you safe from your opponent’s right, a good idea since
you won’t be far off angle like the last example. And it will
also help to slip their jab if they try to jab back. For guard
position, your rear hand can stay high to parry or catch
any jabs.
3. Or, option three, you can step in and fake your
cross. This will square your shoulders up to load your
lead hook. Ideally the opponent will place their guard
forward to block the cross they think is coming, letting
you hook around their guard.

Come up with 3 Entries for your Primary Weapons.

2. Adjustment Plans

Now that we have our Entries, it’s time to build the rest
of our sequences off of them. While an exchange really
only needs an Entry and an Exit, mid combination
Adjustments are very common. For Adjustments, you
can choose to add on attacks, change positions through
footwork, move your head or vary up your guard, or do
all of the above.

44
 For example, going back to the first Entry example,
we could stay put and simply follow up with a rear leg
kick after our hook. Or we could weave and shuffle to our
right to change positions, then throw a left body hook. Or
we could turn out first hook into a collar tie and work into
a clinch. The adjustments that you choose to make core
elements of your exchanges will depend on exactly what
you’re trying to do. There are a million options, but the
ones you choose should match your Themes.

Come up with 2 Adjustments for each of the 3 Entries.

We’re far from done when it comes to Adjustments

though. Because your opponent is not likely to just stay
put and let you hit them. So you will need Defensive
Adjustments as well. These can be used with or without
counters. Figure out where your entries leave you most
open and what the most likely counters from your
opponent may be. They will most definitely throw these
at you, so you’ll need to have these Adjustments in your
back pocket for when they do.
Most likely they will back up and jab, teep or leg kick.
So adjustments that involve defending while closing
distance are key. You want the ability to continue your
attack and still catch them, even if they’re backing up.
But they may also stay put and try to use takedowns
or power strikes. It’s really crucial to have adjustments
ready for these too.

45
 Come up with 2 Defensive Adjustments for each of
the 3 Entries.
3. Exits Plans

Exits will keep you safe and, if you get good at them,
further punish the competitor. Exits don’t need to be
completely defensive, and leaving a parting gift will
discourage the opponent from chasing you in the future.
The most rudimentary way to Exit is to shuffle back. This
is generally a bad idea. Instead you should always leave
at angles, and throw long range attacks to back the
opponent off should they follow.
Let’s look at a possible Exit for Entry 3, feinting the
cross to set up a lead hook. To Exit, you might pivot at
the end of your hook. Having created a small angle, you
can shuffle back while jabbing.
Alternatively, you can step and duck right off your lead
hook then shuffle away.

Come up with 2 ways to Exit for each of the Entries

and Adjustments. (Many of these will overlap so this will
not be as time consuming as it sounds.)

But wait! You’re a pretty tough guy, who’s to say that

your opponent won’t be the one retreating at the end of
the exchange? Well, we can punish them for trying to
leave the party early. Take a moment and think about
what avenues of retreat would be open to your opponent
at the end of your Exchange Sequences. Then think of

46
some long range attacks that you can use to catch them
as they try to back away.

Come up with 1 way to punish your opponent for

exiting.

4. Preparation Planning

These of course come first in the sequence, but it’s

almost a better idea to add them on once you know the
rest of the Exchange Sequence. I’ll explain why in a
moment. For now, you should think about the point of a
Preparation. It can be used to get your weight going in
the right direction, to dull your opponent’s reflexes, to get
them to have the wrong reaction, or to load more power
into your attack. Thomas Hearns and Larry Holmes
would both swing their lead arm back and forth to help
set up their jab, and they had some of the best jabs in
history. No one would have known how great they were
if it didn’t land. Preparations are key.
First, looking at the 3 Entries you’ve chosen, come up
with some Preparations that can help you to set these
up. These Preparations should telegraph your intentions
as little as possible while setting up your Entry. Looking
at the example of Entry 2, you’ll notice that the sequence
starts with small steps and a jab. So you may want to
feint a jab to get your weight going forward and dull your
opponent’s reflexes as a Preparation.

47
 For Entry 1, the deep step and duck to the left, you
may want to prepare by shifting your weight forward onto
your lead foot and dropping your hips so that it’s easier
to bound in. Or you could feint your head to the right first
to get them to anticipate the wrong attack, making them
adjust their weight in the wrong direction.
Now here’s the trick. Try and have multiple Entries
start with the same Preparation. This way the opponent
will never know which attack is coming. A prime example
would be to dip left and square up your shoulders as a
Preparation for both a rear leg roundhouse and to load a
lead hook. These require totally different defenses, so
the opponent is very likely to defend the wrong attack.
Another classic is to level change throw an overhand
hook or a takedown. Once again if the competitor
defends the wrong action they are very, very likely to pay.
Keep this in mind as you design your Exchanges.

Come up with 2 Preparations for each Entry.

Secondary Weapons Pairing

Now It’s a terrible idea to only ever throw your Primary

Weapons. You should ideally pair them with other
attacks that are less powerful but that work in harmony
with what you’re trying to achieve. For instance, you can
use some of the same Entries from our examples to set
up not just a lead head hook, but also a lead uppercut, a

48
lead body hook, a lead leg roundhouse, an overhand,
and many other attacks. Choose one that pairs well in
that it is still dangerous but different enough to confuse
and bewilder your opponents.

Come up with a Secondary Weapon to use instead for

each Exchange.

Defense Exchange Sequences

In a perfect world you would get to decide when to
initiate every exchange. But unfortunately this is reality,
so your opponent can decide to enter into an exchange
with you any time they want. The steps still play out the
same way, except the choice of how to Enter has been
taken away from you. But if you have well thought out
defensive sequences, then you can control what
happens during the rest of the exchange.
Pick out defensive movements for the most
common attacks and add on counters to them using your
Primary Weapons. From there you can continue with the
same Adjustments and Exits as usual. The only thing
that’s really changes is the Entry. Once you’ve defended
(and hopefully countered if possible) then everything
else can go on as usual.
The most common entries opponents will use will
be jabs in boxing and teeps and roundhouses in Muay
Thai, kickboxing and MMA. So you should have ways to
counter them with your Primary Weapons. But beyond

49
that, you should be able to counter and punish
opponent’s with your own jabs, teeps or roundhouses. In
between the more powerful exchanges you will have a
whole lot of Secondary Weapon exchanges. These are
hugely important because if you can’t stay safe or at least
impart as much damage with the most basic of your tools
then your entire style will suffer.
If one of your Primary Weapons is an overhand
right then you pretty much have it made here. Just duck
to your left when the opponent jabs and throw. Turn it
into a cross to stop roundhouses cold. If you have a great
left hook then counter your opponent’s hook with that.
Teach them the meaning of the phrase “never hook with
a hooker.” You can also get really creative here. Kick
their leg as they step in, duck into a single leg, shuffle
behind them like Roy Jones Jr. But at first stick to basics.
If you like to damage your opponents at long range,
then these longer weapons will probably be some of your
Primary Weapons. After all, Primary Weapons are just
the ones that win you fights. So if your strategy is to jab
your opponent until their eyes close up and they have no
air left in their lungs then the jab is probably your main
Primary Weapon. The same goes for the teep.

Come up with 3 Exchanges to defend against

opponent’s most common attacks..

Distance Keeping Exchange Sequences

50
 In order to throw your Exchanges in the first place
you need to be in position to throw them. And this can
never happen if you’re taken out of your preferred range
of position. If you want to fight center-ring at long range
in order to throw your switch kick, then getting rushed
and pinned against the ropes or cage is really going to
cramp your style. So whatever your preferred range or
ring position, let’s create some Exchanges to maintain
the distance you want. And beyond that, let’s punish the
opponent for even attempting to take us out of our
comfort zone in the first place.

Stay & Compete At Center -Ring

Against those who try to cut off the ring, you have
a few basic options. First, you can use lateral movement
to dart back and forth or circle. Or you can press in close
to clinch or outmuscle them until they give you space or
back up. Whichever you choose, you need to create
unique Sequences that work best for you. It’s ideal if you
can set up your Primary Weapons while doing so, but
other attacks can work well too.
If you’ve chosen lateral movement then you should
incorporate pieces of footwork that fit well with your style
and pair them with long range attacks. L-Stepping into a
counter cross or roundhouse is popular with more mobile
fighters. Think Sugar Ray Leonard or Tawanchai.
Pivoting can work better if you crouch low and have a

51
long, wide stance. Think James Toney or Floyd
Patterson.
If you want to stay put and fight for center ring then
you can try and stay at midrange to throw power shots,
or you can threaten takedowns, or you can tie up and
wrestle. Meeting their rush head on requires the right
tools for the job. If they duck in then knees or uppercuts
can stop them cold. Sidestepping to hook is also popular
if your opponent comes in with straights. A step in cross
can stop most kicks cold.
If you’re not comfortable with them getting up close
at all, then teeps, sidekicks and jabs are all great options.
Those who like the clinch or to fight at close range
can extend their arms to long block and tie up and attack
from there. Or you can duck in to your opponent’s chest
and push them around. Whichever method you use, plan
out specific Sequences for the attacks that your
competitors are most likely to throw.

Come up with 3 Exchanges to keep center ring

when opponents try to cut you off or rush you.

To Cut Off The Ring

Cutting off the ring requires you to move ad

diagonal angles to stop the opponent from circling. But
no matter how good your footwork it can be hard to stop
an opponent from escaping when they’re moving at full
speed. So it’s best to come up with exchanges

52
specifically for catching opponent’s as they move retreat
at angles. Once you get them halfway to the ropes or
cage, they’ll have a much smaller avenue to escape
from. You’ve greatly limited the space they have to move.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t slip away through that
narrow pathway. That’s why you should develop
Sequences meant for connecting with competitors just
as they’re darting away, cutting them off at the pass.
If your opponent moves laterally to the right, then
you should be ready to connect with long range rear
kicks or hooks. If they move left, the same applies in
reverse. Then there are advanced tactics like turn shifts,
as Hagler loved to do, or spin kicks, as McGregor
excelled at.
Head hunting is the bane of many pressure
fighters. You should absolutely try for the head, but not
all of the time. Against hyper mobile fighters, it will be the
body and legs that will yield the best results over time.
They’re closer and bigger so much easier to hit, plus
damaging really slows down these fighters over time.

Come up with 3 Exchanges for cutting off the ring.

To Escape The Ropes/Cage

This is a little different from keeping center ring. At

this much closer range, you will have to get up close and
personal with the opponent if you hope to slip out the side
53
door. You’ll either have to duck under their arm, trick
them to think you’re going one way then dart out another
way, or wrestle. Whichever you choose, make sure you
have defined head movement, guard position, footwork,
and attacks picked out that work well for you. While many
simply clinch and wait to be separated in boxing, or clinch
and fight in MMA or Muay Thai, other will throw attacks.
Mayweather’s famous check hook is a good example of
this. He would sidestep while hooking to escape the
corner. He knocked out Ricky Hatton this way.

Come up with 2 Sequences for escaping the

ropes/corners.

Refining Your Exchange Sequences

At the end of the Structure and Mechanics section,

as well as at the very end of the book, you will be asked
to come back to this chapter and modify these
combinations based on the logical decisions you have
made about what your style will look like. You will also
get to build brand new ones.
But for now, the wait is finally over! In the next
chapter we can begin to build and fine tune the entirety
of your fighting system. But before we do, make sure that
you have chosen your own Control Factors and Primary
Weapons and have drilled and tested your Exchange
Sequences.

54
 If you are intermediate you should have a decent
idea of where you are best. If you’re unclear on a few
things then pay attention during training, especially
sparring sessions, and talk it over with your teachers. But
you probably already know most of your strengths and
weaknesses.
Advanced students can expect to know
themselves well. Refinement and a structured path are
where you will benefit.
If you are beginner level and aren’t entirely clear
on your goals yet, then use the following chapters as
preparation. You can start trying out your new
combinations during drilling and sparring, seeing if they
work for you and what you need to change.
Don’t make too many adjustments to your overall
style just yet. Listen to your coach, but be aware of the
concepts so that you can be on the lookout for what
works for you. This will drastically improve your progress
and help you to move faster than most of the other
students. Once your good and sure of where you
outshine your competition, then you can start to move
forward at a rapid pace. While others are navigating by
chance or luck, you will have a goal in mind and know
how to achieve it. But be sure first. It’s worth the wait!

55
Structure &
Mechanics
In this chapter we will look at how to adjust the
foundations of your style to best work with your Control
Factors and Primary Weapons.

At long last it is time to start building your own style!

At this point you should have chosen your Control
Factors and Primary Weapons, or if you are a beginner
you should be thinking deeply about them and
experimenting.
We will be building everything around them. Let’s
begin then with the very foundations, the bones of your
style; how you stand and how you move. To do this, we
will set up and refine your Stance, Posture, Guard,
Footwork and Rhythmic Preparatory Patterns. We’ll start
by looking at some general rules for each. Certain
structures and movements are better for specific types of
strikes, footwork, etc. Then we’ll move on to some
examples of how to set up these fundamentals, factoring
in both your Primary Weapons and Control Points. We’ll
go over some scenarios from boxing, kickboxing, Muay
Thai and MMA.

56
Your Stance
If your stance doesn’t fit with the rest of your style,
nothing will ever work. Ever. By now you will have been
taught a balanced stance by your teachers that works
well in general. But whether it’s optimized for you in
particular is a whole other story.
The first thing to consider is your economy of
motion. Put simply, how easy is it for you to get to where
you want to go? Does your stance facilitate the kind of
footwork you want? Can your effortlessly attack in the
way you wish to attack? Does it help defend in the way
your style is set up to defend?

Orthodox vs Southpaw

You are in an Orthodox stance when you have your

left foot forward, and a Southpaw stance if you have your
right foot forward. There are two main considerations in
deciding which to go with The first is if you are right
handed or left handed. In kickboxing, MT or MMA, this
concept can also extend to if you are right footed or left
footed. Your dominant hand will usually be the same as
your dominant foot but not always.
Most fighters prefer to keep their rear side as their
dominant side. The approach here is to make their

57
stronger side even more powerful by placing it further
back from the opponent. In contrast, some fighters prefer
to place their dominant side in front. This extra dexterity
and power in lead side attacks can have a lot of added
benefits and help to control the action.
Then there are switch hitters, fighters who like to
change stances.
The second consideration is whether you prefer to
be in an Open or Closed stance relative to your
opponent.

Open Position vs Closed Position

A closed stance is one where you and your
opponent both have the same foot forward. You either
both have your left foot forward or both have your right
foot forward. An open stance is one where you and your
opponent have opposite feet forward. Either you have
your right foot forward and your opponent has their left
foot forward, or you have your left foot forward and your
opponent has their right foot forward.
The reason for this terminology is very simple. An
open position leaves both fighters more open to powerful
attacks. Rear side attacks now have a much clearer path
to reach multiple targets. As a common rule, an open
stance is more high risk/high reward. Because of this,
some fighters will switch stances while creating angles in
order to capitalize on this. In contrast, some fighters will
switch to a closed stance as they escape the ropes in

58
order to close off lines of attack. These are
considerations to keep in mind if you want to practice the
art of switch hitting.
If you are a southpaw then you will most likely be
fighting in an open stance very often, since most fighters
stand orthodox.

Narrow Stance
A “bladed” narrow stance, where you stand very
sideways to your opponent, allows you to get in and out
very quickly. Think of fighters like Conor McGregor,
Sugar Ray Leonard or Samart. Defensively, it also allows
few areas to target for the upper body since you are so
closed off. However, if your sport allows kicking then
having the back of your leg targeted with rear leg
roundhouses may be a concern. In MMA, you may have
less luck at sprawling against takedowns. So you might
want to base your wresting defense more around foot
work and limp legging. Your rear leg will be less
accessible for double legs, so your lead leg will likely be
a big target.
When it comes to head movement, a more narrow
stance only allows for lateral head movement to the
inside. If you are standing in orthodox with your left foot
forward, then this means you can duck deep to your right.
However, you will be very limited in how far you can slip,
duck or weave to the outside. This means that if you are

59
standing in orthodox, with your left foot forward, then you
will not be able to move your head very far to your left.
You are also able to pull your head straight back
much further than if you were squared up.
Offensively, this stance is great for quickly throwing
out straight lead side attacks. These include jabs,
sidekicks, lead teeps (Samart again) or nearly any lead
linear strike. If you like to throw spinning attacks it can
ease the transition into doing so, since your back foot
won’t need to move near as far to spin.
Standing sideways can delay your rear hand and
foot by keeping them further away from your target. If
you’re very sideways, you may need to take a step out
to square up and throw.

A Long, Narrow Stance

A long narrow stance will provide a lot of stability,

in case you want to stand firm or muscle an opponent
who comes in. You can keep your poise while pivoting
especially well. It also gives your upper body a good
range of motion from front to back. By moving your torso
and hips between your feet you can play with a lot of
ranges. Floyd Mayweather uses this to great effect.
Be wary in combat sports that allow kicking since
this stance will make it much harder to check. The stable
base may help against takedowns in MMA although it’s
not ideal. Study Wonderboy Thompson for an example
of stifling takedowns from this stance, and Daniel
Cormier to see how it’s possible to use the stance to take
60
others down. This is not to say you need to use their
specific tactics, but since this stance is less usual for
grappling it’s great to get ideas or even just get into your
mind that these things are even possible.
Offensively you will be able to generate a lot of
power into rear side attacks. This is because there is a
longer distance to move your body weight from foot to
foot, and your weapon will start off further from your
target. But if you stand far enough sideways it will be
harder to set up these rear side attacks. Since your hips
by necessity will be more sideways and your rear
shoulder will be forced further back, it will take longer for
rear side attacks to reach your target.

A Short, Narrow Stance

Alternatively, a narrow short stance with your feet

closer together is great for general mobility. Think
Muhammad Ali. You can move laterally by cross
stepping or quickly step out to transition into different
stances. Shifting from southpaw to orthodox is much
easier here, as demonstrated by the stylings of the great
Willie Pep.
Offensively your shots may have less weight to
them, but you will be able to turn, step at angles, or shift
into attacks more easily.
With your feet closer together it will be easier to
check.

Foot Angles
61
 A very narrow stance is often paired with a bladed
lead foot, where your toes will be pointed near
completely sideways rather than forwards. This can
make rear side attacks even more difficult, unless you
are throwing something like a spin back kick. Since this
foot position can make it easier to pivot clockwise (from
orthodox) and side or cross stepping will be easier, it’s
fairly viable in boxing. Offensively you are already
aligned to jab, and your lead hook it set up to follow
through automatically, making for a quick snappy punch
that’s great for counters.
In kickboxing, MMA or Muay Thai you may want to
avoid having your foot too narrow. Even fighters who
stand very sideways in these sports tend to turn their
lead foot forward as much as possible. This will make
defending kicks much easier. Turning your lead foot
forward will also make it easier to throw rear side attacks,
and rear leg roundhouses in particular.
The rear foot will likely be pointed almost sideways
since the narrow stance will make it hard to point it
forward. Some will even point the toes back behind them.
This is a matter of comfort in boxing. In other combat
sports it can help facilitate easy lead leg attacks since
your rear foot will be in position for great balance before
you even lift your lead leg to kick.

Squared Up Stance

62
 Squared up stances are generally better for lateral
movement. Since you can adjust your angle to either side
pretty evenly they make it a cinch to stalk your competitor
and cut off the ring.
When it comes to head movement, a more forward
stance limits how far you can pull your head back. But it
also allows you more lateral (side to side) head
movement. In other words, you can duck, slip or weave
much further to the left and right. You will be able to lean
far forward as well.
This stance also has the advantage of bringing
both hands and feet close enough to strike the opponent
with little to no set up. Unlike a narrow stance where
punches must travel a further distance when alternating
sides, a squared up stance provides faster load-up and
retraction for either side. Since there will be less time
between strikes it will be easier to throw combinations.
The tradeoff is that many lead side attacks won’t possess
near the same range. So out boxers may not have the
best time with a more forward stance as it can limit the
reach of their jab and lead hook. The same can hold true
for lead teeps and lead sidekicks.
Fighters who like to stay safe behind long range
weapons will almost definitely not like this stance. It can
leave you wide open and give the opponent more
openings to target. Not only is your torso and head far
more open, providing a lot of targets, but both legs will
be within range for kicks. Many fighters struggle with
having their rear leg targeted. It’s somewhat common but
still uncommon enough that many are taken by surprise
63
when they encounter someone who can attack their back
leg consistently.
Since a more forward, squared up stance will lend
itself better to transferring weight from right to left and left
to right, sideways punches like hooks and overhands
have the potential for more power. Kick-wise, it will also
be much easier to check and throw to either side. It may
also be easier to stifle takedowns and execute your own.

Long vs Short Square Stance

A short square stance is generally favored by those

who like to stand tall and use their guard for defense,
rather than depend on low head movement. This is due
to the less stable base making a lot of head movement
awkward. It’s ideal for pressure fighters because the
more mobile stance lets them fluidly change directions
while cutting off the ring. As opponent’s try to circle out
they can quickly step at an angle and reach to intercept
them with a strike or takedown. However it will likely be
harder to defend takedowns if you let your opponent get
a hold of you. It’s also the most streamlined stance for
throwing kicks.
A longer squared up stance with your feet wider
apart will provide a lot of stability and power for both
sides. You will be able to shift to different stances while
blocking opponent’s exits. You can throw power shots as
you cut them off, regardless of which way they exit. For
reference, this is Mike Tyson’s stance. So lateral shifting
64
is a definite possibility too if you like to shuffle in at tricky
angles.
A wider base will make it a little harder to check
kicks. Bracing against kicks works best in this kind of
stance. If grappling is a possibility you will most likely be
difficult to take down.

Foot Angles

Both feet will likely be pointed forward here. You

will not tend to have the issues or considerations that you
have to contend with that you might in a narrow stance.
You may want to turn your front foot in a bit to help with
lead strike rotation, depending on your style.

The Right Stance For You

Now that you know the two extremes, it’s time to
think about a balance that works best for you. We’ll revisit
everything to build all of your movement mechanics at
the end of this chapter, but for now think deeply about
each consideration mentioned with each type of stance.
Most likely you will end up with a stance that’s
somewhere in between these two extremes.
For example, few will try to dominate entirely with
their jab alone. So a long range out boxer may opt for a
slightly more squared up stance.
Or likewise, a squared up brawler might want to still
enter in with an educated jab before turning wild. So they
65
would turn their stance more narrow until they got close
enough to start swinging.
Alternatively, many fighters want a well-balanced
style without a whole lot of specialization, so they tend to
favor a stance right in the middle. Not too exposed to
danger but still able to threaten every kind of strike or
takedown. Stable enough and still able to move.
Most likely your coach taught you the stance that
he teaches every student. There is no doubt that what he
taught you works. The idea here is to take what your
teachers have shown you and modify it a little bit to better
set up your Primary Weapons and carry out your Control
Factors. You should almost certainly consult them about
this.

66
Posture & Balance
Just as important as where you place your feet is
the position of your upper body. Whether you stand tall
or sink low, whether you lean your weight forward or
keep back or dip in, all these elements will make a big
difference for the rest of your style. Where you place your
feet and how you turn them will definitely limit the
movement of you upper body and help to determine your
overall position, but there is still plenty of variations and
different tweaks you can make.
For instance you can have a pretty narrow stance
but turn your upper body more forwards, keeping a more
bladed stance but squaring up your shoulders. This way
you get the in and out footwork and the back and forth
power distribution for straight punches from your stance,
but your posture lets you have your rear hand placed
more forward so you can quickly counter with it as well.
That’s just one example giving only a few reasons.
Stance is often talked about, but it should be evident that
posture is just as important. Understanding exactly how
your stance and posture work together will give you an
edge over a lot of competitors.

Facing Forward vs Sideways

Having your shoulders more narrow means that

your rear shoulder is far back. This comes with a number

67
of downsides and benefits. There are two main
considerations though.
One, it loads your rear side attacks up with more
potential power by giving you additional space to turn into
them. The further away from your target the more time
your weapon has to gain momentum.
And two, it makes your lead side attacks get to their
target faster. This is because your lead shoulder and hip
are already close to the position you would end up at for
the end of your lead side attack. Because you’re already
in position to fully extend, you can hit the full limit of your
reach quicker. So not only do lead side attacks hit faster,
they cover the full extent of the potential distance of your
strike in less time.
While it will take more time to alternate attacks and
throw combinations, you can chain lead side attacks very
easily with very little load up in-between. A jab into a lead
hook, for example.
You will also enjoy more safety in a narrow
posture. This is mostly because you are closed off, but
you can also enjoy techniques that are specific to the
position such as shoulder rolls. The Philly Shell guard in
a forwards stance wouldn’t work for instance (without
modification), but it can work incredibly well with a narrow
posture.
Facing forwards means having your shoulders
more even. This has a number of downsides and
benefits. The main considerations though are…

68
 One, that is loads your lead side attacks up with
more potential power by giving you additional space to
turn into them.
And two, it makes your rear side attacks get to their
target faster. In other words, rear side attacks are eased,
and this includes kicks since you will not have to turn so
much before you hit.
Having your shoulders more forward will place your
rear hand closer and as such make combinations a bit
easier to initiate.
It can also help to throw around the side or your
opponent’s guard. A forward stance will lead to more
space between your shoulders laterally, so your punches
can circumvent around the sides of your competitors
defenses.
Whether your stance is narrow or square, you
might want to cheat your posture the opposite way to
better set up attacks or to better defend against certain
attacks.
Of course these adjustments will be subtle! Don’t
think I’m suggesting twisting yourself like a pretzel while
fighting. But in a game of inches where fractions of a
second are the difference between victory and defeat,
turning your shoulders just 10 to 30 percent more one
way or the other could yield massive results.

Standing Tall vs Crouching

Standing tall means staying upright rather than

leaning or crouching. This will let you move around a bit
69
easier because you will have less weight pulling you in
any direction. Put simply, you’ll be lighter on your feet!
Since you won’t be adjusting your torso so much
between attacks, combinations will take less effort and
come out faster. This will make kicking or checking kicks
much easier as well.
You will be more susceptible to takedowns
however.
A major downside is that standing tall tends to
provide more openings for your competitors to target in
general. Crouching or leaning naturally narrows the
space you need to cover with your guard, and standing
straight simply exposes more surface area to attack. So
if you’re going to stand really straight you better have
great reflexes so you are able to adjust your guard to
defend attacks in time. It will be hard to simply shell up
and trust that you are well covered.
Most fighters lean forward at least a little bit. A
major benefit of leaning forward is that there is enough
room to quickly pull back if necessary. You will also be
closing off a lot of attack avenues for your competitor by
making your vulnerable areas smaller and easier to
cover with your guard.
Some fighters go into a full on crouch, like Joe
Frazier or Jack Dempsey. Putting so much weight in one
direction tends to “trap you in place” by making your
steps heavier, which is why fighters who use a deep
crouch will rely more on head movement than other
fighters. Since they’re not standing straight their guard
can cover most areas, but they won’t be as mobile. So
70
rather than tank the shots on their guard they can
becomes experts at bobbing and weaving.
As a general rule, the more you crouch the more
potential power you can put into your attacks. Weaving
with low head positions allows fighters to come up from
underneath to throw with a whole lot of built up power!
And this holds true even with kicks. TJ Dillashaw
landed a number of kicks and a KO or two by dipping
down as if he were going to perform a takedown then
coming up with a roundhouse kick.
But you will become far more susceptible to kicks
and knees yourself. After all, your head is right there at
knee level. If you happen to be ducking forward the same
time your opponent is throwing, it’s like your slamming
your head into their shin. So there’s a good reason low
head movement isn’t popular in Muay Thai and
kickboxing. But even here certain fighters like Mike
Bernardo have made it work.
Obviously dipping your shoulders lower will usually
benefit in takedown defense. It can also make
takedowns much easier because you’re already set up
in position to just drive in with little preparation.

Crouching or Leaning to the Side

Leaning sideways rather than forwards has a

number of interesting benefits and downsides. Most of
them are the same as crouching forward, but here are a
few differences and additional considerations. To start it
can align your lead shoulder down your opponent’s
71
centerline. Joe Louis made full use of this, crouching only
slightly but using the tactic to it to its full effect. The lean
also served to get his own head off the center line, while
loading up his famous right hand with more power.
A far more extreme lean can be used as well. In
boxing James Toney and Floyd Mayweather used a
deep lean to display their defensive brilliance. Rocky
Marciano used it to stay safe while loading up insanely
powerful shots.
In MMA Daniel Cormier serves as a prime
example. The lean helped him to close distance so that
he could establish a hold or, usually, a lead collar tie to
transition to grappling. But watch out for lead uppercuts
and lead leg roundhouse kicks, as your head is incredibly
vulnerable to these attacks in this position.

Weight Distribution (Lead Foot vs Rear Foot Heavy)

Believe it or not this is an incredibly important

decision that has huge ramifications for your entire style.
It’s well worth thinking about because you can have two
fighters with the same exact stance and guard, but
depending on where they place their weight they can be
set up for entirely different styles. It’s a major
consideration when deciding on your posture because
whichever way you set up your upper body will have a
big impact on where your weight is placed.
A front foot heavy fighter will have an easier time
moving forward. It can help you to rapidly cover
distance. Fighters who lean forward as well can often
72
get off shots much faster than a fighter who keeps an
upright posture. And intercepting an opponent’s punch
with a counter is much easier when you don’t need to
readjust your weight first because your already primed to
move forward.
Keeping weight on your lead foot will of course
make it harder to rapidly move backwards, as you will
need to take a moment to adjust your weight. When
pushing off to step back you will face more resistance,
slowing you slightly.
Fighters with a heavy front foot will probably find it
harder to check kicks. It is possible to adjust your check
by lifting your heel to your butt rather than lifting your
knee to the sky. This style of check has been used by
many Muay Thai fighters who emphasis punching and
has become more popular in MMA recently due to its
effectiveness against calf kicks and oblique kicks. But
you won’t have the same control over your checks as a
fighter with a light lead foot.
A back foot fighter will have an easier time
retreating, making it easier to work their way in safely.
Floyd Mayweather kept his weight far back even as he
advanced, allowing him to quickly shuffle away even
while mid step.
But don’t think that a back foot heavy fighter needs
to be passive or cautious. Rocky Marciano and Deontay
Wilder often keep their weight far back, and no one would
call them timid! In fact a major benefit to keeping your
weight back is that it can load more weight into your rear
side attacks. This is because your weight has further
73
forward to travel, as it starts further away from your
target. Your weight can transfer all the way you’re your
back foot to your lead foot.
Checking kicks will be much easier with your
weight back, since your lead foot won’t be heavy. And
you can quickly throw out lead leg attacks as well.
A well balanced stance, with your weight
distributed near evenly, provides a great well rounded
experience. But you may want to decide to lean your
weight slightly in one direction or the other if it helps to
set up your Primary Weapons or Control Factors. It’s all
about give and take, risk vs reward.
Lastly, it’s very important to note that many fighters
imply different stepping mechanics and positions for
each foot. Many styles prefer the rear heel be raise
higher, to help push off when attacking. Others prefer the
weight on the back leg, with the front heel raised higher
to ease lead leg kicks and checks. So while one foot may
be flat on the ground, the other may only make contact
with the ball of the foot much of the time. Try out which
works best for you in terms of ease of movement and
stability.

The Right Posture For You

Now it’s time to think about what works best for

you. You may want to make a slight adjustment here or
there, or perhaps you want to do something really
74
extreme and fight from a big crouch. It’s about what best
achieves what you’re trying to do. We’ll revisit everything
to build all of your movement mechanics at the end of
this chapter, but for now think deeply about each
consideration mentioned with each type of posture. Also
think about how your posture can work with or improve
upon your chosen stance, enhancing its assets or
negating some of its weaknesses.
You should pick a posture that fits in well with the
themes or your style and helps to set up your best
attacks. For instance, if you want to base of lot of your
style off of leading with your cross (pretty unusual but
some fighters can pull it off) then you will probably want
to square up your shoulders to bring your rear hand as
close as possible to your opponent from the start. You
will also want to lean forward to close more distance and
shift your weight forward so that you can push in quickly
will little to no adjustment of balance needed. And just
like that, you have a lot in common with the style of Julio
Cesar Chavez.

75
Your Guard
Your guard will keep you safe, but it will do so much
more than that. Working in tandem with your stance and
posture, you guard will decide not only the kind of
defense that you utilize but also how effective your
offense is. We’ll go over the main styles of guard so you
know the benefits and downsides of each. Keep in mind,
like everything else, you don’t need to stick to a cookie
cutter template. Once you know why something would
work well for you and why other things wouldn’t, then you
can adjust to get the best of both worlds.

High Guard

High Guard is unique in that it can be used

effectively by both highly skilled defensive fighters and
by those who lack any kind of defensive skills at all.
Skillful boxers use it to add a base of protection from
which they can pull off more subtle defense, reinforcing
and rolling to deftly dispel the force of their opponents
attacks. In contrast, some power punching brawlers with
good chins use it to take a hit so they can give a harder
one back.
High guard places special emphasis on protecting
your head over everything else. Many fighters curl up or
crouch so that their forearms can better protect their
sides. It is usually used with a squared up posture, where

76
you can take a shot on the guard and then be in position
to give any strike back or throw a quick combination. With
your hands held high your body blows and uppercuts will
take a little longer to land.
Footwork may be somewhat inhibited since you
are top heavy and your arms can’t help to counter
balance your movements. So it’s probably not a great
guard for those who like to float around the ring on their
toes. But if you stay lower and stable this is definitely not
the case. Look at Lomachenko or Mike Tyson.
Takedowns may be harder to defend since it will
be harder to get an underhook.

Basic/Mid Guard
Probably the most used guard on the planet. Your
hands will be around chin to shoulder level, giving you
more equal coverage for your head and body. You can
throw any punch at any angle easily and fluidly. You have
fluid balance, though not as fluid as with a low guard.
This guard can work well with pretty much any stance
and posture.

Low Guard
The Low Guard works well for taller fighters with
fast reflexes and good head movement. It is primarily
utilized for long range counter-striking styles. Because
your punches come up from underneath, below the
77
opponent’s line of vision, they may be harder for them to
defend. It will also be easier to hit the opponent’s body
or target their low head movement since your hand are
already close.
There is a lot of drawing involved as the
practitioner moves their wide open head into different
positions to try and tempt their opponent into throwing
shots. It requires excellent footwork, but the freed up
hands can help with that. In MMA, the lower hands can
also really help with takedown defense.

Philly Shell

One of the great advantages of the Philly Shell is

that it naturally places your rear hand and lead shoulder
right on the centerline, guaranteed to be on the inside of
your opponent’s hands if they are in a more squared up
position. Why does this matter? Because you now have
the straighter path to defend and attack. This means that
if both you and your opponent moved at the exact same
speed, your block would always get inside of their punch.
Likewise if you both threw at the same time you
would beat them to the punch. That makes this guard
ideal for counter punchers. It will be harder to throw rapid
combination punches and lead hand hooks will require
that you alter your position first. Mayweather dealt with
this by almost always feinting his jab into his hook.

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Whatever your setups just be aware that additional
preparation is required for lead hand shots.
The Philly shell is rarely ever seen in kickboxing or
Muay Thai. This is probably because the low lead hand
makes clinching more difficult. And the shoulder roll
almost necessitates a narrow stance and a turn of the
foot, meaning that the lead leg will be very vulnerable to
kicks.
However it has been shown to be useful in MMA.
Sean Strickland famously used it to help him defeat Izzy,
and Dustin Poirier has been using is successfully for
years. If anything the lower lead hand should help defend
against takedowns.

Long Guard

An extended/long guard is all about establishing

contact with your opponent as early and as often as
possible. The plan is to disturb your opponent’s balance,
timing, and defense every step of the way. In doing so
you will drain their energy by forcing them to constantly
readjust and place them into compromising positions
where it is easy to land strikes or takedowns.
George Foreman in his youth used the long guard
to earn forty wins over forty fights with thirty-seven
knockouts. He hadn’t had a fight go over three rounds in
five years before finally losing for the first time to
Muhammad Ali. What’s especially impressive about this
is that Foreman was using a style that was way more
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dangerous for him as a boxer than it is for Muay Thai
fighters or mixed martial artists. In those sports the
fighters mostly use the long guard to establish holds and
then work into the clinch or a takedown. But Foreman
stayed at mid-range, so he was wide open to his
opponent’s shots. As such if you want to use this in
boxing then have a great reason for it. Foreman had the
reflexes to stay safe and the power to make his
opponent’s hesitate. It is a much more viable and very
common option in Muay Thai, kickboxing or MMA.

Cross Guard

It’s hard to believe now, but the cross guard used

to be one of the more popular guards in boxing. It
declined mostly due to the change in gloves. Since
targeting the head could more easily break the small
bones in the hand back then, the stomach was targeted.
A common defense against these body blows was to rest
the arm across the midsection vertically, known as a
“fold.” And by using the forearms and elbows to defend
punches, you were adding even more hazards for your
opponent’s hands.
Lately there has been somewhat of a resurgence
of the cross guard, but in truth it has never really left.
Foreman used the cross guard to help him retake the title
in the 90s; Manson Gibson used it to supplement his
karate style to become one of the best kickboxers during
the height of the K-1 era; Buakaw uses a hybrid cross
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guard with his long guard in modern day Muay
Thai/kickboxing, and Yoel Romero has had great
success with it in MMA.
But seeing as it can make setting up nearly every
kind of attack more difficult, you need to have a good
reason for it. One reason may be for low volume fighters
to stay extra safe in between throwing powerful attacks.
They can conserve energy by taking strikes on their
arms, then explode into their own attacks when ready.
For this reason many older fighters will rely on the cross
guard.
Another reason would be if you like Philly shell
tactics but still want to fight from a more squared up
posture or guard. It will take more adjustment and effort
to do things like shoulder roll and counter. But the great
Archie Moore, who had well over one hundred knockouts
in his day, pulled it off consistently. He could protect his
sides with his cross guard while bobbing and weaving as
Frazier would later do, and also roll and counter as
Mayweather would later do. Check out Moore’s fight with
Rocky Marciano by the way, it’s in my top three fights of
all time!

The Right Guard For You

Now it’s time to think about which guard works best
for you. We’ll revisit everything to build all of your
movement mechanics at the end of this chapter, but for
now think deeply about each consideration mentioned.
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Think about which guard would naturally mesh with your
posture and stance, offering the best protection. And
mull over which guard best sets up your Primary
Weapons.
As a brief example, if you want to shoot out your
jab from all angles then keeping your lead hand at low to
mid-level may be helpful. Even though it will leave you
more open, the multiple angles from which you can shoot
out your jab may well be worth it.
It’s also well worth it to take note of where you are
open so that you can be ready with a counter. If you keep
your rear hand low you better be ready to counter a lead
hook to your chin, for instance.
Once you know your weaknesses then you know
how your opponents are likely to attack. You can then
plan for that or even intentionally bait them.

Footwork
Everything flows from your footwork. Fighting is
movement itself, so how you move determines
everything else. We went over footwork ideas for
different scenarios in the Sequences section, but we
didn’t talk about maybe the most important footwork, the
kind you use while maneuvering at your ideal range. We
will call this your Base Footwork.

Base Footwork
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 Huge bursts of footwork where you are rapidly
advancing, retreating, or advancing are rare and limited.
Apart from a few iconic lightweight fighters, very few can
keep up explosive footwork for every second of every
round. Even the most movement based fighter will slow
down out of necessity or just because it’s more effective
for them in the moment.
For the large majority of fighters, they will be
moving at a measured and moderate pace the majority
of the time rather than flying around the ring at breakneck
speeds. Whether circling, advancing or retreating they
will be using measured steps with small bursts of
movement here or there. And while this happens they will
not be using any kind of special or dramatic or complex
footwork. They will be taking small steps, negotiating
distance with their opponent, working themselves slowly
into better positions and waiting for the right
opportunities to attack.
It is during this period that you will be using your
Base Footwork, which will be comprised of different
kinds of steps, shuffles and pivots. The most important
considerations must be given to your steps. You have
some very important choices to make here.

Heels vs Toes

Runners have been arguing about this forever as well.

This seemingly small nuance is actually fairly important

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and nearly every martial artist has a strong opinion about
it. So much so that both Jack Dempsey and Miyamoto
Musashi took the time to talk at length about how to step
in their books.
Broadly speaking, stepping heel first gives you a more
solid base, and lets you really sink your weight down
quickly. Stepping heel first can make a fighter feel
“heavier”, like there is more weight to his punches.
Fighters who step on their heel include Archie Moore,
Jack Dempsey, Bruce Lee, Bas Rutten, and many more.
This technique can pair well with keeping more weight
on your lead foot.
But the upside is also the downside. Stepping heel
first commits more weight, increasing the time in
between your steps. It’s not too great an idea if you
participate in a combat sport that allows leg kicks, as it
can make it more difficult to check. Although enough
prominent fighters have made it work that the technique
should not be discounted outright.
In contrast, staying on your toes feels “lighter”, and
helps mobility. An in and out fighter who likes to circle
and rapidly change angles will undoubtedly prefer to stay
up on his toes more. If you adopt this tactic you will be
able to change directions more easily, and pivot or turn
into kicks and punches faster. Fighters who use this
technique include Muhammad Ali, the great knee fighter
Langsuan, and many others.
Of course, there is never any need to go to
extremes. There’s nothing wrong with stepping down
more broadly and placing your weight evenly between
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your heel and toes. This can be a happy medium and
works well for many great fighters, and works best for
fighters who tend to keep their lead foot pointed more
sideways than forwards.
Also, there is nothing that says you can’t step both
ways, or change up your steps for certain attacks. But
keep in mind that an integrated system where an attack
can be thrown off of any step or without adjusting your
stance is always best. This will lower your reaction time,
speed up your movements, and make your style seem
“smooth” and “seamless.”

Sliding vs Lifting

Some fighters prefer to lift their feet off higher off

the ground with each step, some prefer to slide their feet
along the ground. Sliding your foot keeps you “smoother”
and more grounded. Lifting your foot allows for faster
movement.

Bouncing & Hopping

It is possible to bounce off of both feet at the same

time for most footwork patterns. Karate and TKD
practitioners do this all the time, and it’s really not
uncommon among boxers and MMA fighters. David
Benavidez bounces a lot, as did Holyfield. There are
some major but specific benefits. It lets you adjust your
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feet faster, and allows you to work rhythm manipulations
and feints right into your base movements. You will feel
much lighter on your feet and be able to change
directions very quickly. Bouncing can also facilitate faster
kicking, as it completely frees your hips to turn or spin.
But it is important to consider the downsides.
Bouncing is generally not as solid as stepping. It rarely
allows for a medium (let alone a low) base, and drains a
lot of your energy very quickly.

The Traditional Pattern

As a general rule, the foot closest to the direction

you wish to travel in will move first when stepping. The
other foot will then adjust to establish your preferred
stance. In other words, when moving forward, your front
foot will move first. When moving backwards, your rear
foot. When moving left, your left foot will step out first
before your right foot moves to its regular position, and
when moving right, your right foot will move first as well.
This tried and true method is the go-to for the large
majority of fighters because it is efficient and maintains
balance, along with the ability to rapidly change and
adjust distance.

Back To Front

Some fighters, such as Joe Frazier and many Muay Thai

practitioners, step their rear foot first when moving
forward. This better loads the lead hand and foot by
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allowing a stronger push off of the back foot, like a
shuffle. But it should not be mistaken for a shuffle; the
steps are heavy, shorter, and have their own beat. They
are not smooth.
This movement pattern also makes for smoother
kicks off of the lead leg. Using this pattern disguises the
oft-necessary preparatory step for lead leg kicks by
making it a common occurrence, and therefore harder to
read.
Because the result of this method is the space
between your feet shortening with each step rather than
lengthening, it can come at the expense of balance and
poise. You may also feel you are more committed and
less able to rapidly adjust your movements.
Though this one consideration may seem small,
there’s an amazing historic example of how important it
can be involving Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
In their first encounter, The Fight of the Century,
Frazier had knocked Ali down with his iconic leaping
gazelle hook. The range of this hook was helped by
Frazier’s unusual back-to-front steps. They let him
smoothly launch off of a shuffle. Because his hook was
so incredibly long he took Ali by surprise again and
again, reaching the butterfly even when he stepped and
pulled far back.
But in the second fight Frazier got a new coach
who changed up his footwork. Now Frazier stepped in
the usual patter, from front to back. As a result he was
able to better cut off the ring, just as his coach intended.

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His new footwork didn’t commit him to one direction and
let him step at diagonals to herd Ali into corners.
But it had an unintended consequence on Frazier’s
hooks. They now kept missing, getting nowhere as close
as they had in the first fight. This was because Frazier’s
old footwork had built the potential for explosive leaps
right into his most basic steps. This footwork did not.

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Consistency & Smooth Transitions

So take the time to consider the tradeoffs of your

basic footwork. What are the tradeoffs of stepping front
to back? Of pivoting and stepping rather than stepping
and pivoting? Of cross stepping over regular steps? How
do these set up your primary weapons or help you to
incorporate your themes? If you get your footwork right
the rest of your style should all flow together. Get it wrong
and you will always be off balance, tired, and clumsy. It’s
that important.
A vital principle to understand in footwork is
consistency. Each step you take should bring you back
to your primary stance where you are balanced and
ready to attack or defend at a moment’s notice. When
executing any footwork technique, from small steps to
advanced shifting, you should always be mindful that you
are not moving your body out of alignment needlessly.
The more the technique deviates from your primary
stance, the more time and effort it will take to move back
into the correct position. If you put an emphasis on
straying as little as possible from your primary stance
then you will be able to flow between movements far
more easily.
Economy of motion is important, but so are other
elements. A good example of a clear choice between
trading off different aspects involves turning your rear
foot as you push forward. Some fighters will turn their
toes back as they push off into their jab to cheat a little
extra distance. However, this will leave them out of
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position to the point it may lengthen their recovery, or any
follow up strike. Always think carefully about how and
why you move the way you do in any footwork technique,
and have a reason for major deviations that may put you
out of alignment.

Your Rhythmic Preparations

You would be hard pressed to find fighters who
don’t use rhythmic preparatory patterns. But since it’s
not something many people talk about you may be
wondering what the hell I’m even talking about. Well,
when you see a fighter bobbing and weaving or milling
their hands, that’s what I’m calling rhythmic preparations.
If they’re constantly stepping their lead foot a few inches
forward and back or bouncing up and down or raising
and lowering their guard, these are rhythmic
preparations. Basically any extraneous movement that is
not an attack, a feint, or a response to an attack can likely
be labeled a rhythmic preparation.
Most fans probably think that fighters simply do this
to keep safe. If they move around then they’re
unpredictable and harder to hit. This is definitely a part of
it, but there’s a lot more to it than that. These
preparations are not random, they are a vital part of both
offense and defense. Rather than rigidly keep the exact

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same stance, posture, and guard positions, you can
alternate between multiple positions.
To the uninitiated this can look like a kind of dance,
since most fighters tend to work their own rhythm into
these movements. But there’s a lot of benefits to
changing positions. Even if the changes are slight it can
make a huge difference.

Disguising and Conditioning

By rhythmically moving into certain positions

several times you can condition your opponent to expect
them, dulling their reaction for when you throw a real
attack off of that position.
For instance you can dip left several times to
disguise a rear overhand. You can level-change over
and over to disguise a takedown. You can raise and
lower your lead hand to disguise the start of your jab. You
can march forward to disguise a rear teep.
Any motion that starts off an attack that you can
safely repeat over and over can be used to disguise the
actual attack when you decide to throw it for real.
Because of this rhythmic preparations can become one
of the best ways to set up your primary weapons.
The great Ricardo Lopez would constantly step his
lead foot in and out before finally launching forward with
a much larger step at the last moment, landing a hard jab
or cross. Sugar Ray Leonard was incredible at this. He
had so many variations with his lead foot alone, double

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stepping, pausing, stuttering, that opponent’s never
knew what hit them.
In this way you can cheat yourself part way into
whatever you are trying to set up. If you had not repeated
the preparatory motion several times then it would
become incredibly obvious what you were about to do
when you finally did move into a different position.
While these preparatory motions can ease attacks
by starting your weight moving in the right direction and
placing you closer to your target, they can also load up
attacks with more power. For instance if you constantly
twist to your left or right then you are prepping powerful
hooks. If you are tapping your lead foot then you’re not
only threatening a lead teep, you are actually loading up
a big step into a rear leg roundhouse.

Drawing and Baiting Attacks To Counter

Drawing an attack is when you leave an opening

on purpose in hopes of getting your opponent to throw
an attack. When he does you use the opportunity to
counter. This can be achieved with footwork, head
movement or guard position.
Evander Holyfield made a career out of bouncing
in and out just at the edge of his opponent’s reach. When
they tried to catch him he would suddenly alter his rhythm
and land a devastating counter.
Prince Naseem was an expert at drawing attacks
by placing his head into certain positions. He would

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crouch down low, inviting opponent’s to punch down at
his head. When they did, he sprung up to knock them out
with ridiculous lead uppercuts.
Its already been mentioned that different guard
positions leave different openings. By rhythmically
alternating your guard, you know exactly what will be
open when. This can invite certain attacks from
competitors. And since you have a good idea of what
they’ll be throwing, and know exactly when they’ll throw
it, you can set up powerful counters. For instance you
can lower your lead arm to invite a straight to the head,
then counter it with a lead hook.

Mobility and Explosiveness

It’s fairly well known that taking a small jump before

attempting a vertical jump can increase the height of your
vertical. There’s a number of physiological reasons for
this but the important thing to remember is that if your
muscles are already moving then you will be more fluid
and dynamic. This gives you the potential to put more
power into your attacks.

Setting A Pace and Tempo

This is the rhythmic part of rhythmic preparations.

By using small movements as threats you can hope to
control the timing and temp of the fight.

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The Right Rhythmic Preparations For
You

Take a moment to pick out some preparatory

motions. Think about some preparations that can ease
the initiation into your primary weapons and some that
can load them up with more power. Think about the
openings they leave and how to counter them.
It’s common for most fighters to have several
different sequences that they may use at different times.
I would recommend watching Marvelous Marvin Hagler
and Manny Pacquiao to see two prime examples. The
important thing is that you create patterns that both keep
you safe and set up entrees into exchanges. Keep in
mind that you do want to vary up your rhythm. Setting a
steady pattern has its advantages, but if you’re too
consistent for too long then your competitor will be able
to time you.

Putting It All Together

Examples

Now let’s build a few hypothetical styles and see

how the elements all fit together. This can help you to get
an idea of how to put together your own style and really

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cement your decisions. Each of these examples are
actually based off of the styles of real life, successful
fighters.

Example 1

The first fighter is a boxer. He fights from orthodox,

and is of average height and build for his weight class.
The Themes of his style are speed, power, and body shot
specialization. His Primary Weapons are a jab, a rear
body cross and lead body hook. Let’s take a look at how
he might set up his structure and mechanics.

Stance - His stance is about 70 percent squared up, but

still narrow enough that he can still safely box behind his
jab at long range if necessary. Although his posture is
very forward, his feet leave him enough space to turn his
upper body into a more narrow posture if he wants to.
His stance is on the shorter side, with his feet a little
closer together than usual. This along with his squared
up stance lets him use his speed to quickly spring
forward into rear body shots.
Posture – His posture is very forward and squared up.
This puts his rear hand closer to his target. He leans in
just a bit, moving his weight forward so he can easily
spring into action at any moment. With his incredible
speed he can get away with leading with his cross. He
will alternate a jab to the head with his body cross,
remaining unpredictable and forcing his opponent to

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make an uncomfortable choice on which attack to
defend.
With his lead shoulder pulled back he is in a prime
position to throw a loaded lead hook. He likes to start
faking his body cross to gain more distance and then
follow up with a lead hook to his opponent’s liver.
Guard – He uses a high guard to stay safe. Since he
likes to stay at long range until he decides he wants to
exchange, his opponents are mostly limited to straight
punches or extremely telegraphed power blows. So he
can simply take his opponent’s punches on his guard
while stepping back and circling away.
Footwork – He prefers to stalk his opponent. He is a
lead foot stepper from his base footwork. If he gets them
into the corner he’ll take the opportunity to throw
combinations, but he’s just as comfortable at mid ring.
The most important thing to him is that he has space to
move forward.
Rhythmic Preparations – His main rhythmic
preparation is a pendulum step. He will bounce his lead
foot out in front of him and then all the way back to his
rear foot. This dulls his opponent’s reflexes, conditioning
them to extreme in and out movement so that he can
more easily jump in from far away.

Example 2

The second fighter is also a boxer, but has a

completely different style. He is a shorter boxer with a
broader frame than usually for his weight class. His
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Themes are distance, positioning, and counter punching.
His Primary Weapons are an overhand and a lead
uppercut. Let’s take a look at how he might set up his
structure and mechanics.

Stance – This boxer keeps a more narrow stance that

helps him to move in and out while staying light on his
feet at long range. His stance is pretty wide, which gives
him a wide range of space to move his head back and
forward. Since he is great at maintaining the perfect
distance at all times, he can pull away to let his
opponent’s punch just brush his face then return a hard
overhand right.
When he is at mid or close range the narrow, wide
stance helps him to pivot. This is how he can change
angles to force his opponents to turn. As they’re trying to
catch up and readjust to face him he will take advantage.
A favorite trick of his is to pivot outside when his
opponent jabs so he can come up underneath with a lead
uppercut.
Posture – Although he has a stance that’s more on the
narrow side, he will cheat his rear shoulder forward more
to square up his posture. His narrow stance means his
overhand will likely be highly telegraphed, requiring a big
step in to widen his stance. So he mitigates this
disadvantage by sneaking his rear hand closer, which
shortens the time it will take his punch to reach his target.
Guard – He prefers to keep his lead hand at mid-level
and his rear hand high. The lower lead hand helps him
to throw his unusual counter lead uppercut by placing his
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lead hand into position, but it also makes his head a
target. He’s welcome to this as he loves to counter jabs
with his overhand. His lead hand can also jab up from
underneath, another invitation for his competitors to jab
back.
Footwork – This boxer tends to step with his rear foot
first, the opposite of most fighters. This can help to offset
his wide deep stance. Those kinds of stances are great
for stability but can make it hard to leap in without
shuffling. Shuffling is ideal for very sudden aggressive
attacks but it’s difficult to control distance with a large
degree of accuracy. So a good middle ground is to step
back to front, which puts temporarily places him in a
narrower stance so he can explode forward.
Rhythmic Preparations – His main rhythmic
preparation is to tilt back and forth as he circles and
steps. This helps disguise his overhands and baits his
opponent’s into jabbing so he can counter. He will also
raise and extend his lead hand and then bring it back to
his guard. This helps disguise his jab and sets a tempo
that lets him know when an attack might come.

Example 3

Our third fighter competes in both Muay Thai and

kickboxing, something that’s becoming more and more
common nowadays. He is tall and lengthy for his weight
class. His Themes are pacing/stamina and he
specializes in knees. His Primary Weapons are a rear
teep and a lead knee.
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Stance – This fighter has a very short, square stance.
This lets him quickly kick and check. He uses both of
these to close distance. Rather than put his knee down,
he will check and then step forward to try and clinch. If
his rear teep connects then he will step down with it into
southpaw, following his knocked back opponent until he
has them trapped against the ropes. But even if he
misses or his kick is defended, he will still use it as a step
to shift forward and try to establish a clinch.
Posture – He stands upright with a squared up posture.
This way both hands can reach out to establish ties and
holds.
Guard – He uses a long guard, sneaking his arms in
between punches and snatching kicks. He is constantly
probing and pawing.
Footwork – His footwork is simple but effective. Looking
to cover a lot of distance and not having a preference for
either side, he walks forward placing one foot in front of
the other. Once he’s in the clinch he prefers to shuffle to
the outside, where he can pull his opponent’s head down
into a left knee.
Rhythmic Preparations – He slightly circles his long
guard, moving it in and out. This helps disguise when he
will reach out to try to grab a hold of an opponent and
makes it harder to shoot attacks through his very open
guard.

Example 4

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 Our fourth example is an MMA fighter. He is short
for his weight class. His Themes are positioning and
speed. His Primary Weapons are a rear leg roundhouse
kick from both southpaw and orthodox and a single leg
takedown. Rather than counterpunch he changes angles
to find new openings for his attacks, changing positions
during long, blazing fast combinations.

Stance – His stance is right in the middle, neither short

nor wide and not too narrow or square. This works for his
style because, with themes of positioning and speed, he
likes to use linear and lateral movement, shifting stances
constantly.
Posture – He fights from a slight sideways crouch. The
narrow posture and inside lean keeps him safer as he
transitions from position to position and from stance to
stance. He’s already in position to go after his opponents
lead leg, and likes that this posture baits head kicks as
he likes to catch them. The sway of his upper body from
inside to outside also ads power to his rear leg
roundhouse kicks.
Guard – His hands are mid to low, as this helps his
speed and mobility. He can counter balance with his
arms as he moves from position to position. He mostly
relies on head movement to keep him safe. Even with his
speed this would probably be too dangerous, but as his
low head movement also works to threaten takedowns
and he loves to catch kicks, opponents are more
cautious throwing than they would usually be.

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Footwork – His footwork is built around stance
switching, using tactics like V-shifts, C-shifts, half shifts
and full shifts. The constant change of angles
overwhelms his competitors by giving them so many
threats to worry about at any given moment. It’s these
stance switches that let him change from a closed
position (where his opponent and him have the same foot
forward) to an open position (where they have opposite
feet forward.) This is an ideal angle to land his rear leg
roundhouses or go for single legs.
Rhythmic Preparations – He constantly half shuffles to
drag his lead foot back to his rear foot. Just as the great
Willie Pep used to do, he can use this “central hub”
where his feet are close together to quickly step either
foot in any direction. His competitors never know when
his feet come together which way he’ll end up moving
and in which stance.

Final Considerations

It’s time to review your decisions and really start

thinking about how everything works together. Below
are a list of questions that are geared towards finalizing
your structure and mechanics. As you go over each
question, review the decisions you’ve made. Think about
how each question relates to each element individually
and how they mesh together. Make sure that each align
with the Themes of your style, mesh with how you set up
your Primary Weapons and compete for Control Factors.

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 After you have answered these questions and
picked out the ideal structures and mechanics of your
style, it’s time to go back and refine the exchanges you
created in the previous chapter. Using your experiences
trying the Sequences out in sparring and the new
elements you incorporating into your Stance, Posture,
Guard, Footwork and Rhythmic Preparations, modify
the sequences to better fit your new, enhanced style.
How does your decision allow you to better execute the
Themes of your style?

Which attacks does your decision allow you to more

easily set up?

Which attacks does your decision inhibit you from using?

Does your decision place special emphasis on setting up

your Primary Weapons? If so does it let your throw them
quicker or load them up with more power? Or does it
allow you to set up a safer attack first that will then lead
to one of your Primary Weapons?

How does your decision aid your defense in a way that

works with the Themes of your style and helps set up
your Primary Weapons?

Does your decision inhibit your defense in any way? If

so, how do you plan to deal with that or work around it?

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How does your decision help with your balance/weight
distribution in a way that fits the Themes of your style and
helps to set up your Primary Weapons?

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Control Factors &
Themes
Now that we have the foundations of your style, it’s
time to look at how to execute. While you will want to give
special consideration to the Control Factors that you’ve
chosen to make your Themes, you will ideally want to
dominate in all of these aspects of fighting. So we will
look at strategies and how to counter your opponent’s
best tactics as well as how to set up your own.
That being said, looking at the vast amount of
tactics and strategies that come with each kind of theme
it will become apparent right away that it is impossible to
use all of them. Actually, it would be down-right ridiculous
to attempt to master even half of them. So stick to your
Themes and specialize in what is right for you. To
become an expert at all of them would take several
lifetimes, like a musician that was trying to become good
enough to play at Carnegie Hall with every single kind of
instrument in the orchestra. You may actually, with a
great deal of time, learn how to play all of them
competently. But it wouldn’t matter because you could
never be better than the musicians that put everything
into learning one. So pick what feels right and commit to
it. You’ll be glad you did.
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Range/Distance
The entire goal is to keep an ideal range that will
let you do what you want to do. Decide on weapons and
defense to punish other ranges or at the least reestablish
your own range.
If a fighter isn’t able to keep the range they want to,
they’re probably losing the fight. You should have a clear
plan for how to get to your ideal range and stay there.
You should also have clear plans on how to get back to
your ideal range if you opponent gets the better of you
for a moment. If you are a long range fighter and your
opponent forces you into close range, then you should
already have an answer for that. If you don’t then there
are a number of option for each scenario listed in the
upcoming pages.
Whatever range you choose to keep, you should
have offensive options at the other ranges. This isn’t to
try to compete there. That’s your opponent’s expertise,
not yours. The idea is to punish them for stepping into a
range you don’t want to fight in. This should back them
off or give you time to reposition. Speaking of, you should
also choose a few grappling techniques and footwork
techniques to reposition opponents back to your ideal
range, even if grappling isn’t technically in your ruleset.

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Let’s take a look at how to get to and stay at your ideal
range, going over different strategies for each range.

Long range
Keeping Long Range - Staying at long range requires
great lateral movement and developed long range
weapons. A good jab or teep or calf kick should do most
of the work. But fast feet are almost a requirement here.
Choosing and drilling counters for when opponents get
frustrated and try to overreach with their shots is great
idea here.
Staying At Long Range - If your opponent gets into mid
or close range you have a number of options. First you
can tie them up. If you’re a boxer than you can wait for
the ref to break you. Otherwise you can reposition by
turning away from the ropes or cage and then
disengaging to regain go back to center ring.
You can also throw shorter attacks to knock them
back to long range. Mayweather famously used a check
hook for this purpose. He moved laterally with his lead
hook, which is another great point. While trying to catch
your opponent coming in you should be moving off at an
angle at the same time. This should help with not being
cut off.
Feinting lateral footwork is also a great tactic.
Bouncing from left to right until the opponent commits
then bounding away in another direction is not only

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effective, it’s infuriating and frustrating for your
competition.

Mid-Range
Getting To Mid-Range – Those who fight at mid-range
are looking to open themselves and their opponents to
more danger. They’re betting that they are better and
tougher so they put themselves at a range where it’s
easiest to both hit and be hit. To get to mid-range you
must get past your opponent’s long range weapons. You
can get past theses either by being elusive (using fancy
footwork and head movement), or by tanking the shots
on your guard. Well, maybe tanking isn’t the best word,
since you can also parry and redirect to avoid the impact.

Staying At Mid-Range – Once you’ve gotten into mid-

range you will likely have to fight to keep it. Against
competitors who back away while attacking, you should
follow with diagonal footwork to cut them off. If they
attack while retreating you should have picked out a few
defensive moves to stay safe. You should also have a
few long range weapons to intercept their retreat. Hagler
famously would turn into orthodox to catch opponents
trying to flee from the ropes with a knockout left hook.
Against those who try to smother you or tie you up
at close range you will want to be adept at using frames
and holds to adjust off angle. You should pick out some
close range weapons as well (Driving them into an

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uppercut or knee if they duck in are popular choices), but
look to step or pivot out with a second attack to get back
to mid-range.

Close Range
Getting To Close Range – You will have to work hard
to get into close range. In your way are the opponents
jab or teep, footwork, and their long and mid-range
weapons. You can get past these either by being elusive
(using fancy footwork and head movement), or by
tanking the shots on your guard. These are the same
tactic as the mid-range fighters, but now you will have to
tie in wrestling tactics as well.
You must choose which positions you prefer to
place your head at (your opponent’s lead or rear
shoulder, chest or hip) and which holds and ties you are
trying to work your arms into. This should all flow from an
attacks or aggressive defense. And you should have
multiple ways to enter and set up your favorite positions.
As an example you can plan to enter with an
overhand, then circle that punch around and under your
opponent’s arm into an underhook. At the same time you
can duck your head inside and bring it up to wedge it
against your opponent’s lead shoulder. This sequence
was a favorite entry of the great Roberto Duran.
The MMA equivalent of this same sequence is
throwing an overhand to shift forward then launching into
a single leg. Interestingly many of Duran’s favorite close

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range tricks are used in modern day MMA. Check out the
battles against the cage in the matches between Daniel
Cormier and Jon Jones to see them in action.

Staying At Close Range – If your opponent doesn’t

want to fight you at close range then your only options
are to pin them against the ropes/cage or to tie them up
so that they can’t retreat. You should have a number of
sequences for when opponent’s try to flee the ropes or
untangle from the clinch. At the least you can try to catch
them with a strike as they exit.
But it’s best to never let them get away in the first
place. That of course will be easier said than done.
Paying attention to positioning so that you’re ready to cut
opponents off, and knowing how to transition smoothly
between different kinds of holds will go a long way.
Many fighters don’t know what to do if they lose
their favorite hold or tie in the clinch. By becoming
comfortable with transitioning between different holds
you can be prepared to readjust no matter how your
competitor tries to break away. There’s nothing more
discouraging than escaping a bad position just to be
trapped again a split second later.

Take some time to consider how this Control

Factor works with your Exchange Sequences, and if
there are any ways you can improve or alter your
patterns to enhance their effectiveness.

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Theme – The Distance Fighter

There are two main ways to specialize in range and

distance.
The first is to become so good at judging distance
that you can make your competitors miss by a fraction of
an inch. If you hope to have a chance with this tactic then
you will want to have a naturally stellar sense of distance
already. From there you will have to spend a lot of time
practicing and refining your sense of distance. The most
important thing is that you give yourself the tools to
control distance with great precision.
For instance Shakur Stevenson, whose distance is
impeccable, has three different levels of retreat. The first
is to pull his head back and let the punch just skim his
cheek before countering. The second is to add a step
backwards with his rear foot before returning a counter.
The third is to shuffle back before rebounding to step
back in with a counter. Because he can counter after he
barely moves as well as after leaping far back, he is
dangerous against any punch no matter it’s length. This
is having complete control of distance.
The second way to dominate using distance is to
become an expert at moving between all ranges. This
can be paired with using positioning as a theme to go
between all ranges and positions. Orlando Canizales
was spectacular at this.
But this concept can also be used in a completely
linear fashion. Evander Holyfield is a prime example of
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this kind of fighter. He loved to move in and out of long
and mid-range to set up counters and combinations, then
press into close range to muscle his competitors and
pound their midsections. This was completely
exhausting to his competition. He is a perfect example of
how to pair the Themes of range, pace and counter
striking.

If this is one of your Themes, try adding some or

all of these tactics to your Exchange Patterns.

Positioning
The goal of positioning is to place yourself into
superior positions, as well as those that work best for
your particular style. Certain fighters like to fight on a line
with their lead front lined up to their opponent, some
prefer to take deep inside angles, and some prefer to
take outside positions.
Keep in mind that when you change positions you
are trying to do one of three things:

1. Moving yourself into a position where your

opponent is in danger and you are not.

2. Moving yourself into a position where you are both

in danger.

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 3. Moving yourself into a position where neither of
you is in danger.

There are reasons to do all of these things at different

moments of the fight. But what you should absolutely
never do is move into a position where you are in a lot of
danger and your opponent is not. This would indicate that
you don’t know your opponent’s style and barely know
your own. Think about where you would like to position
yourself and the reasons why rather than just trying to
move.
When considering angles from which to fight, think
about which or your attacks you would like to line up.
Give special emphasis to your Primary Weapons. Also
give thought to which of your opponent’s attacks you
would like to avoid. Positioning can help with both of
these at the same time.
For instance if your opponent has a great switch
kick and one of your Primary Weapons is a lead hook,
then you can circle forward to the inside. This will move
you away from your opponent’s lead leg to avoid his
switch kick while giving you a better angle to land your
lead hook. In simplest terms, try to move in directions
that set up your best weapons while avoiding your
opponents.
If your goal is to cut off the ring or corner your
opponent you must move diagonally. If you step straight
at them they will continue to circle and regain the middle
of the ring/octagon. So move your feet sideways as well.

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Be ready for them to suddenly change directions and
don’t commit too much weight any one way.
If your goal is to circle the ring to stay safe and
create angles for your attacks, then you should pick out
a few footwork techniques that rapidly create distance.
L-steps are a classic example. Cross steps or lateral
shuffles are also viable with the right style.

Against Fighters Who Stay Closed Off - Against

fighters who try to remain closed off and try to deny you
the angles you’d like, there’s a few strategies you can
use. It’s best to feint going one way then go the other.
Or vary up attacks from an inside and outside angle. Or
move in deep to square up and stand toe to toe. Against
the ropes you can move to one side to dislodge them.
They expect you to try and corner them here. But like
Pacman you can actually just flank them and drive them
off the ropes or cage.

Against Fighters Who Create Angles - Against fighters

who try to create extreme angles you need to anticipate
this and stay in position to follow them. You should never
let your weight settle too much in one direction or they’ll
step off angle and attack. The moment you see them
start to move in one direction, turn and pivot with them.
At the same time target their body or, if applicable, their
legs. A lot of these fighters count on you going after their
head.

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Against Fighters Who Try To Corner You – Against
fighters who try to cut you off and corner you there are a
few options. You can either move into close range and
grapple them, then disengage at an angle back to the
center of the ring or octagon. Or you can use tricky
footwork to get them following in one direction then
escape by suddenly going the opposite direction. Or you
can walk them the into shots, retreating at a steady pace
before breaking your rhythm to suddenly leap forward
into an attack or counter. Or you can hold your ground
and get into a fire fight. Which you choose is down to the
kind of style you have.
Take some time to consider how this Control
Factor works with your Exchange Sequences, and if
there are any ways you can improve or alter your
patterns to enhance their effectiveness.

Theme – The Mobility Fighter

A mobility fighter will fluidly change positions to
create superior angles. They often use both orthodox
and southpaw and have a number of ways to transition
between them. At long to mid-range, tricky footwork and
head movement is utilized to set up your attacks. At close
range you will be changing between multiple wrestling
positions, moving your head from both shoulders and
hips the same way a boxer might weave under and
around punches. The superior grappling positions will

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constantly offset their balance, tiring them and helping to
drive them into your close range attacks.

Changing Positions To Gain A Tempo - Maybe the

most powerful tactic of this Theme is changing positions
in order to force your opponent to spend time readjusting
their own position. For instance if you circle outside and
are nearly behind their back then they will have to spend
time turning to realign themselves. As they do so you
have extra time to attack them. The idea is to always stay
one step ahead, attacking as they desperately try to keep
up.
Peter The Lumberjack Aerts did this in a really
remarkable way. One of his Primary Weapons was a
devastating roundhouse kick. So once he worked into
the clinch, he would stay locked up but shuffle off angle
to the other side of his competitor. Then he would kick,
only dropping his hold at the last moment. This
movement past the centerline often changed his stance,
letting him set up a kick from a side his opponent was not
expecting at all. This one tactic led to several KOs.
And this timing tactic leads us nicely into the next
section.

If this is one of your Themes, try adding some or

all of these tactics to your Exchange Patterns.

Timing/Rhythm
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 Timing is the most important element in fighting. As
such I’m going to spend the most time talking about it.
Timing is predicated on predicting your opponent’s
movements and taking advantage of them. While a lot of
this requires reflexes, timing is not near as much about
speed as you might think.
The most important thing about timing is that you
already have a very good idea about what your opponent
is going to do even before they themselves know they
are going to do it. This isn’t some mystical nonsense
about sensing your opponent’s intentions by reacting to
their spirit or anything. Rather it’s about becoming
familiar with the basics of your art to the point where you
are prepared for what your opponent is about to do. You
are able to predict it because you have seen it so many
times before. And you have drilled the correct response
time and time again until it is effortless.
If you want to have success with timing, you have
to understand rhythm. Rhythm is the tempo at which all
of your movements fit together. Watch a fighter complete
a full step in any which direction, moving one foot and
then the other. In this time many other parts of their body
will move, all in rhythm with each other. As they move
one foot then the other their head may bob or slip once
or twice, their guard position may change, they may twist
their posture to narrow and open their stance. If the two
steps are a bar of music then these motions are the beats
that make up the rhythm.

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 You will notice that most fighters keep a mostly
steady rhythm, even though they break it occasionally to
stay unpredictable. If you don’t believe me put a fight on
your TV and then go through your favorite playlist. You
will notice your brain naturally starts syncing certain
songs to the movements of certain fighters. And some
sync up incredibly well while others don’t match the
fighter well at all. This is because every fighter develops
a distinct rhythm. It’s something human being naturally
do no matter what sport they learn. It’s an ingrained
pattern that develops over years, geared towards
efficiency. Runners develop a distinctive rhythm, so do
swimmers, basketball players, etc.
Here’s some powerful principles to do with your
rhythm that can help bring your entire style to the next
level.

Blend Defensive Patterns Into Rhythm - Being able to

react immediately with effective defensive patterns will
help you maintain your own rhythm even while under
attack. You can maintain your rhythm by blending your
defensive movements into your pre-established footwork
patterns. In other words, have an established way to
defend that doesn’t stop the movement you are already
making. An example would be to slip a punch while mid
step. If you had to stop yourself mid step to defend you
would be allowing your competitor to dictate your rhythm.
This could cascade into them controlling your distance,
pace, and then the entire fight.

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 But if you are able to defend without altering your
rhythm, then you have maintained your timing, balance
and coordination. Meaning that you are in a prime
position to counter attack or safely exit. This all comes
down to having an integrated system with smooth
defensive tactics available during any and every possible
movement. Take some time to really think about how you
might defend or counter during every single step and
position that you use. You should never get into a
situation where you are locked up with no possible
escape.

Blend Offensive Patterns Into Rhythm - We looked at

why it’s important to incorporate defensive movements
into your base rhythm, now let’s look at offensive
movements.
Blending the preparation of an attack into base
rhythmic movements can mask the initiation of that
attack. Furthermore, the more an opponent sees that
rhythmic preparation and becomes accustomed to the
timing of it, the more dulled their reaction to that
movement becomes. Opponent’s will often get lulled into
a sense of security and conditioned to ignore the
stimulus altogether.

Rhythmic Threats & Defense Combined - A truly

integrated style will have patterns that are both offensive
and defensive in nature, all built into the same rhythm.
For instance, proactive head movement not only keeps
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fighters safe, but threatens attack by helping to close
distance and load power punches.
And rhythmically adjusting a guard can provide
safety by varying openings, as well as set up punches
from different angles.

Multiple Threats Off Same Rhythmic Pattern -

Threatening multiple attacks off of the same preparatory
movement pattern is another way to slow an opponent’s
reaction time. Having the same stimulus signal multiple
threats can overwhelm an opponent with choices,
thereby extending the time between the stimulus, the
beginning of your attack, and the response, their
defensive action.

Timing Opponent - If the opponent has too consistent a

rhythm they can be easily timed. Especially if you pick up
on one weakness or opening presented with the same
rhythm throughout the fight. Some fighters are so good
at picking up on their opponents movements and getting
inside of their rhythm that they appear to be mirroring
them. Joe Frazier was incredible at this, as was Mike
Tyson.

Take some time to consider how this Control

Factor works with your Exchange Sequences, and if
there are any ways you can improve or alter your
patterns to enhance their effectiveness.

119
Theme – The Rhythm Fighter
But if you hope to have timing be one of your
themes, to appear near psychic like Roy Jones Jr. or
Lerdsila, then you need to go one step further. You need
to know what your opponent is doing because you have
set them up to do it. Here are a few timing tactics you
can use to bewilder your competitor and create the exact
response that you want from them.

Off Beat - Attack In Between Established Pattern

Timing - One simple way to do this is to suddenly attack
on the half beat. This is like playing a note in between
beats of a song, maybe outside of the established tempo.
This can be done after an opponent has been lulled into
your established rhythm.
The obvious use here is to land a hit, but breaking
rhythm can be a great defensive tool as well. Breaking
your established rhythmic pattern from time to time can
make it harder to time you because you’ll be less
predictable. Adding in feints on the half beat keeps
opponents on edge, nervous about when the next attack
might come.

Change Cadence - Suddenly Speed Up - You can also

adjust cadence, the speed at which you enact individual
movements or multiple movements. You keep the same
pattern, but part of the way through you start to play it
faster. In other words, you may take three slow, steady

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steps then suddenly explode into the fourth to land a
shot.

Change Cadence - Suddenly Slow Down – You can

also trick opponents by slowing down one of your
attacks. This can cause the opponent to defend the
attack before it hits.
For instance they may try to parry a punch or
sweep a kick before it gets there. A ridiculous amount of
fighters made this mistake with Cro Cop, who keeps his
kick chambered well past the time that most fighters do.
His opponents would try to parry his kick before he had
even extended it. They would parry and only then would
he straighten his leg. I’m still really curious if Cro Cop
knew why such an obvious head kick connected so many
times or if it was just an accidental consequence of how
he threw his kick.
A much more common tactic is to simply slow
down one of your shots in a combination. This rhythmic
delay can happen naturally without thinking about it if you
mix in short tight shots with long looping shots. George
Foreman recommends doing this for this exact reason. It
was one of his favorite tricks and worked very well for
him.

Stutter/Pause Your Rhythm - Another way to

break rhythm is to suddenly pause or stutter your
movements. This can be done with footwork, as Ricardo
Lopez demonstrated beautifully in most of his fights. Or
by delaying an attack, starting it, then pausing, then
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continuing. To quote Bruce Lee, “The man who can
break his rhythm by a light hesitation or an unexpected
movement can now score an attack or counterattack with
only moderate speed; his opponent is motor-set to
continue with the previous rhythm and before he can
adjust himself to the change, he has been hit. “
The great Salvador Sanchez did this all the time.
He would step deep inside and duck in low while
throwing an overhand. Then when his opponent got
conditioned to this attack, he would step in and duck but
wait a moment before unleashing his overhand. This
would catch them by surprise over and over again.
Developing a few timing tricks with your Primary
Weapons alone could be a complete game changer for
you. If done well, the opponent will defend against your
original rhythm, defending the attack far too early. Doing
so with your Distance Weapon is also a great idea.

Destroying The Opponent’s Rhythm - If rhythm is the

chain that holds an opponent's movement patterns
together, then disrupting just one movement in that
sequence can create a break in that chain. Or, perhaps
it’s more like throwing a cog in the gears of a precise
clock to cause the machinery to malfunction.
Metaphors aside, the whole point is that disrupting
just one movement can throw off their entire pattern. You
must find the perfect time to attack. But how?
Great fighters can pick up on specific moments of
weakness and time their shots to take advantage of that
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moment of weakness over and over again. Check out my
latest video on Lomachenko to see how he timed a
fighter's guard movement to land his jab at will.
Getting hit throws off most fighters' rhythm like
nothing else, and fighters who can take a shot and still
continue on with their original timing are few and far
between. GGG is a rare exception. But most times even
a light jab will force a reset.
But a fighter cannot attack without taking on a good
deal of risk. So oftentimes it’s safer and just plain easier
to threaten an attack that’s never coming. Fighter’s like
Israel Adesanya have made a career off of disrupting
another fighters rhythm through feinting.
A good way to counter this strategy is to feint on
their feint, as this unexpected action will then break their
rhythm. However, this is usually only possible when a
fighter is already anticipating that feint. That’s why, when
it comes to feints or real attacks, it’s best to keep your
opponent guessing by varying up your selection.
If this is one of your Themes, try adding some or
all of these tactics to your Exchange Patterns.

Pace/Volume
For fighters, tempo can be thought of as the pace
at which they are moving, and this corresponds with work
volume. A fighter who keeps a fast tempo is probably
looking to throw more attacks than their opponents,
harassing and overwhelming them. A fighter with a

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slower tempo is probably looking to land brief flurries or
power strikes that get the job done on their own, rather
than overwhelming their opponent with
volume. Obviously the second tactic expends far less
energy over time.
Although fighters vary tempo often, most do keep
surprisingly consistent tempo’s for long periods of time.
But even if a fighter isn’t throwing at a higher volume, a
higher rate of movement will still give the opponent more
to think about and react to.
A fighter may only throw one punch in ten seconds,
but if they bounced up and down fifteen times, moving in
and out of range, while ducking in and out and prodding
with their hands, then the other fighter certainly didn’t
have an easy time. You might consider thinking of this as
Input Work Rate, separate from the usual Work Rate that
references offensive movements. Or you can think of it
as adding more beats to your rhythmic patterns.
It can become overwhelming for an opponent to deal with
all of these constant movements while costing you very
little energy to make them.
There’s an emotional element to this as well, as
getting the other fighter frustrated, angry of panicked not
only tenses them up, which can inhibit their stamina and
timing, but can also lengthen their reaction time, stunting
their ability to respond offensively or defensively.
Controlling the pace of the fight will largely depend
on who is more reactive. Or rather, who has cause to be
more reactive. Generally, whoever is landing more will
control the pace of the fight. An opponent who does not
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fear their opponents striking or grappling can just stroll in
and move however they wish. An opponent who is
terrified of their opponent’s attacks will jump back at
every slight movement that you make.
This is somewhat a test of wills, and at the very
beginnings of amateur level it often is. But for pros it is a
matter of logic and accurately reading the fight. A pro will
not become scared until they are completely
overwhelmed and have no hope of winning. And usually
not even then. So it largely depends on whose shots are
connecting and whose are not. Working on the other
Control Factors so that you can maintain range, and
most importantly controlling the timing and rhythm and
counter striking to punish your opponent’s offense will be
the biggest factors in pace.
That said there are a number of ways to adjust the
pace to either speed it up or slow it down. This is
especially important if you’ve chosen it as one of the
Themes of your style.

Take some time to consider how this Control

Factor works with your Exchange Sequences, and if
there are any ways you can improve or alter your
patterns to enhance their effectiveness.

Themes – The Pressure Fighter &

The One Shot Fighter
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The Pressure Fighter - If you want to quicken the pace
to tire your opponents, then obviously you need to attack
more than your competitor. It’s keeping safe while doing
this and not getting tired yourself that’s the hard part.
There are a number of tactics for doing this.
One is to throw 20 to 50 percent power on the
majority of your strikes and save your 100 percent power
for every now and then. Your competitor will still have to
react like every shot is 100 because they don’t know
which ones actually will be.
When they return fire you can further tire them by
making them miss. If they throw themselves off balance
then this will exhaust them even more. Parrying can tire
an opponent just as much as head movement. A number
of punches or kicks thrown off course can add up quickly.
Forcing your opponent to grapple can also run them out
of steam.
Any position where they have to carry your weight
will create a heavy burden over time. Work all of these
methods into your exchanges with an emphasis on your
other chosen Themes.

The One Shot Fighter - If you want to slow the pace so

that you can pick your moments to throw KO power
blows or explosive takedowns there are a number of
ways to do so. The first is to feint power shots, especially
your Primary Weapons. This will not only make them
weary to attack but also set up your other Primary
Weapons. When you feint is vitally important. You should
tend to feint when your opponent tries to prepare for their
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upcoming attack, just before they throw. Or just when
they step into range.
If they aren’t reacting to your feints then you can
throw a real shot as hard as you can. It doesn’t matter if
it misses by a mile. The point is to show them you have
power and that you’re not afraid to just lob a heavy blow
at them. Many times you will only have to risk this once
to get them to respect your feints.
Counter punching is the next most effective
method. If you make them nervous to attack then their
pace will slow very quickly.
You can also develop a subtle guard. If you use
your forearms and elbow to block punches and turn your
shin into your opponent’s kicks when you check then
they will become much more reluctant to throw.

If this is one of your Themes, try adding some or

all of these tactics to your Exchange Patterns.

Counter Striking/Wrestling
Countering is all about preparations. More than
anything else a counter fighter needs to understand
where they are open and vulnerable. Once they know
this they will know when and where an opponent will
strike. Then they can take advantage. You should look at
your weakest areas and figure out counters for when
opponents try to exploit them. And of course practice
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counters for the most used attacks in your chosen art. It
would be silly to not learn counters for jabs or
roundhouse kicks for instance.
Countering is one of the most important elements
of fighting because it can do something very powerful. It
can take away your opponent’s best weapons. Even their
Primary Weapons. If an opponent’s jab gets countered
too many times then they’ll stop throwing it. Look at what
happened to Spence vs Crawford. Once his jab was
gone the rest of his style fell apart.

Return Counters - Most counters are return counters,

where you perform a defensive movement to avoid a
strike and then return a strike of your own once you are
safe. This is the easiest kind of counter to pull off and the
safest as well. But the opponent is likely to block or
evade your counter as it comes after he has thrown his
own attack. So he has time to read it and defend it. But
there are a number of ways to get around this, as we’ll
discuss in a moment.

Intercepting Counters - A more dangerous, but

effective, method is to intercept an opponent’s strike by
throwing a strike of your own at the same time. This
requires you to read your opponent’s intentions. Usually
through some kind of tell.
There have been many knockouts in MMA when a
fighter gets a read on when their opponent will try to take
them down and drives a knee into their head just as they
dive in. Barboza vs Quarantillo is a prime example.
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Barboza noticed that his opponent kept throwing jabs
into a takedown so timed a knee to meet his takedown
the next time he jabbed. This earned him a KO.

Stopping Opponent’s Counters - To stop your

opponent’s counters you can alter your guard, vary up
your strikes, strike at a different angle, use different
footwork, or add on another low risk attack to vary your
attack pattern. Simply turning your jab into a double jab
can do wonders.
In the end countering is about training counters
that work well for you so you can execute them in the
ring. Now let’s look at some more advanced methods.

Take some time to consider how this Control

Factor works with your Exchange Sequences, and if
there are any ways you can improve or alter your
patterns to enhance their effectiveness.

Theme – The Counter Striker/

Wrestler
But there are some special tactics you can use if
you want to specialize in counter striking or wrestling.

Drawing – Drawing is when you invite your opponent to

throw an attack. There are several ways to do this, so no
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matter what your other chosen Themes are you should
be able to pair counter striking with them if you want to.
A very powerful tactic is to draw using distance.
You can stay just out of range to make the opponent
overreach. When they come in with a heavy attack you’re
ready for them with a thunderous counter. You can
achieve this no matter what kind of range you prefer.
Long range fighters can keep backing just out of reach
before suddenly stopping short to counter their
competitor’s over reaching attack. Both of Ali’s battles
with Sonny Liston are terrific examples of this method.
If you are an aggressive fighter who likes to move
forward you can suddenly step back when your opponent
commits to an attack, then jump right back in.
At close range you can wait for your competitor to
throw an attack then suddenly pull back to mid-range to
counter. Roberto Duran was notorious for this.
You can also draw an attack by leaving a gap in
your defenses on purpose. You can do this by leaning at
certain angles to place your head within range of their
attack. This has the additional benefit of loading up
whichever counter you hope to throw.
Or you can leave a specific opening in your guard.
Maybe your opponent thinks you’ve dropped your guard
because you are tired, but in actuality you plan to counter
them.
Or you can condition them that you have a solid
guard and then suddenly drop your guard and pull away.
This is a favorite of Canelo. He will let opponent’s bang
away on his high guard until they feel completely
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comfortable. Then on the last punch he will suddenly pull
away. They’re expecting resistance but instead hit
nothing but air, leaving them completely off balance and
open for a counter.
You can also draw with a feint. Once you realize
how they hope to counter your real attack, you can feint
to draw one of their counters then attack you’re your own
counter. This sounds really complicated, but honestly the
most common use is to feint a jab to draw one of their
jabs. From there you can pick one of the many, many
counters to a jab.

Countering Their Defense – This isn’t really countering

since they aren’t throwing an attack, but it’s a good idea
to look at it as such. Once you notice what your
opponent’s go-to defensive movements are you can take
advantage of them. Rodtang is exceptional at this, and
you can check out my video on him to see several
examples. But my favorite is him picking up on his
opponent’s long block and drawing it out to send
overhands and elbows over it.

The Backup Plan – So many counter strikers have lost

fights because their opponent refuses to engage and
forces the counter striker to lead. This has stopped more
meteoric rises to the top for fighters than injuries and
arrests combined in my opinion, and that’s saying
something! Dark humor aside, this is the biggest problem
of the counter puncher. Some disciplined fighters will just

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give you nothing to counter, even if you try your hardest
to draw out attacks.
The solution to this is very simple. You need a low
risk, low effort attack to rack up points. Ali could be said
to be a counter puncher. That’s how the large, large
majority of his KO’s happened. But if his opponent
stopped engaging and presenting him with counter
opportunities it did not matter. Because he had his jab to
earn him point after point, winning him the rounds.
In MMA and Muay Thai this can be accomplished
with side kicks and teeps to the legs. Calf kicks and jabs
as well, though those are very slightly riskier. If your
opponent doesn’t want to risk anything that shouldn’t
matter. Just tap him. In the words of the great Chubs
Peterson…Just tap it in. Hit them so lightly, commit so
little, that it feels like you’re poking their shoulder to get
their attention. It doesn’t matter. If they aren’t throwing
and you’re touching them, you win the fight. They know
this. So they can either decide to just give up the bout, or
risk attacking. Problem solved.

If this is one of your Themes, try adding some or

all of these tactics to your Exchange Patterns.

Speed and Power

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 The important way to make use of your speed and
power is to pair them well with other Themes. If all you
do is rely on them on their own you, then will lose once
you get to a high enough level. So understanding how
they work with the other control factors is the key. The
best thing you can do is look at the tactics listed in the
other Control Points and figure out which of them you are
able to use to capitalize on this strengths. Think about
which tactics form the Themes would best pair with
insane speed or power.
A pressure fighter who relies on power will be very
different from one that relies on speed. For the fighter
with the themes of Pressure/Pace and Power, they may
want to constantly feint and throw light attacks that set
up their power strikes. They will control the opponent and
work them into a state of panic through intimidation and
the constant risk of a one shot knockout.
A pressure fighter who relies on speed may use the
sheer output of their punches to dominate, throwing rapid
fire combinations at a speed their opponent can’t keep
up with. Even if they lack power, enough strikes can get
through to add up over time.
A pressure fighter who has both speed and power
is called a Manny Pacquiao. And he does use both of
these tactics.
One more example. Let’s look at how the themes
of Power and Speed might pair differently with the
Theme of Counter Striking. A counter striker who relies
on their speed, like Roy Jones Jr did, will likely put
themselves into vulnerable positions. This way they can
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draw attacks and use their superior speed to counter
them.
A counter striker with a Theme of power might, on
the other hand, might risk eating a jab to land with
something much harder. This would be someone like
Rodtang.
There are big downsides to relying on either of
these tactics. Those rely on their speed will usually lose
it and not know that fact until they get knocked out. This
can make it seem like a great fighter lost all of their skills
all at once. The reality is that they lost maybe five percent
of their speed over the last three fights, but that ended
up making the different of half an inch. And that half an
inch got them knocked out. So if you are going to use
speed, limit your risks or retire before your body stops
working the same way it used to.
For those who rely on tanking shots to give one
back, they suffer a worse fate. Their chins just go one
day, and then a light breeze can knock them out. That’s
why it’s a terrible idea to up the risk of taking a blow to
the head to try and give a harder one back. Instead tank
the shot on a well-developed guard.
If you don’t have enough speed or power to make
either of these your themes, never fear. There are plenty
of ways to shut down an opponent who relies on their
speed or power to win.

Shutting Down An Opponent’s Speed – The way to

shut down a speedy opponent is to take them out of their
ideal range. These fighters need a lot of balance to
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explode forward with one shot, as well as to plant down
and fire off lightning fast combinations. If they have to
reach to far or if you smother their work up close, then
their game plan falls apart. You can wrestle them or dart
from side to side, but either way they won’t be able to get
off their attacks. You can also mix in huge power attacks
from time to time, so that even if they get one or two quick
strikes off they still absorb a big impact. This won’t be
worth it for them most of the time.
As will those who rely on their gas tank, you can
hurt those who rely on speed by targeting their legs and
torso.

Shutting Down An Opponent’s Power –Against those

who rely on power striking, it’s best to interrupt their
attacks and off balance them. They will be trying to
manage a lot of built up energy and momentum, so give
them a little push in the wrong direction and they’ll
become exhausted over time. Throw them off course far
enough and they’ll become vulnerable. But how do you
achieve this? After all, they’re coming at you with fight
ending strikes. You need something you can count on.
It’s not enough to fight these monsters in the usual
way. Even if you land a shot as they throw, you need to
make sure they don’t hit you too. It does not good if your
jab lands but their overhand slams into your chin right
after.
So, you have to make them miss bad, absorb their
best strikes on your guard, or out wrestle them. Those
are the best solutions. Make them miss with quick, well
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timed footwork and head movement. Or eat their shots
by reinforcing your guard. For punches, you can treat
them like kicks. Parry them with one arm and reinforce
that with a block from the other. Or you can smother them
with clinching. If they’re knee experts this can still work,
you just need to time their knees to trip them or throw
uppercuts or elbows. Feinting as they set their weight
can also be very effective with a lot of power strikers. Or
target their calf as they step in heavy.

Take some time to consider how this Control

Factor works with your Exchange Sequences, and if
there are any ways you can improve or alter your
patterns to enhance their effectiveness.

Specializing

If you want to specialize in a specific aspect, like

punching or knees or clinching against the cage, then
you should probably have some kind of physical
advantage that ensure you are better than your
competitor in your chosen area of expertise. But more
than anything it is the time you will put into training these
tactics (that your opponent does not) that will help you.
You should not only be more conditioned
physically to fighting there, however. You should also
have a much larger vocabulary of offensive and
defensive moves. While your opponent is able to get the

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ball in the hoop with simply shots you should be able to
dunk with elaborate set ups. If most opponent’s know two
ways to set up an attack, then you should know seven.
This is where you put your time and effort. Figure
out what the average fighter knows. I’m serious. Actually
count how many tactics in that area most pros use. Then
study a specialist in that area and count how many they
use.
This will include set ups and positioning, not only
different kinds of strikes or grappling. Make it a goal to
study the best and find competent coaches in your
chosen field. Make it a goal to get your offensive
vocabulary as big as theirs. Build your repertoire until
you are a complete and total expert in this one area of
fighting. And of course, find ways to keep your ideal
distance and negate any common defenses against your
specialty.

Take some time to consider how this Control

Factor works with your Exchange Sequences, and if
there are any ways you can improve or alter your
patterns to enhance their effectiveness. Then create as
many new Exchange Sequences as you can in the area
you have chosen to specialize in. Over time, narrow
down the ones that work the best in practice.

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Now The Journey Begins
Creating New Exchange Patterns & Combinations

Now that you have thoroughly considered the

mechanics of your style and understand how those tie
into your themes, create some additional combinations
and setups that build on those strengths. Go back to the
chapter on exchanges and improve on them. Create new
ones for every important scenario. Drill them with your
coaches or on the bag and then test them out in sparring.
Build a style that works for you. You will be looking to
incorporate tactics from the specific Themes you have
chosen ,paring those with your Primary Weapons.

The Concepts of Chunking and Linking

Chunking is a psychology term that has to do with

taking small individual pieces of information and
remembering them as one whole. What does this have
to do with anything? Well, over time the Exchange
Patterns you learn will become “chunked”. Whereas at
first you would have had to practice each step and
element, from changing head positions to which way to
step to which combo to throw and what angle to step
away at, now you can perform these actions instinctually,
without a second thought.
The real magic happens with “linking.” This is the
term we’ll use for when you start to blend these patterns
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into each other, using one smoothly right after the other.
The Sequence you have for escaping the ropes can
suddenly turn into a Primary Attack sequence when you
notice an opening. Or a Countering Sequence lets you
rock your opponent, so you immediately move into a
Sequence for cutting off the ring without any conscience
though.
This is the ebb and flow of battle, and you will
control it because you have diligently practiced your
response for every important scenario. Rather than the
ring being a complex maze full of unknown pathways,
you will see the whole of everything before you,
stretching out all the way to the horizon. New possibilities
will present themselves, ways to express your own
unique creativity. You will have the artistic, free flowing
movement you have always wanted because you earned
it through practicality and practice. Because you
understand the why of everything, you can alter the how.
Through creating a system, you have learned the
rules. Through learning the rules you have gained the
ability to break them. Through chaining yourself to
tradition, now you are truly free to do as you wish. Now
there is no style, only you.

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In Conclusion
Happy training.

Hey, David here, thanks for reading!

Do you have any suggestions or questions? Feel

free to email me at [email protected]. I would like
this book to be as helpful and thorough as possible! If
your suggestion makes it in I can send you a free E-Book
copy with the update included.

If you liked this book and found it helpful, please

leave a review on Amazon! It really does help.

My YouTube Channel is named The Modern

Martial Artist, and it can be a great resource for anything
you’d like to go further into or for looking into the styles
of your favorite fighters.

If you want to chat some time, you can find me on

Discord on TMMA.

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