COMBAT  PRINCIPLES

Regardless of your personal style there are basic principles of combat that hold true throughout.

The Filipinos realized through combat that there are a limited number of angles from which to attack, they broke it down to 12 angles or abakadas.

You are also limited to the number of bodily weapons you carry be it the use of feet, legs, knees, elbows, hands, even the head, (as a striking weapon).

There are 4 ranges in fighting from kicking to punching to trapping to grappling (ground fighting). An experienced fighter can flow from range to range effectively and efficiently using the various bodily weapons he may possess.

There are also different types of attack such as single direct or single angulated attack; progressive indirect attack; attack by combination; attack by drawing, and limb immobilization.

So from this information we derive four basic principles of combat, they are as follows:

1. Fighting range.
2. Weapon employed in attack, be it bodily or otherwise.
3. Angle(s) of the attack.
4. Type of attack.

These are the basic truths of all fighting. Some systems only use a limited number of these principles.

For example let’s examine Boxing:

1. Fighting range: punching
2. Weapons employed: hands in the form of punching
3. Angle(s) of attack:1-7
4. Type of attack :all types

Now you can understand how a fighting art is broken down into its basic components, but there are other variables involved as well.

These variables such as fighting environment, weather conditions, number of opponents, and the severity of the situation.

Strategy is simply how you use these principles in combat. Experience will also influence and evolve your strategy.

Above all, the desire to stay alive is the best strategy to employ.