You just earned a high-ranking martial arts belt or completed a comprehensive self-defense course. You’ve practiced hours in the gym, or the ring, or on the mat. With your training, you’ve mastered the skills to counter traditionally thrown punches, kicks, grabs, and takedowns. You’re ready for any attacker that comes your way…or are you? Although you may be able to go toe-to-toe with the best fighters around, are you prepared for your most challenging combatant yet, the inexperienced attacker? You may think this adversary will be an easy and fast victory, but in reality, it could be your most challenging fight ever. 

Ready for The Inexperienced Attacker?

If your entire fighting experience occurred within the walls of a dojo or gym, then most likely, you were bound by the rules of a match or for the safety of your practice opponent. Spending years following specific parameters during practice can make you hold back when things get serious. 

Your inexperienced foe isn’t bound by your engrained rule-abiding mindset. With an unbridled aggression and you subconsciously holding back (or not knowing what it’s like to “let loose”), he could become the victor. Although you can’t go all-out in the gym or dojo, you can ask your practice partners to throw at you some unconventional attacks or (safely and controlled) apply greater pressure or strength to some of the techniques. Only then can you know if your counter moves will truly work for you when it counts. 

Overconfidence in Your Skillsets

Cockiness and bravado may work to intimidate in the gym, but in the street, it can get you injured or worse. While you may have skills, there are many factors involved in winning a fight. During your “tough guy” act, an unskilled foe may just take the initiative and take the first shot. If you are unprepared, you could go down hard and not have any fight left to get up. 

You can immediately avoid this by portraying the exact opposite of cockiness…humility, shyness, and timidness. This can lead your attacker into a false sense of security and confidence…and then you strike and end the fight quickly. 

Unpredictable Behavior

Self-defense techniques are more often than not based on the type of attack your foe sends your way. Continuous repetition of such attacks sharpen your skills over time. However, when random, awkward, and sporadic punches and kicks are thrown, your countering response and timing to defend them may fail. Fighting within your personalized “box” could lead to defeat; instead, be open to changing your style of fighting, mixing martial arts disciplines, and even introducing some unpredictability to your approach. Sometimes, playing their game is just what you need to overcome their own irregular style of attack. 

Undefined Offense

Your unskilled fighter will throw at you everything they got, which I’m sure doesn’t fall within a categorized fighting style. This erratic style may catch you off guard when on the offensive, and a lucky shot may very well put you down. Sometimes, it’s best to practice a solid defensive position, parrying and deflecting their haphazard attacks. Your constant movements while avoiding his power blows will help to tire the inexperienced and hopefully easily-winded opponent. This will make your offensive much, much easier. 

Compensate With Weapons

When all else fails, the inexperienced fighter will reach for anything nearby to use as a weapon. If it will give them the upper hand, then it’s fair game. By thinking logically that there is no viable weapon nearby, you can be injured or killed. In truth, they could pick up a chair or a television, grab a shovel, or even push someone at you. You need to scan the surrounding area prior to the conflict and consider everything nearby as a possible weapon that can be used against you. Staying one step ahead will allow you to counter the weapon before it becomes a problem. 

Don’t Take Anything for Granted

The underlying key to success when going up against an inexperienced attacker is to expect the unexpected, as cliched as it may sound. An assailant will try anything to compensate for their inexperience, especially if they notice that you have some fighting skills. Stay alert, stay sharp, and your own dedicated practice and experience will get you through.