Best distance closing technique?

Question

What technique/strike is your favourite to close the initial gap or distance in a fight?

Mine would be a side push kick to the knee and the move in and strike to the face or body.

And much as I love waiting for the opponent to come close so I can counter of apply a lock or break I mean where your only option is fighting but you have to bridge the fighting distance and inflict as damagae

Answer 1

A stiff jab or a leg kick is usually the easiest. But I always prefer to wait for em to come to me as opposed to charging at em. But in a real life self defense situation, I'd be more likely to try to put as much distance between me and my attacker as far as possible and run like hell the first chance I get.

Answer 2

Throwing a simple hand combination typically freezes an opponent for my level change and takedown, or my clinch with knees & quick elbows/dirty boxing. A jab-cross combo sometimes is all it takes. If the opponent tries to use tai sabaki (body movement) I'll keep throwing jabs until he stops to engage then I can use any infighting technique I want.
This is the best technique I have found that works. It works because it's simple and simple is usually fast and efficient.
(I can't wait to read the magical methods others dream up to close the distance!)

Answer 3

Let them close the distance. Doing it on your own unless absolutely necessary forces you to expend energy and strength that could make the difference later on in the battle. If they refuse to come to you after a while, chances are they don't want to fight that badly, and you should consider yourself lucky that you didn't have to hurt someone else.

If that's not an option, just close the distance rather than worry about how. It'll vary from fighter to fighter anyway, so theorizing about the best way to do so is pointless. Unless you're protecting someone else, they should be the one coming to you, not the other way around... Unless you're picking a fight, and in that case you're just a brawler and shouldn't be concerned with the etiquette of fighting.

Answer 4

All depends on your rules.

In general, jab.

Generally kicking without setting it up is a bad idea, leaves you open to a takedown and is not likely to land anyways. Especially side kicks, the risk of someone ending p behind you or kicking your supporting leg right out just don't make them worth it.

Answer 5

When I read your question the first thing I thought of was closing the distance between opponents in a tournament.
Like the sliding side kick.
It can "gulp up" five feet of gap or more when done well.

Answer 6

One of the best (and most powerful) closing techniques would be a step-behind side kick (any target from shin, to knee, to chest, to head, whatever) for on the street, or a nice flying tornado kick that you can follow up with a hook kick for compitition.
Your legs have more power and more reach than your arms, and probably his arms too (unless he's chewbacca or my instructor >_<)

Answer 7

I've never taken any kind of martial arts, but I just charge the person, grab his thighs, tackle him, and then just ground pound his ***. Punch/elbow him in the face and knee him in the side of his stomach or in his armpits (when his arms are back that hurts a lot).

Answer 8

any sort of leaping attack. And when i say "leap" i dont mean like a cheetah, i mean taking a huge stride and barely coming off the ground, followed up with some hand techniques, or you can always take the grappling approach and go in for a double-leg takedown

Answer 9

Fearlessness.

Answer 10

Front snap kick to the groin.