#1. Be first to attack and make your response overwhelming.

Be first with something that works, and make it work to end the fight; not to just get the other guy mad. This does not mean you start the Fight. I would never advocate any one starting a fight, and I will not allow my students to continue training with me if they “started fights”. But it does mean that if you are forced into a fight, you had better be the first one to do something that works. Please let me explain.

You need to be aware when you are about to be in a fight and that means you need to be prepared to “block and counter” the first attack. You must let the other guy strike first, or try to strike first. You do not make the first attack, but you block and counter the first attack. When the other guy makes the first move it is not enough for you to just block the punch or kick and then “square up” in a boxing or karate stance and say “let’s go”. No, the last thing you want to do is be in a long fight or even a short fight where the other guy gets to do exchange after exchange with you. When you block the first attack, your response must me one that works and finishes the fight.

If the attacker throws a haymaker right it is not enough to just block it. You need to block it and hit him at least 5 times and kick him at least 3 times. You must always make your responses in multiples of 3 or 5. Don’t do One Step responses…where you bock and do a counter punch. Do combinations and do them to vital areas that will stop the other guy from continuing the fight or wanting to continue the fight.

When I train my students to fight I let one guy attack with one move and then they respond with 3 to 5 things that will absolutely stop the attack and end the fight. They don’t respond with a weak point kick or lunge punch. They respond with a series of kicks and punches, all at vital areas and all with devastating effect. It never works to end a fight by countering the first attack with “one punch or one kick”. You have to use combinations. You have to overwhelm the attacker and stop him.

This “overwhelming response” is the tactic that is used most effectively in the military, especially by the Marine and the Navy Seals. When the enemy attacks a Seal unit and fire a single shot, before you can begin to try to fire another or continue their firing, the Seals team is taught to respond with overwhelming force. They will lay down return fire at 7 or 8 to one. They will create such a fierce and powerful response that the enemy is killed, withdraws or is forced to stop their attack.

Remember in the initial attack of the US on Iran; the Generals all said that the enemy resistance would be meet with “shock and awe”. They went on to explain what that meant. It meant that when the US response began it would be so ferocious, so overwhelming, so powerful that the enemy would respond with “shock and awe”. The enemy would be in shock. They would be in awe of the response of the US military. They would have no chance to respond in any effective manner. And that is exactly what happened, the US military weren’t kidding. The US attack was so powerful and overwhelming that we defeated the 4^th largest army in the World in 2 weeks after the press told us it would take 2 years.

You need to use the same “shock and awe” as your first response in a fight. The first movement of attack the opponent makes will be his last. You must respond with overwhelming power and furiousness. Master Tim Kirby in Dallas is a great example of that kind of response. When he fights and when he trains his students to fight in tournament or in the street, he always has them begin with match with the intention of ending it as quickly as possible. Master Kirby and his students will attack for 30 send to 2 minutes without stopping. He will punch and kick (he does not do jiu jitsu) so furiously that his opponent is overwhelmed and the fight or match is often over in the first minute. His students have to be in great shape and have great techniques, and they do.

You have to use the same type of response in a fight. Make the attacker first move his last. You can win any fight if you follow the first rule. Make your response to his attack overwhelming and do it with the intention of ending the fight immediately. You don’t want this to be a “boxing match” or “sparring match”. You want the fight to be a disaster for the attacker.