Kickboxing Strategy: Close Range Fighting

Keith Livingston, co-author of Complete Kickboxing, tells us why distance doesn't always equal safety in the ring:

The difference between the inside and outside is that the inside is a total power game, a seek and destroy kind of a game. A good inside fighter generally equates to a power fighter. On the outside, the jab is the dominant technique. It may therefore appear as though outside fighting is more strategic. But all the principles that apply to outside fighting also apply to inside fighting. When you get to the inside with a good defensive fighter, you can’t just punch away and hope to win. There has to be some method to your madness. You must vary your rhythm, timing, and strike patterns. For example, on the outside, you may jab high and throw a rear cross low. But on the inside, you may throw an uppercut to the head to open up the body. There are specific techniques which are more appropriate at close quarter range, such as hooks to the body, uppercuts, tight hooks to the head, short jabs and crosses, and overhand strikes. These inside techniques tend to favor power and allow for a better body attack. On the outside, you can land a lot of strikes to your opponent’s centerline. But on the inside, you can be successful with both the center and sides of your opponent’s body.