The Game-Plan...
a smart way to win.
A few weeks ago I shared this video of Lerdsila Chumpairtour generally being one of the greatest strikers to ever live.
His awesomeness is truly staggering.
...which sorta prompts the question: "How the heck do you beat a guy like this?"
Well the most satisfying way to win is to outsmart your opponent; thus winning the fist-based chess match with the remarkable power of your brain.
It's certainly nobler than having one of your friends crawl up behind the guy so you can push him over into a bush and then kick him a bunch of times while he flails amidst the leaves.
Gabriel Varga acknowledged that there would be no available bushes in the K-1 World Grand Prix, but he crafted a brilliant game-plan... in order to beat one of the best strikers in the world.
If you're a competitive fighter, that is how you do it.
But most of us aren't. As such, we won't have months of prep time and hours of footage to pour through. Some dude will just grab your girlfriend's butt at the bar and off you go... with no information other than the quality of his outfit.
As such, your Game Plan must be created on the fly!
The way I see it, you have two choices:
1. TAKE YOUR TIME in the fight, and try to identify your opponent's tendencies. Start by establishing your jab... how does he try to counter it? When he throws a punch, which hand does he throw?
How can you take advantage of this information?
Smart fighters don't just rush in for a knockout because they can dramatically improve their odds of winning just by obtaining some basic information.
Acknowledging and countering tendencies is arguably the easiest was to outsmart your opponent on the fly.
2. Prepare for the situation that you're LIKELY to face.
If you're a smaller guy, it's smart to have counters for the common weapons of a larger opponent.
If you live in the UK, it can't hurt to have a solid anti-knife strategy.
If you're afraid of multiple people stomping on your head, build a damn strategy for multiple attackers.
If you can't train to fight a specific opponent, train to fight a likely opponent.
But no matter what... TRAIN.
And pull some of the methods from this video to incorporate into your style.
It's a good one.
Have a fantastic weekend.
-Trav