Distance kept in a fight is a relative phenomenon. In fact, how far we stand from others under any circumstance (boxing, stick-fighting, Muay Thai, etc), is a relative concept. Generally speaking, those who we are friends with, we [naturally] stand closer to than those we don't know. Animals experience similar instincts, emotions, and behavioral patterns as us humans.
It is common knowledge that the more we develop our skills the more confident we feel about them, thus impacting our instinctual-decision-making when it comes to distancing and range control.
Each range, whether we are speaking of kicking, boxing, clinching, and grappling, as well as all of our ranges with weapons, unitedly signify various, but overlapping units of distance------each constituting its own set of skills.
Confidence gained through developing those skills greatly contributes to how [close] we best feel standing in relationship to another fighter instinctually and realistically.
What we are saying here is backed by evidence. Take for example Mr. Vasyl Anatoliyovich Lomachenko----- the man feels quite confident in boxing range and that's why he can stand so close to another fighter and even with his hands down or anywhere he can evade and counter-punch easily and efficiently any angle of attack. Mr. Lomachenko is not the only one: The great Muhammad Ali, marvelous fighters such as Sugar Ray Charles Leonard, Mr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr, and numerous other fighters who share the same point we are emphasizing in this article. Similar points can be stressed in the other sports such as Fencing (foil, épée, sabre), Muay Thai, and so on. There is absolutely a universal principle that runs through all living phenomenon and that's what we emphasize here with our students and trainers at Phoenix JKD. Therefore, the distance a person holds in a fight is in fact relative to not only one's own personal confidence in certain set of skills one has developed, but is also relative to the skills of the person, one is faced with. This confidence and correlation directly effects instinct and decision-making in a fight.
So focus on skills-development first, and don't be in too much of a hurry with the totality of a fight first. It's like a person who wants to become a medical doctor or a pilot or an aerospace engineer, you cannot rush it my friend! There are numerous, both simple and complex stages of learning and developments that you must go through! Similarly, a fighter must understand distancing which has many many facets that you must learn stage by stage. During those processes, he or she, then would be compelled to tap into a sort of primitive and pure instinct in keeping distances-----and with instinct, the individual would eventually sense and come into terms with the concept and significance of [purpose], and with purpose------a solid philosophy would be born, which is quite universal in its nature and scope.......
SHAHRAM MOOSAVI
480-489-7202
Photo: Vasyl Lomachenko demolishing Miguel Marriaga