FIGHTING LARGER OPPONENTS
There are martial arts styles taught at Imperial Combat Arts that are designed for smaller people, specifically to fight larger opponents. People often ask the questions; How can someone fight an opponent bigger and stronger than themselves? How important is size in a fight? What kind of techniques would I use against a larger martial artist?
Many martial artists are often quick to answer this question, especially to females, with the like of "you simply cannot fight someone bigger than you, run away, or use a weapon". Though this is relevant, and often good advise, it's important to understand that many of these people are themselves not large heavyweights with 200 pound grips, and so by default they're saying they themselves could not win against significantly larger men, yet they're often not so quick to say that. Furthermore if one is fighting multiple opponents you are almost always significantly outweighed. With that said it is absolutely possible to defeat a larger opponent in battle.
Many martial artists are often quick to answer this question, especially to females, with the like of "you simply cannot fight someone bigger than you, run away, or use a weapon". Though this is relevant, and often good advise, it's important to understand that many of these people are themselves not large heavyweights with 200 pound grips, and so by default they're saying they themselves could not win against significantly larger men, yet they're often not so quick to say that. Furthermore if one is fighting multiple opponents you are almost always significantly outweighed. With that said it is absolutely possible to defeat a larger opponent in battle.
SMALL BUT NOT WEAK
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First off just because someone is small in stature does not mean they cannot be strong for their size. The female Instructors at Imperial Combat Arts have trained their entire careers against mostly larger men. They can do even as much as 30 push-ups with these men on their backs, they can climb ropes with extra weight, and they train very hard for strength.
Master Cahala pictured top left at 5'1" tall. If one is not willing or able to strengthen up, they greatly diminish their potential. |
Someone fit may in fact be stronger than a larger person who is weak and untrained. Occasionally even very large stature men who apply at the school cannot do a single push up. However it's of vital important to also understand, that even with strength development, a smaller person will not be able to wrestle or outmuscle a larger and significantly stronger opponent. This is where the tactics, concepts, and techniques of fighting larger opponents begin and the increased strength of the smaller martial artist is crucial. Smaller people often have to work twice as hard for both strength, and for specialized technique.
The average height of an exhumed Viking Shieldmaiden is just over 5 feet or 1.5 meters tall.
STOPPING POWER
To be strong enough to be effective in unarmed combat a smaller person does not need to be excessively muscular, they do however need to be strong enough to negate opponents, with enough force behind their strikes. Where our most powerful warriors, with grips over 180pounds, may be able to tear out a throat with their bare hands, a smaller warrior must rely more on striking vital points. This is why an art like Leopard, that is designed to its core for smaller people, will instead strike the throat. All vital points have a measurable minimum of force required to effectively negate opponents, these levels are taught to students, and students measure their strength on strike force meters. We do not lie to students at Imperial Combat Arts, if you are too weak to negate opponents, we will make sure you know. It can take years of training to develop an array of fight stopping strikes that are predictable, measurable, and reliable.
There are no easy answers or magical techniques to defeat larger opponents, you must train hard.
TOUGHENING & CONDITIONING
It can take 100's of pounds of force to destroy vital points effectively, and less pounds to break your own hand.
While boxing gloves and wraps may protect you hands, they also diminish the solid bone of a bare handed strike, and serve little function in combat. There are several toughened hand weapons that a smaller person can master for battle, none of which can be formed with a glove on. It takes a lot of toughening and body condition to fight well in real scenarios without pulling your punches to protect the hand. Even the smallest Instructors at Imperial Combat Arts demonstrate the highest human levels of toughening and can generate more that enough power to end fights. Many hand weapons offer further reach and higher strikes than a fist.
While boxing gloves and wraps may protect you hands, they also diminish the solid bone of a bare handed strike, and serve little function in combat. There are several toughened hand weapons that a smaller person can master for battle, none of which can be formed with a glove on. It takes a lot of toughening and body condition to fight well in real scenarios without pulling your punches to protect the hand. Even the smallest Instructors at Imperial Combat Arts demonstrate the highest human levels of toughening and can generate more that enough power to end fights. Many hand weapons offer further reach and higher strikes than a fist.
Some Animal Styles have strikes hitting 1.5-2 feet overhead, with hundreds of pounds of force, designed to fight opponents with greater height.
REACH & HEIGHT
Shorter martial artists will have to contend with an opponent who has superior reach, power, and height. When striking upward one is fighting both gravity and a further increased reach, as upward strikes add even more distance to span. This is where specialized hand weapons and strikes become key, and important tenants of some of our arts. Animal Styles designed to fight larger opponents also kick more often, to destroy the legs. Consistent training and sparring with these techniques, against larger opponents, is key to developing these combat abilities. Like fighting with short swords vs. longer weapons there are many techniques and tactics to help bridge this distance when it comes to combat applications, also a key focus in our weapon training.
ANTI-GRAPPLING
Getting entangled in grappling with a significantly larger/stronger opponent, or multiple opponents, can be a big problem for the smaller force. Like a band of Guerilla's or Skirmishers evasion is key, yet while still causing damage to the enemy. Our arts that specialize in anti-grappling, have this built into their very core, in their stances, strikes, and weapons. Practitioners of these styles spend hours each week training and sparring against grappling styles, both our own combat styles, and against our members with Bjj and Wrestling backgrounds. These anti-grappling styles are full of tricky and deceptive techniques, feigns, and devastating combat attacks. There is also extensive combat training for if they are captures by grapplers.
SPARRING & SEGRATION
Our schools have never separated students for sparring, grappling, or any other aspect of training, by sex or size. All students are expected to engage all students. Our female Instructors have trained their entire careers against mostly larger men. Sparring and testing these arts that specialize in fighting larger opponents, against larger students, is crucial in giving smaller people the chance to test the effectiveness of these concepts and techniques against a resistant opponent. Sparring is not fighting however, it is still limited and controlled by various factors, and students are well prepared before they begin.
CROSS STYLE SPARRING
Many of Imperial Combat Arts Instructors and students have previous training as we prioritize advanced martial artists in our recruitment. Some of our Instructors/Students have years of training in Greco Roman Wrestling, Bjj, Jujitsu, Judo, Boxing, Muay Thai and several other styles, a couple have owned Jujitsu and Judo schools. With this experience available we routinely spar and grapple with our styles against these other styles. This has been the way since the 1960's. At Imperial Combat Arts there is no disrespect of other martial arts. Our students are taught to appreciate that there are tremendous martial artists and athletes in other styles.
"Many of our Instructors have extensive backgrounds in other arts such as Bjj, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and Boxing, and several were military trained including combat veterans. This previous training gives them good insight into the effectiveness of our arts, and can move them quicker through the beginner ranks."
COMBAT TECHNIQUES
Most training at Imperial Combat Arts is of course for combat and cannot be used in sparring. There is a reason these things are illegal to use in sports by U.S. or State law, and its not because they don't "work".
While sparring gives students the feel of aggressive confrontation, it is long proven sets and drills that allow them to make combat techniques work in the fray. This is the same approach for all military training from ancient times to today. You cannot practice combat techniques on a partner, you drill them, and if you can make them work in battle, you gain that combat experience.
While sparring gives students the feel of aggressive confrontation, it is long proven sets and drills that allow them to make combat techniques work in the fray. This is the same approach for all military training from ancient times to today. You cannot practice combat techniques on a partner, you drill them, and if you can make them work in battle, you gain that combat experience.
"Combat techniques from a strong, toughened, and well trained fighter are a far cry from the self defense moves taught to average people. Without the ability to truly negate an opponent, a self defense attack would likely just anger a strong aggressor." -Mang Taan
MULTIPLE OPPONENTS
Regardless of the size and strength of a fighter, when they face multiple opponents, they are almost always the smaller force. All the arts taught at Imperial Combat Arts, like the Wu Tang Arts and the 8 Animal System, were designed to fight multiple opponents. The same evasive maneuvers and anti-grappling permeate them all, though some styles specialize in the offensive side of grappling. Even if one is good at grappling, it should be a choice, and anti-grappling is always an important option. In some ways the same concepts that apply to fighting a larger man also apply to one man fighting two, or two vs. several, or a 100 vs. several hundred, and all the way to massive military operations.
WEAPON TRAINING
Weapons are a huge part of training at Imperial Combat Arts and allow for more lethality with less power. All traditional warriors fought with weapons, as do all soldiers today, and to not have one puts you at a huge disadvantage. Still today anyone seeking to cause you serious harm will likely use a weapon or improvise one.
Even in the age of firearms, melee weapons are ever present in violent confrontation, and are a priority focus. A persons size and strength are still significant factors in weapon training, as a smaller fighter will use smaller and lighter weapons than a strong man. Simply possessing a weapon in not the same as training and mastering the use of that weapon. Weapons styles taught at Imperial Combat Arts focus on the true mastery of weapons, and their interplay will all other types of fighters and weapons. Weapon retention, aggressive sparring, sets, and numerous techniques go into this study.
Even in the age of firearms, melee weapons are ever present in violent confrontation, and are a priority focus. A persons size and strength are still significant factors in weapon training, as a smaller fighter will use smaller and lighter weapons than a strong man. Simply possessing a weapon in not the same as training and mastering the use of that weapon. Weapons styles taught at Imperial Combat Arts focus on the true mastery of weapons, and their interplay will all other types of fighters and weapons. Weapon retention, aggressive sparring, sets, and numerous techniques go into this study.
ARTS FOR FIGHTING LARGER OPPONENTS
IMPERIAL LEOPARD KUNG FU
豹式功夫
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Imperial Leopard is fierce, fast, cunning, and deceptive. As a master of feigns and deception Leopard often goes unnoticed and underestimated until they unexpectedly unleash years of combat training and vital point attacks with fast and highly toughened hand and body weapons. Leopard is a master of ambush and hit-and-run guerrilla style combat tactics. The Leopard Kung Fu Hand Weapons are legendary and kill with one strike to the throat. Enter Page> Leopard Kung Fu
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IMPERIAL FALCON KUNG FU
隼式功夫
Imperial Falcon Kung Fu is an Eagle Claw Sub-Style for small build fighters that use more striking, and kicking, and not as much of the classic Eagle Claw Chin Na they may lack the power for. If Eagle Claw is half Tiger/Crane in Taoist energies, then Falcon is half Leopard/Crane. Imperial Falcon also trains the complex patterns of controls and striking used in Leopard Kung Fu and many prefer to Master the Ground-fighting art of Cantonese Dog over the Black Scorpion. Enter Page> Falcon Kung Fu
CANTON DOG KUNG FU
广州狗式功夫
Canton Dog Kung Fu is a ferocious street, and ground fighting style, with an evil reputation. Eye gouging, groin attacks, finger breaking, throat attacks, leg breaks, and even tearing off lips and ears are signature wounds from one quick, highly trained, Dog Kung Fu attack. This style, like all the animals arts, is savage and brutal for real life-and-death combat. These techniques aren't desperate self defense moves, but the highly toughened and powerful attacks of Martial Arts Masters. Enter Page> Dog Kung Fu
VIPER KUNG FU
绿毒蛇式功夫
Imperial Viper is a high-speed combat style that trains primarily striking and kicking. Viper specializes in toughened knuckle strikes, counter grappling, and fighting larger opponents. Viper style uses numerous complex and ever-changing patterns that have high percentage success in confusing and controlling opponents to open vital point strikes. Like all the Imperial Snake styles Viper toughens its hands and legs for years to weaponize its body for combat.