How to Read a Potential Combat Situation

Learning the martial arts doesn't only teach you how to better understand your own body, it helps you to understand both your environment and your situation. A good martial artist is always keen on the situation he's in, and being able to read things like body language and the lay of the land will help you if you ever end up in a pickle. Of course, it's always best to use prevention to avoid a fight, but you will want to be aware of your surroundings in a potential combat situation. Here are a few quick tips.

Find an escape route. Maybe you don't like to think of yourself as the type of person to run, but having an escape route can be necessary to your survival. Especially if you're not in a fair fight to begin with. Survey your surroundings so you know where to make a quick getaway if necessary, especially in potential trouble areas like rowdy bars and alleys. You'll also want to get out of sight as fast as possible, not simply escape, so be sure you know how to do that, as well.

Read peoples' body language. You should be able to read body language to the point where you can start to intuitively feel peoples' inner attitudes and emotions. If you start to perceive a threat from someone else, or know if someone is watching you, it will help you trigger your inner "alert" and let you know that you might need to get ready for a combat situation. Reading body language will also help you better understanding logistics, such as by seeing where your enemy looks - he might tip you off to the presence of a few of his allies.

Know your blind spots. When you're driving on the highway, you know where your blind spot is. But if you enter a new area, you don't really know, so you'll want to check. It's good to know the situation, but if you have a few blind spots, that means you face the unknown. As a general rule, it's usually a good idea to try and have as few blind spots as possible. If you do have them, be aware of where they are so that you can check them in a hurry if need be.

Reading a combat situation means that you should be shrewd. Know when the odds are stacked against you, read the logistics, and keep your emotions out of play. The better you understand the situation, the better chance of survival you'll have.

Photo Credits: SarahCartwright

This post involves:

allies, blind spot, blind spots, combat situation, emotions, escape route, fair fight, hurry, inner attitudes, logistics, martial artist, Martial Arts, out of sight, pickle, potential trouble, prevention, quick getaway, reading body language, surroundings, trouble areas

... and focuses on:

Attack, Combat, Defend, Martial Arts

Posted by Martial Arts Karate Kung Fu on January 12, 2010 in Attack, Combat, Defend, Martial Arts. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.