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Blitzing

Intro

What is a blitz? The daylight attack against London on September 7, 1940, during World War II, marked the opening phase of the German bomber offensive against Britain, which came to be called the Blitz after the German word “blitzkrieg,” meaning “lightning war.” Daylight attacks soon gave way to night raids, which the British found difficult to counter.

The term is now used in the military to mean an overwhelming all-out attack, especially a swift ground attack using armored units and air support, such as the  United States's March 22, 2003, Shock and Awe campaign against Iraq. Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a tactic based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight.

As a martial arts fighting technique, a blitz attack is when you use speed and aggression in a sudden rushing attack to mentally and/or physically overpower your opponent's defenses.

How to blitz

A blitz attack may be used at any time, but one version of a blitz is when you suddenly and loudly kiai and rush your opponent with a flurry of punches the instant the referee calls “Begin!”

When using a blitz attack, many fighters lunge off the rear foot to close the range and cross the gap. For example, from a fighting stance, the fighter explosively pushes off the rear foot, lifts the lead foot, and lunges the lead foot toward the opponent while firing a left jab and many followup punches. This type of movement is effective at a relatively short range, but it means you must step with the lead foot. This step is an extra movement that takes time to complete. Although it only takes a split second to complete, that split second may give the opponent time to detect the movement and counterattack. Also, you must be careful of having the lunging foot step on the opponent’s foot or having your foot swept by the opponent.

A quicker way to blitz is to push off the front leg, not the rear leg, and thus eliminating the step. For example, from a fighting stance, start moving the upper body toward the target. The body weight is shifted to the lead foot while keeping the lead knee bent. Just as the upper body moves over the lead foot, you explosively push off the lead foot, and lunge the upper body toward the opponent (similar to Superman taking flight) while firing a left jab and followup punches. The front foot lunge is quicker and covers more distance than the rear foot lunge.

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