About  Combat

In combat, there is usually no need to establish a personal connection with the opponent through talking; the only reason to communicate is to mislead or lure the opponent. Communication leads to an emotional connection that only acts to disrupt combative awareness and intent. Eye contact with the opponent should also be avoided. The eyes are for gathering information about the surroundings. Eye contact tends to arouse emotions on both sides and lock attention onto the opponent, which detracts from being aware of the surroundings.

In combat situations, opponents display their intentions through posture, stance, and movement. Combative postures should be used only to prepare for action since any posture that overtly signals intent or capability will telegraph your intention to the opponent. The most common and natural combative posture in humans is the "stalking posture," which is similar to that of a hunting cat. In the stalking posture, the person is crouched with knees bent, leaning slightly forward in a ready position that allows for quick movement in any direction and permits an explosive transition from slow cautious stalking to an explosive attack. This posture indicates the intent and mindset of a predator.

Martial arts were developed for group protection with an emphasis on fighting skills and a concern for combat results; they were not designed for self-protection or self-perfection. Don Draeger, in his book Bujutsu and Budo, states that the difference between Bujutsu (fighting methods or techniques) and Budo (fighting way or philosophy) is that Bujutsu represents the pursuit of the combat professional whose main interest is the protecting the solidarity of the group, while Budo represents the pursuit of the amateur whose main interest is self-protections and spiritual cultivation of one's self. An example of this is the military or sport teams where protection of the group and group goals are more important than protection of one's self. A lone professional cannot exist in these groups and will be ejected. The person will now no longer be a professional protecting the group, but an amateur acting for purely selfish reasons.