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SUPREME STRATEGY
Author: William Cheung
When it comes to hand-to-hand combat on the street, the key to ensuring your survival is having quick and decisive reflexes. In most circumstances, thinking is a luxury you will not have, for predators strike hard and fast and usually when you are at your weakest.
Therefore, any strategies or methods designed to help you protect yourself in an encounter must be ingrained at the reflex level. If the one you select is too complicated or unscientific, you will be buried forever under a mountain of fear and hesitation. For that reason, you must appeal directly to your subconscious mind whenever possible, thus shortening the transition from conscious thought to reflexive response.
In the spirit of Occam’s razor, the simplest solution is usually the best—especially when simple meets science in a state of perfect harmony.
When you give your mind and body a precise road map, you provide a set of definitive reference points for your reflexes to follow. The best way to do that involves using letters and numbers, which your subconscious mind absorbs more quickly than complex theories and principles. For years, practitioners of traditional wing chun kung fu have been privy to a simple system that sets the foundation for a versatile defensive network that operates at the speed of light.
Foundation
That system, called BOEC, requires neither tremendous speed nor great physical strength on your part. Instead, you rely on positioning to achieve the advantage over your attacker.
The principles of wing chun teach you to never fight force with force, which is what happens whenever you meet an opponent’s strength head-on. Therefore, your goal is to identify your attacker’s weakness and then instantly exploit it while he is committed to his attack.
To achieve the desired positioning, you must have a mobile and balanced stance that allows you to move into the right place at the right time. If your stance limits you by requiring you to lean on either leg, by definition it is unbalanced and you do not have the ability to move in any direction at any time (especially forward and sideways).
When employing the BOEC method, you should step in a ball-to-heel manner rather than a heel-to-ball manner. Allowing the ball of your foot to land first enables you to step smoothly while maximizing your balance and mobility. If your combat plans are interrupted, you will be able to push off and instantly adapt. If your heel strikes first, however, the rest of your foot must land before a new step can be initiated.
This method requires too much commitment to be of use in a strategic wing chun battle. The following explanation of the terms denoted by B, O, E and C should actually be considered a list of targets. Your eyes must actively and constantly search for them. The moment a target is recognized, you must seize it. At the same time, you should strive to ensure that these same elements do not become targets for your opponent to exploit.
‘B’ for Balance
It is no accident that balance is first on the list of targets. It is the foundation upon which everything else is built. If you chop down a tree, the limbs will fall with it.
You should capitalize on any signs of a lack of balance in your opponent. For example, consider his stance. If his weight is on his front foot, his forward mobility will be limited.
If his weight is on his rear foot, his ability to move backward will be impaired. Once you have trained your eyes to detect these indications, you will find the information quite valuable.
The BOEC method also teaches that every stance has a strong and weak angle associated with it. Even if the stance is “double-weighted” (50 percent of the weight on one foot and 50 percent on the other), an advantage can be gained from understanding the correct angle of approach. In general, the neutral stance is weakest from the front and back, and the front stance is weakest from the side.
Another balance-related weakness occurs when your opponent leads a movement with his upper body. In doing so, he allows his body to get ahead of his step. The dangers associated with that are not unlike those exploited by a lumberjack preparing to fell a tall tree with loads of high, heavy branches: Once the top is no longer aligned with the base, it is much easier to topple.
‘O’ for Opening
The term “opening” refers to any specific striking target on your opponent’s body, including his head, neck, sternum, ribs, groin and knees. The principle involved in this piece of BOEC strategy is simple: You can’t win while you are on the defensive. Therefore, as soon as your opponent attacks, you must shift the pressure back to him as quickly as possible.
Make him deal with your attacks so you don’t have to worry about his. You should endeavor to constantly attack any open targets you detect—even while you block—unless you have a specific reason to do something else.
If you have time to assess your opponent’s stance and guard position prior to his attack, you may be able to execute a pre-emptive strike. The question then becomes, What part of his body do you hit? If you select the wrong one, your commitment may inadvertently put you in harm’s way.
For example, if your opponent’s guard is to the side, the middle of his body will be exposed. However, he may be baiting you with this apparent hole in his defenses. The key to avoiding such a trap lies in having the knowledge that an attack directed at a part of his body near his elbow will effectively cut off his line of attack and leave you in a good position to defend yourself if need be.
Once proper positioning is achieved, the position itself will assist you in setting up your opponent to expose his primary target, which is the head. Ultimately, the other three elements of the BOEC system are designed to help enhance the opening.
‘E’ for Elbow
The inclusion of the elbow as a priority target has three facets. The first is that once your opponent exposes an elbow (which will happen most of the time; if it does not, there is no guard and you will have to shift to the “O” as the priority target), you will take control of the elbow point—either to the inside or outside of his arm.
Second, when you control his elbow, you also take control of his balance because his elbow serves as an anchor point to disrupt his center of gravity. This disruption helps set up the openings.
Third, in combination with the contact reflexes gained from chi sao (sticking hands) training, you can monitor the shift of priority targets through the use of your eyes and touch reflexes.
‘C’ for Crossed Arms
The fourth component of the BOEC method refers to the situation where your opponent has crossed one arm over the other. The resulting “X” formed by his overlapping limbs marks the spot where you pin them. When you pin his top arm against the elbow of his lower arm, you render both arms temporarily powerless. You then exploit the opening and attack his balance.
In wing chun, the ideal positioning for maneuvering your opponent to cross his arms is called the “blind side.” In effect, the blind-side position is where you line up your centerline with the line of your opponent’s shoulders so your position is very close to one side of his body and as far as you can be from the other side. You then pin the nearest elbow as you move away from the opposite threat. The result will be that he has to use his short (rear) arm to defend himself, and as his limbs reach across his body to block, he will probably cross his arms.
Like a Reflex
If you stand directly in front of your opponent, you will potentially have to deal with attacks issued by his arms and legs. You will be forced to rely on your speed and power because positioning will not help you.
However, if you slip to the side, jam the nearest elbow, disrupt his balance and create an opening while you position yourself away from the opposite side so that when he blocks with his rear hand, he crosses his arms and you pin them, you will have rendered him virtually helpless. Then victory will be yours.
Success boils down to having a reflexive response to an attack. The BOEC method teaches you just such a response— one that is simple, reliable and devastating. Although it was devised for practitioners of traditional wing chun, the universal nature of its truth means it can be incorporated into practically any martial art. ...
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