Theme of the Week: Critical Distance

Critical distance has always been difficult to state clearly for me.  The most concise definition I can come up with is: the distance between you and your partner at which they can strike you effectively.  To steal from another sport, in boxing during the run up to the fight, the announcers will often talk about a fighter’s reach.  If boxer A and B are going to fight and boxer A has a 76 inch reach and boxer B has a 78 inch reach then boxer A’s critical distance is 78 inches and boxer B’s critical distance is 76 inches… sort of.

Sort of?  Yes.  Reach in boxing is the measure from the armpit to the end of the fist – the “wingspan” of a boxer.  Does it mean that they can land a punch that far out with knockout power?  Maybe.  If they are skilled and/or quick, they may be able to take a single step and punch before their opponent can evade or cover.  So limb length is part of the equation but skill and speed factor in as well.

How quickly can you figure out your critical distance with a fighter you’ve never faced before?  The quicker the better.  Watch the way they move.  Look at how tall they are and how long their limbs are.  Watch to see if they kick.  If they can’t kick, it’s made their effective distance (and your critical distance) shorter.  The more you spar and the more you pay attention to the idea of critical distance, the better you’ll get as estimating it.  The better you are at figuring at your critical distance, the better you’ll be able to cook up a strategy against your partner.