How many times have you entered the ring at a martial arts competition and faced your opponent — and had no idea what he or she was about to throw at you? If you’re like most martial artists, you probably haven’t seen this particular opponent fight before. And because of the fleeting nature of most kumite matches, you probably won’t have time to “feel out” the person.
The result: In short order, you find yourself behind on points and on the brink of losing.
What if I told you that there’s a way to hack into the mind of your adversary and figure out what he or she is going to do next? Would you want to know? Of course you would.
The key to doing this is to use a methodology known as “positional setup.” It’s a system that was developed by “Super” Dan Anderson. In short, PSU is a prediction tool that examines how opponents position themselves and lets you know which techniques they’re most likely to deploy. Developing such a skill can put the odds in your favor almost immediately.
At this point, you might be asking yourself why you should listen to this Anderson guy and what makes him so “Super.” Well, I could tell you that he’s a four-time national karate champion who won more than 70 grand championships and was rated a top-10 fighter by Black Belt. Or I could mention that his book American Freestyle Karate: A Guide to Sparring has been a go-to manual for fighters for the past four decades. Or I could note that after five decades as a black belt — he’s now a 10th degree — he still kicks butt in tournaments against fighters who are one-third his age.