Weapons Vs Targets

One of the most often asked questions when I am teaching striking is, “what are you aiming for?” Sometimes the question is aimed at trying to understand if a specific point is being targeted, such as when punching to the face; should you look to hit the nose, the chin etc. and sometimes it is more general e.g. upper torso, lower torso etc. As a martial artist, I like to think and believe, that I don’t just make attacks, but rather I target specific areas etc. However as somebody who teaches reality based self-defense, I have to acknowledge that aiming for and striking specific targets, is largely impossible, unless they represent specific body parts.

Krav Maga, often gets mistaken, for a system that is defined and based largely on groin strikes. From my own experience the groin can be a difficult target to get e.g. people tend to pull their hips back whenever a strike is made to this region, clothing such as pants with a low crotch can end up protecting the groin, and people rarely stand or move with their legs far enough apart for the target to be exposed etc. I remember the days when women’s self-defense, largely comprised of making knee strikes to the groin, ignoring the fact that the target was well protected and hard to find, and that such an attack couldn’t be made if the footwear (such as shoes with heels), and clothing (tight skirts and jeans) didn’t facilitate such movements. Overly focusing on a significant target can see our game-plan fall apart, when the situation doesn’t allow us access to it.

In real life situations, large striking surfaces, and large target areas, make for the biggest bang for your buck attacks e.g. Roundhouse kicks which use the shin, against an assailant’s upper or lower legs will rarely miss. The same is true of forearm strikes to the neck. Neither of these strikes needs to be 100% accurate, and both will largely be effective regardless of the way an attacker moves or responds. As a general approach, determining the weapons you will use, will be more effective than deciding upon the targets you will attack – once the weapons have been chosen the targets naturally define themselves.

In terms of delivering both powerful and concussive strikes, utilizing elbow, knee and head strikes, is likely to yield the greatest results; an elbow strike, a knee strike or a head-butt is likely to be a more effective fight finisher, than a punch, kick or eye strike etc. This means from a fight strategy point of view it is best to move to a range where such strikes can be thrown, than attempting to throw finely tuned/precision strikes against specific targets. Choosing weapons, and moving to the correct range to use them is your most effective strategy – an elbow or knee strike to either the head or body, will yield a result regardless of the target that was first selected. After choosing weapons, you must move to the range where they are best deployed – moving forward and at your assailant will mean that your weapons such as elbows and knees, will largely be decided for you.

When I look back to real life encounters I’ve been in and experienced, I honestly can’t remember aiming for specific targets such as the temple, chin or nose, I just remember hitting the “oval” object which was located above the neck. Just as you are trained to aim for center of mass when shooting, when striking I always followed the same idea – if you aim for center, the chances of missing decrease. If you punch to the center of the face, chances are you won’t miss either.

If you are training for reality, forget pressure points and target areas, and instead look to move to the range(s) where your tools/weapons, can employ the most damage regardless of the specific targets offered them. Basically this means getting in close when assaulted. Using strikes which are effective at multiple ranges, to get there, such as hammer-fists, and forearm strikes, which will allow you to connect with something, whether it is the fist or the forearm, as you close the distance. Once in range, your weapons will be decided for you, and as a consequence your targets.