The Laws of Melee Combat
Stay in motion. Movements must be done while in motion with the assumption that you are constantly being flanked by another person. Techniques must take place in the time is would take to swing an axe at you from behind. Stationary position either standing or on the ground will get you killed. Kicking to the opponents groin may allow them to clamp their legs shut trapping your foot reducing your mobility. For a one on one encounter this momentary delay may not be a significant consideration, but with blades coming for your back, you must reconsider techniques which can slow you down. Getting knocked to the ground is a death sentence so keep kicking low and to a minimum. Melee combat is not the place to get overly fixated on a single person. You may not have to kill them. The person in front of you may not be your target and locking onto them too much may blind you to the overall flow of the crowd. You may only need to disable them or compromise them so that they next person can finish them off. The primary goal is to get them to give up and run away. Routing them and demoralizing them is the primary goal.
2. Cut them where they are can’t cut you back using positional hierarchy. The best position is behind them. The next is to the side of them with their arms controlled. The third best is in front of them, and the worst position will be on the ground, horizontal, or otherwise rendered immobile.
3. Use your enemies for cover. Your primary shield after footwork are your other enemies. Ruin their armor so you can save your own. Its better to block with their arms and their swords than your own. This also makes it difficult to become the target of ranged attacks or long weapons as they will be afraid to hit their own man. The heart of melee combat is mobility.
4. Rout them. Your end goal is to control the crowd itself and get the mob to lose their will to fight, retreat, or surrender.
Every step is a kick, every kick is a step
For melee combat we need to look past kicking as we think of it in combat sports. A kick is also a step for footwork as well as a take down or a throw. When it comes to removing threats, kicking is not as effective as a knee and a knee is not as effective as striking with the hips and body. Striking with the hips can easily knock someone to the ground where they can be kicked in the back of the head as you run toward your next target. Attacking with your own knees is very effective, but picking up the leg compromises your balance and is not often worth the risk. Consider using knees as part of steps. There is a time and place even for high kicks in melee combat, but it is rare. The highest frequency leg attacks incidental knees while moving. Another useful tactic is to kicking behind their knees from a crouch to pull them closer as your rotate your leg. This can expose their back while and stomp the back of their knees into the pavement while attacking their neck from behind. Don’t assume a kick or leg attack will do any harm whatsoever. Don’t rely strikes of any kind as the end goal. Sometimes they miss and sometimes people are tough and keep going anyway. Human can keep attacking even while fatally wounded. Don’t underestimate the power of adrenaline. Instead use kicks as part of your overall movement pattern. The best time to kick someone in the head is when they are already horizontal and dazed. The second best time is whenever you can get away with it.
Fine motor control in combat
Dan Grossman, a police and military trainer writes in “On Combat” that meditation and breathing can help keep warriors in a sweet spot of reaction time and mental cognition, however as their heart rate starts to climb beyond a certain point reactions tend to come bilaterally. It is similar to the way a startled baby will bend and raise both arms. It also has unfortunate consequences in combat. A police officer with his finger on the trigger of his right hand may grab a suspect with his left. With his heart rate high the action of grabbing and squeezing with his left hand will cause his trigger finger to squeeze as well. Breath work training, cardio, and meditation training may take the edge off of this, but even the best stress inoculation will not prevent this bilateral response from taking place. Mantis fits well into these scenarios as most of the core movements are bilateral in nature and take place with the entire arms so they can be done while holding weapons.
Keep it simple
Grossman also describes how adding even a single step in a high stakes movement such as handcuffing a resisting criminal can dramatically reduce the effectiveness. Stress inoculation is mostly conditional and that which has been trained. The more there is to train the less effective they will be at any one skill. As Laozi described, “The more you know, the less you understand.” This sentiment was echoed in the 20th century with the Hick’s Law which states that the more choices you present your users with, the longer it will take them to reach a decision. More is not better. Collecting more slows down your decision making which can be fatal in combat.