To preempt someone is to forestall or prevent (something anticipated) by acting first.
It is a mission verb used in combat to describe a situation where you attempt to launch an offensive effort before your opponent in order to seize and then maintain the initiative. You know your opponent is planning something, but you need to beat him to the punch (literally).
Everyone has a decision cycle (also referred to as an OODA loop). When you see something happening, your brain has to process it, make decisions about that event and then cause you to react to it.
In boxing, reaction is bad.
Actually in combat, reaction is bad.
If you are reacting, you are always in the defensive. Proactivity is the remedy for reactivity. I've made it clear you cannot win without an offense, so to be reactive means defeat.
Back to the OODA loop, if you can launch your offensive before your opponent makes his next decision, you get inside his OODA loop and preempt his attack. You always want to be one step ahead of your opponent, planning your next move while he is still reacting to the last one.
A while ago I wrote about universal and idiosynchratic tells. These are the little cues people give off before they do something that basically tell you what they are going to do. For this boxing tip, we are going to look in depth at tells that forecast an opponent has decided to throw a jab so that you can pick up on them and preempt his attack with a jab of your own.
A Quick Story
Once you know what your opponent is going to throw, it causes shock and disbelief when you beat him to the punch. I remember sparring with a young guy and it was incredibly easy to see when he was going to throw a jab. Repeatedly, I would strike first knowing that over and over again, he was going to tell me exactly when he was about to throw his jab. Not only did I preempt his attack with an offense of my own, but I also disrupted his attack. (another combat mission verb).
By the end of the sparring, the lad was completely demoralized. He thought I possessed super speed to be able to beat his jab time and time again with a jab of my own, and his nose was quite sore where he got popped over and over again.
I was completely inside his OODA loop and knew what he was going to do before he did. It's about this time you begin to feel invulnerable.
Preempting the Jab
To preempt anything you need to be quick. Jabs are well suited for preemption because you can throw one from pretty much any situation - off balance, stepping back, down, up, and so on. So first thing you need to do is practice your jab, throwing it out quickly, cleanly, and with decisive force and then recovering to your guard just as quick. Practice from odd angles - in close, and far out. You need your jab to flick out with force and intensity and 100% accuracy.
Read Your Opponent
In order to preempt, you need to know when your opponent is going to launch his attack. So, watch for the signs of an incoming punch. For a jab:
- weight shifts slightly to his front foot;
- hips begin to rotate;
- shoulder drops (in poor jabs);
- elbow of the front arm begins to rotate up;
- you can see it in your opponent's face; or
- you see movement of the glove.
Obviously not a definitive list and it will vary from boxer to boxer, but all of us forecast our intentions in some way. The quicker you can pick up on your opponent's tells, the quicker you can decide how the fight is going to go.
Strike First
As soon as you see any of these signs, strike. Do not think about it, just throw the punch. If you are right and he is throwing a punch, by the time yours makes it to him, he will be wide open. Have faith that you will hit first. You will be elated the first time you do this and you connect. It's like your opponent just drops his hands and lets you hit him.
Look for the Surprise
A bonus feature - look for the look of utter surprise in your opponent's face following your jab. He will have no idea how you managed to throw a punch that quick. Remember, he is caught up in his decision cycle and is oblivious to what is happening around him. His brain is engaged in deciding to throw a jab. He won't be able to react to yours until his cycle has completed - so beat him to it and you win.
Do you have any stories of pre-emption? Is there some tell you've noticed your sparring partners give before they launch? Leave a comment, or ask a question.
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This article is completely
This article is completely contradictory, conditioned instinctual reaction is key componenet of any combat. Indeed it is all a figher has, any decision process wether its launching an offensive or counter punch is reaction to the stimulus interprated by the brain. Reaction is not only defensive, to launch an attack you must first react to the situation e.g a dropped hand leaving his chin open then attacking - you are still reacting to the opportunity.
"Once you know what your opponent is going to throw, it causes shock and disbelief when you beat him to the punch"
As you said ONCE you no what your opponent is going to do, countering or getting "inside his loop" is a REACTION to this. Wether or not your ability is at a level were it is almost as if you can read an opponent mind in terms of his next move it is still reaction.
You said reaction is bad however everything you explained in the article is a means of reaction:
"You know your opponent is planning something, but you need to beat him to the punch"
"A while ago I wrote about universal and idiosynchratic tells. These are the little cues people give off before they do something that basically tell you what they are going to do. For this boxing tip, we are going to look in depth at tells that forecast an opponent has decided to throw a jab so that you can pick up on them and preempt his attack with a jab of your own"
"I would strike first knowing that over and over again, he was going to tell me exactly when he was about to throw his jab"
"In order to preempt, you need to know when your opponent is going to launch his attack. So, watch for the signs of an incoming punch"
"The quicker you can pick up on your opponent's tells, the quicker you can decide how the fight is going to go"
All of this is reaction.
You can be proactive in reactivity
First off, yes you are right - if you take it extremely literally, everytime you counterattack or perform a defensive maneouvre you are reacting as you've said. However, you can still be proactive - even in a reactive state. Hopefully I can explain.
As an example, if you plan it out and know that you are going to throw a jab the second your opponent drops his hand exposing his chin, then that is a proactive act even though you are reacting to his movement. You had your move planned before your opponent did - you are the one driving the plan and creating the results. You are not throwing your jab only as a reaction to your opponent's movement. Your decision cycle included that move as a part of your plan.
Let's take it out of the ring - sometimes easier to make an analogy with a common place example. If you are driving a car and you come to an intersection, you see a car coming from another direction. He has a red light, but you put into action a plan in your head in case he doesn't stop. That planning is you being proactive. It may have different options, such as swerving left or slamming on the brakes if the other guy does decide to run the red light - both are reactions but they are part of your proactive plan.
One more analogy, from a combat perspective. If we are attacking an enemy fortification, we will undergo an extensive planning process that attempts to identify and plan for every possible contingency that could occur - perhaps the enemy will flee out the back, perhaps he will fight back from position, perhaps he will call in reinforcements from an adjacent position, etc... We will continually ask the question "What if? and So What?" in order to come up with a complete plan of attack. Then when the enemy does something, we move to whatever that something is in our plan and execute the counter. Obviously it all happens really fast - which is why we condition and rehearse - so it appears instinctive. In actuality it is the result of a very comprehensive planning effort. This planning is done to maintain control and initiative.
Make sense?
Any type of planning moves things in your favour. Planning negates the need to rely on instinct and your reactions will be more suited to the event. In boxing, things are up close and personal and you drill to make things instinctive. You are completely right. Let me ask you this? From the outside it appears everything is a reaction - but if you planned it from the beginning to unfold as it did - is it still a reaction? or a very well orchestrated planned sequence of events?
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