There are many advantages to be had while dueling. You and your opponent constantly make mistakes while not realizing it, leaving yourself open. For every advantage you think you have, your opponent has five more that they don't know about.
People try all sorts of things thinking they are giving themselves an advantage. Every attack you make leaves you open in some form, even distance attacks. While you might think you have an advantage, you don't. This is how real combat is. Each advantage can also be a disadvantage, so plan wisely. Also, you should try to keep track of EVERY advantage you give your foe, or as many as is possible. Why do this? So you can counter them when he uses them against you, plus it also gives you something to expect. But don't assume that your opponent will always go for an advantage you think you've given him/her. He/she might have seen something you didn't and will use that. Be prepared for anything, as most anything is possible. However, there are sometimes strategies for not only predicting your opponents' move, but forcing them into taking the move you want them to.
But, as with all things, there are things you need to take into account in a duel. Tactical thinking aside, a good strategy is '
to be' a whole number of things in your match all at once, or as much as it possible. They will give credit to your attacks and your ability to overcome your opponents attacks. They include:
- Be Decisive
- Never let your opponent have the first move if you can help it. Why would you want the first move? Because then you can throw in a wussy attack and gauge how your opponent reacts. Or you can use a forceful attack off the bat just to set the tone.
- Be Exploitative
- Look for weaknesses in your opponents attacks quickly. Look for where your opponent is leaving him/herself open and take advantage of that. Don't sit back throwing punches you know won't hit unless you want to follow it up with something else. You want to win and win fast. The longer and more drawn out a battle becomes, the less of an edge you have--unless you're just that good.
- Be Flexible
- Never let yourself be caught stuck in a rut. Be flexible to situational changes in the duel, adapt to the constantly changing environment you are in. Don't be caught out in the rain on an attack, but instead flow with it.
- Be Quick - Don't let up, ever. Continue attacking. If your opponent stops, they're leaving themselves open - take advantage of this.
- Be Aggressive
- You can play a conservative role in your dueling, and throw up a mighty defense, but a defense is just that, a defense. The more you attack your opponent, the more you keep him reeling and off balance the quicker you can deal massive damage.
- Be Creative - Creativity nearly always trumps any kind of brute force attack. Why is this? If your opponent is trying to beat you to death with some kind of oversized weapon, evading and coming up with inginuitive ways of tiring him/her out and forcing them into a corner will almost always get you a win. Plus inginuitive attacks can throw your opponent off, mess up their timing to the point where you can exploit an advantage.
Then there are things you should take note of:
- Balance Displacement
- Keep them off their guard. The more often they don't know what to do and are off balance, the more they slip up and leave themselves open. The best way to do this is to continually do something unexpected, but do it too often and your opponent will begin to see through the tactic.
- Use the Environment
- There are many things in the environment that can be exploited at any time, by you or your opponent. Roots, branches, rocks, gas mains, electrical lines, etc. All can be used to cause harm to your opponent if done right. Keep track of this stuff.
- Running the Distance
- Don't change the distance to suit your own purposes. This is short sighted and can sometimes make things more difficult for yourself in the end. If you're close, stay close. If you're distant, stay distant. Try and find what works and stick with it. Jumping away simply because your opponent is attacking can leave you open to a much larger attack and is just poor planning to begin with.
- Jumping
- Never jump back when you can sidestep. Never sidestep when you can duck. Never duck when you can catch your opponents attack and turn it against them. Parrying blows is often more effective than blocking them; you can turn attacks away to make your opponent leave themselves open. An excellent and useful tactic.
- Talk is Cheap
- Don't spend time talking in a duel. It detracts from the realism or immersion. When was the last time you saw a couple cage fighters jump back to exchange verbal garbage before jumping back in at one another to rain blows? Never. You wouldn't have time to do it in reality, so don't do it in a duel.
- Not an Anime
- Dueling is not an anime. Throw away everything you see in an anime, from the jumping back to talk about how recklessly awesome and badass you are, to doing it just to charge forward and swing your weapon (if you're using a melee weapon) blindly. It shows bad planning, lack of creativity, poor quality of attack or even writing, no originality, and excessive amounts of stupidity.
Remember, dueling is fighting. If you aren't there to fight, get out.
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