Read your opponent: how to identify thin stories and reasons during a struggle

Becoming a great fighter in martial arts requires more of strength, speed or resistance: you must also be intelligent. While most martial artists are generally not considered the most brain members of society, there are clear signs of how vital intelligence is dominating at the highest levels of combat sport.

Learning to read your opponents gives you a remarkable advantage in combat, often leaving the opponents frustrated while asking if you have psychic powers. It is one of those skills you need to master if you plan to compete professionally. A key for this is to sight and reasons during the fighting. Here is a step-by-step break of how to refine your ability to predict the movements and take advantage of the openings they create:

Tuned to opponents

You have to learn to pay attention to everything your opponents do during fighting, not only their strikes, but also their posture and their body language. A struggle is like a game of poker and the body language of your opponent can be the ace that wins your pot. The trick to master how to read opponents is learning to mix through the noise. Expert opponents will always try to use a fake body language to attract you in traps, so you don’t want to react to everything they do.

1) Look at their hands and their feet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt25-sghnua

The hands and feet are where the action begins during the fighting, so pay attention to them. If your opponent lowers one of their hands, this could mean an incoming strike. For example, inexperienced boxers sometimes drop their back hand before launching crosses, while a Thai fighter Muay who protrudes backwards could be prepared to launch a scream.

In addition, pay attention to the positioning of your opponents’ feet, in particular as regards the central line. An opponent who moves from the central line could be anxious for a blow of power. A fighter’s feet are often their noisier.

2) Study their breath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oivn8-uxs68

What does this have to do with it, you ask yourself? The effort appears in a person’s breathing models before influencing their production. Heavy breathing could be a signal to increase you the pressure and overwhelm the opponent with a quick pace.

Some fighters also have the terrible habit of holding their breath as they prepare to launch a combination. Pay them for this by telling from the central line and landing hard counters.

3) Note their favorite combos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le_2kfrgsrk

Each fighter has their reference combination, so learn to identify these schemes at the beginning during competitions. Do not react only to your opponent’s favorite techniques once noticed a scheme; Instead, use that knowledge to set the traps by attracting them in the use of the same combinations again and exploit the openings created.

Understand their strategy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io33pojrwu4

Once you learned to identify some stories, the next step is to understand how to capitalize on them.

1) Determine their strengths

Each fighter wants to play their strengths, so they use that knowledge to stop their game plans. Are you facing an sending specialist in an MMA event? There is a good chance that their game plan is to get down and end.

Find the models in their abatement approach and use it to keep you out of their reach.

2) Identify their weaknesses

Most fighters have weaknesses that can be easily identified, so pay attention to the things they fight during your game. For example, your opponent could make his hands fall every time they launch a lead hook. You can capitalize that weakness by lowering under the hook and responding with another hook. This is what the light world champion of the WBA Gervonta “Tank” Davis did to Ryan Garcia during their advertising meeting.

3) suitable for their adjustments

One of the most significant attributes that separate the best fighters is their ability to adapt half a fight. Floyd Mayweather is one of the best examples of this. While his 50-0 professional boxing record could deceive you in thinking that he has not faced many adversities within the ring, he could not be further away from the truth.

Fighters like Shane Mosley and Marcos Maidana have been able to exploit the weaknesses in the apparently impregnable defense of Mayweather and land hard blows that would have left the unconscious fighters. The problem for these guys was that they could only land these clean and hard punches once while Mayweather instantly fixed any weakness brought to the openings.

The good fighters adapt to the middle of the fight, so don’t expect to be able to exploit a weakness all night. For example, your opponent could start checking the kicks of the legs after getting some powerful.

The use says to take control

Use everything you learned by reading your opponent as a book to transform the momentum of combat in your favor. The trust is crucial here, so trust your observations and engaged in your counters.

1) Test the waters with the fake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktufqrhzvsi

The fake are a useful tool for evaluating reactions during the fighting. For example, you can pretend a jab to see how your opponent reacts. If they move their hand forward to parry, this leaves the side of their hand that spoke to the hooks.

The fake also help to mask your real intentions, making it more difficult for opponents to read your schemes.

2) capitalize on predictability

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7PCL6_LX-I

Use models to your advantage once identified. Remember, you cannot always exploit them for the rest of the competition. For example, an opponent who retires straight after exchanges often means that you can capture them with a long strike while moving away.

3) Keep calm under pressure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqgmozfffr_gm

Don’t panic when your opponent turns on the fire during the competitions. Staying calm allows you to see their stories even if you are overwhelmed. The chaos creates openings, then look for gaps in the defense of your opponent that you can take advantage of every time you come under pressure with the strikes.

Put everything together

Reading your opponent is like solving a puzzle during a fight. It requires strong observation skills, quick thought and trust to act on the information you have collected.

You can transform any matchup in your favor by recognizing the models of your opponent, decoding their strategy and exploiting their stories.

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