Best Olympic Martial Arts Lesson from Volleyball Court

The Best Olympic Martial Arts Lesson Ever … from the Volleyball Court?

by Keith Pascal

I have noticed that a faction of my readers really appreciate when I squeeze a martial-arts lesson from a non-martial-art context. This is one such instance….

I’m not really a sports person; I don’t follow football, basketball, soccer, hockey, baseball, or golf. (Although, we do watch Oregon Duck Football, for a host of reasons.)

Even though my wife and I prefer to go walking or practice martial arts over watching some game or match, we do tend to watch the Olympics. (Did you watch them, too?)

This year, my major fighting revelation doesn’t hail from Karate, Judo, or even Wrestling. I found an invaluable “set” of lessons (pardon the pun) in the volleyball matches.

Note: Even though I thoroughly enjoy the beach volleyball games, I’m referring to the indoor matches with larger teams.

So, what was the volleyball lesson?

It had to do with Progressive Indirect Attacks (PIA). We’re talking feints and fakes.

In fighting, you start a technique, like a punch or kick, but then surprise your enemy mid-motion, by attacking with a different move.

In volleyball, they have their own feint that I witnessed being used with various degrees of success. I”m talking about the move where one teammate sets the ball, and two other team members jump up to smash it across the net and down.

It looks like the front person is going to slam the ball, but he or she is the feint … the second player, behind the first, is the one to hit the ball.

What follows are some quick observations about this one fake-out. Of course, I don’t care one whit about volleyball … and for the purposes of this blog, neither should you.

Think of the following comments in relation to your PIA in the world of practical martial arts:

*There was a big difference in the effectiveness of the fake when you compared the timing of both people jumping. I saw both jump at the same time, and one hit after the other, and I also watched a slightly staggered jump. (I’m not telling which was better.)

*This “double jump fake” became obvious to the other team. Two people leapt into the air, and the other team knew that the second person was going to be the one hitting.

*Which means they should have tried the reverse … have both people go up and the first person hits. Sort of a fake on the fake, by doing a direct hit … with some of the “telltale signs of a fake.”

*This next point is “not” me being sexist; I promise — The women’s teams were much much much worse at this fake than the men’s teams. Why? They were obviously copying what they had seen the men do. They were going through the motions, but they weren’t feeling the precision of the timing. (If you can’t fool your opponent that you are going to do the first move, then it’s not a fake. Right?)

*The jump fakes that worked the best occurred when the faked smash actually drew a response.

*The receiving team best dealt with the fake when they were ready for the possibility of either hit timing.
If it was a fake, they reacted; if it was a real hit, they still reacted.

Any ideas you can take to the martial arts? (Wink.)

-=-=-=-=-=-

Keith Pascal is the author of How to End the Fight with One Hit.

If you worry about having to defend yourself, then you should definitely check out this ebook.