The Five Elements of Combat

In any combat situation, there are five key elements that must be understood and utilized correctly to succeed. They are:

1. Distance
2. Timing
3. Relationship
4. Intent
5. Intuition

Of course, there is a sixth: Luck. But you have no control over it, so we won’t bother discussing it. Chances are, however, if you fully understand and can implement the five topics we will discuss here, luck will somehow be on your side. The first three of these – Distance, Timing, and Relationship – are finite and bound to the physical arena. The last two – Intent and Intuition – are abstract and even metaphysical topics that deal with the mind and spirit of the practitioner.

It is understood that specific techniques and principles must be applied within the scope of a combative situation – and these elements discussed here are universal in their applicability to whatever technique or principle is used.

Distance

Knowing what you can and cannot do – and what your opponent can and cannot do – given the various ranges of combat is extremely important. Bruce Lee taught the “ranges of combat” as a key component of his JKD. Any martial art training must include this element within its curriculum and teaching methodology.

Weapons are a great training mechanism for understanding distance. Let’s face it – very few of us will ever have to use weapons in a self-defense situation. But the use of weapons in training is invaluable for many reasons – understanding body mechanics, proper use of internal force, overall body-mind coordination, footwork – and of course, knowing how to use distance in any confrontation. The extra distances involved, and the heightened awareness of the situation that a weapon introduces are excellent training tools. Prolonged training with weapons builds increased mobility, perception and sensitivity. It also has the psychological advantage of bolstering confidence and reducing fear.

If someone is coming at you with a stick, blade, etc. – you need to know where the safe distances are. In the case of a stick, you want to be either a) outside the arc range of the swing of the stick, or b) out of the linear path of the swing of the stick or, c) in tight to the arc swing of the stick. Being in tight means you will receive a much less forceful strike from the stick (assuming you do get hit) based on physics, centrifugal force and velocity. Being in tight also allows you to neutralize and disarm the weapon, as well as using the opponent’s force against him. The only way to build this type of understanding is to train with weapons.

At the extreme edge of this element is projectile weapons. The concept of distance applies equally well in these scenarios. Different weapons have different ranges and application of this knowledge can be the determining factor in life-or-death situations. With weapons, however, the elements of relationship and intent are perhaps more important. The one comment on distance and weapons that is important to understand is close-distance; in this context close-distance means within arm’s length. At this distance with a projectile weapon (i.e. a gun), if a committed move is made against the aggressor with the gun, the aggressor will not have time to react quickly enough to counter. This has been demonstrated many times. Not saying this is a situation you would want to be in, but if you ever are, it would be good to have trained in this scenario so you have the option available to you – if necessary.

From an empty hands perspective and taking a simplistic view of things, if you are locked up with someone in a grappling situation, you obviously cannot land a decent punch and certainly not a kick – unless you change your distance to your opponent. (Yes, I know there are always exceptions).

And knowing what range works best for you – or works best against your opponent – is equally important. If your opponent is a big, muscular bear – unless you are bigger and stronger – you probably don’t want to get locked up with him at very close range; you want to maintain your distance and use your speed or gain a tactical advantage (that’s where relationship becomes important). Again – a simple example to express in words – but maybe not so easy to apply in real life. Which is why you train and train and train. The point is to train until you have an instinctual awareness of your distance relationships and can flow from one range to another effectively as each scenario dictates.

Timing

Timing deals with speed – but not always as a measure of raw speed from point A to B. I have seen many martial artists who are very fast, but their timing is not good. Timing requires speed in the form of reaction and initiative. Correct timing means knowing exactly when and where the optimal point of intersection should be when you are under attack and when you launch your counterattack. Having very fast hands and feet is good – but having exceptional timing in the placement of your strikes and other maneuvers is better. Timing can also be about patience and choosing the proper time for a proper technique. And this “choosing” is not so much a cognitive process as it is an instinctive reaction – this instinctive reaction being the result of prolonged training and heightened awareness.

To use an analogy from competitive sports: there is a reason that most of the young and talented players in sports such as basketball and football take several years to develop into real star athletes. In many cases their raw speed may be a hair slower when compared to their rookie year, but they have developed outstanding timing. This is why raw speed in and of itself is not the only factor when discussing timing. To continue the analogy – it is also why older veterans who have clearly slowed down compared to their earlier years are still extremely effective players – i.e. they have mastered the application of timing in their position. Yes, there are other ingredients that go into this equation besides timing, but timing is a huge one. I hope the analogy works.

Timing also applies to rhythm. A smooth flowing rhythm can be either desired or not desired depending on each unique situation. As a general rule, when in a defensive maneuver, a smooth rhythm is often desired – in an offensive or attack maneuver a broken rhythm is often desired. This is, of course, just a generalization to illustrate a point. The converse of these statements can be equally true for each unique individual and situation.

In summary, proper use of timing and rhythm is a huge asset to any martial artist. Study and practice this topic thoroughly.

Relationship

This is perhaps the most important element of the five, from a physical/tactical perspective. When I say relationship, I am referring to the relationship between you and your opponent: stance, attitude, relative positioning, etc. It also refers to the optimal relationship you want to attain to neutralize the opponent. If the opponent does “X” – what is your response to give you the best tactical advantage – i.e. gaining a superior relationship to your opponent. How do you maintain or shift your relationship if you cannot obtain the initial tactical advantage – or if you gain the initial advantage, how to ensure you don’t lose it? While this sounds basic and simple it is anything but. Most martial arts teach a toe-to-toe attitude that doesn’t make sense to me. I would much rather find myself at my opponent’s shoulder at a perpendicular aspect to him, or even behind him. That’s good for me, and not good for him. Gaining the superior tactical position is what it’s all about. The longer you keep in front of your opponent, the more opportunity you give him to cause you damage.

Intent

This is a much more abstract element compared to the first three, but is no less important. In fact, it is probably more important. You must be mentally, emotionally and spiritually capable of engaging an opponent with the correct amount of force to keep yourself or your loved ones safe. We have often heard the phrase “Do only what is necessary to defend yourself” – implying one should not use excessive force when defending yourself or ensuring that the response equals the threat. But the flip side of this is equally important: “Do not do less than what is necessary”. There must be a balance between what is excessive and what is sufficient for each encounter. Focusing too much on only doing “what is enough” can foster an attitude of defeat and hesitancy when a real-life encounter is manifest. Training must include extreme examples of defending ourselves, all the way up to severe injury or even death of our attacker. If he is trying to kill you or a loved one, you must respond correctly when “what is enough” isn’t. This is not a pleasant topic to discuss, but it would be much less pleasant than the feeling you would carry with you if you did not respond with correct measure in a confrontation you could have prevented. And please do not confuse Intent with Aggression. They are very different topics and I whole-heartedly reject aggression as a tool to be used in conflict scenarios. Aggression leads to poor decision-making, lack of focus, loss of control, and an inability to endure a stressful situation over time. Those schools that encourage a heightening of aggression are doing their students a huge disservice as well as potentially injuring their psyche and giving them a false sense of security.

Intent also applies to actual delivery of techniques. It is the manifest form of your will and spirit when applying a particular technique. If your will is strong and clear, your intent will be pure and the technique performed as best it can be in the situation at hand. If your will is weak or clouded, so too will the technique.

Intuition

Clearly, this is the most abstract of the five. Intuition can only be attained through a refining of the spirit. Most often this is the result of intense and honest training over years. Some have a natural intuition, however, because they have a pure spirit or they have a gift. Advanced internal martial artists say intuition is the manifest (if un-seeable) ability to feel and read your opponent’s energy field (aura, etheric body, etc.) so that you know what he will do before, or as he is doing it – allowing you to respond correctly. The Japanese call thisharagei. This may seem like hocus-pocus to many martial artists, but it is a truth. It takes time and effort to develop this level of skill, however – as well as access to a teacher who is able and willing to teach you. But it does exist, at least in this author’s opinion. The reason there is such little exposure of this type of skill is manifold: a) those adepts who attain this level of skill are usually quite advanced spiritual beings and are not concerned with matters of the ego and may not desire to teach these skills. b) It usually takes a significant amount of time and dedication to develop intuition to a high degree of skill, and the practitioner will encounter many failures along the way. It takes a robust and dedicated student to attain mastery of this skill. c) Lastly – not everyone has the ability to develop this type of skill. Just as in genetics of the physical body – some are more gifted than others in areas of strength, flexibility, endurance, etc. Sure, a dedicated student can vastly improve his strength, flexibility, etc. with rigorous training, but he/she will only be able to go to the limits of his/her genetic capabilities. Example: I could train as hard as I possibly could for years and years and I would never equal Bruce Lee’s speed, or Arnorld’s strength, or or or… I think you get the point. The same condition applies to the intuition. Not everyone can develop intuition to an exceptionally high level – but that doesn’t mean one should not develop it as far as possible. This is also the reason many people doubt true intuition – if they cannot experience it, it must not exist. Well, for this author, I can clearly say intuition is a real thing and it works – and you can train and enhance it to your personal maximum potential.

Summary

Any written description of a training philosophy is difficult to fully absorb. Martial arts training must be experiential. However, the intent of discussing these topics in a written format is to introduce or further refine the methodology of training by presenting new ideas and perspectives that the practitioner can add to his/her studies.

Acknowledgements

The discussion on “Distance, Timing and Relationship” is inspired by James Williams, Sensei as well as borrowing from what Bruce Lee taught concerning ranges and rhythm as I learned it through Sifu Dan Inosanto and Sifu Jeff Jones. The topic of “Intent” was born after attending numerous seminars with Sifu Francis Fong.  The topic of “Intuition” is my own unique addition – based on my own personal experiences in martial arts training and real-life conflict scenarios.