Can you win a fight with a single blow?

The ultimate combat situation is one in which you are able to finish your opponent with one initiative attack. This does not necessarily mean a single blow. It means finishing the fight with the strategy and tactics you planned without interference from your adversary.

Not everyone is able to finish with one blow, due to size and strength disadvantages. But regardless of your size or strength, you can win in one initiative if you plan and carry out the perfect strategy. This is the essence of
Junsado. Assess the situation, plan what will work for you and implement it perfectly. If your assessment is accurate, your plan fitting for both you and your opponent, and your implementation is flawless, you will experience the ultimate in combat.

The Importance of Experience in Fighting

There is only one way to gain experience and that is to engage in your target activity repeatedly. If this is not possible, engage in the most realistic simulations possible. Experience a variety of opponents and styles to test the validity of your skills and discover new approaches. The more experienced you are, the more
insightful you can be in developing a successful strategy.

Development of these eight elements directly and dramatically affects your fighting skills. Before you can win over your opponent, you have to master your own body and mind. Go into combat knowing you are fully prepared and in top condition. When you confidently approach your opponent, your chances of
defeating him are greater.

Once you have fully prepared yourself, you can begin to analyze the other factors that affect combat:
1. Your opponent’s qualities
2. Terrain
3. Environment
4. Weapons

Adaptability

Being able to adapt to the flow of the confrontation is essential. Adaptation means assessing your needs and selecting the proper actions for fulfilling them. Without adaptation, you may become the victim of your own strategy. Strategy is very transparent and a skillful fighter will quickly assess and counter his opponent. Train in many ways and experiment with variations of your favorite techniques to avoid becoming stale.

Efficiency in Combat

Being efficient is important in every physical activity. Your body has a limited supply of energy to burn at any given time. Conserving energy is of the utmost importance to enable you to engage in prolonged or strenuous physical activity. If both you and your opponent have the same amount of energy to expend during a bout, the one who uses it more efficiently will be the one who delivers the final blow.

The Importance of Adaptation in Fighting

There is one additional necessity‒adaptation, which is the ability to adapt your tools or plans according to how the current situation is changing. Suppose you have your blueprint and the required tools and materials for your house. You begin to dig a hole for the basement and find that the ground is solid rock.

If you stick to your original plan, you will expend a large amount of energy to create very little gain. Here, it is wise to revise your original plan according to your newly gathered facts.

The human element of combat creates many instances of change. What appeared to be possible becomes impossible. What appeared to be unrealistic, becomes realistic. Constantly monitor the current circumstances to see if you can adapt your strategy or tactics to a better course of action. Watch for unexpected openings and be prepared with alternative plans when your original fails.

Defining Combat

Conflict between opposing forces. This is the most universal definition of combat. The concept of combat is that of opposition, resistance, competition, discord. And in many instances of combat, this is the reality. Most conflict is born of animosity, anger, fear, hate, or another negative emotion.

But there is another type of combat, that of warriors, those trained in the art of combat not just the skills. They may begin the fight out of emotion, but once they engage the opponent, emotion disappears. It is replaced by total concentration and dedication to a single ideal—victory.

Beyond Style in the Martial Arts

In combat, preformed concepts are not enough to meet the demands of the anything-goes reality of fighting. Don’t be confined by styles, rules, forms, favoritism, or even common sense. Thinking only one way is apt to lead you into a trap. This way, that way, low way, high way, straight way, round way, slow hit, fast hit. There are so many ways to choose from. No way includes every way. That is what Junsado stands for—free thinking, no limitations, freedom.

This is not to say that you should throw all convention out and train randomly. The ability to think freely comes from understanding the basic conventional concepts that lie within a system. For example, without knowing the numerical system, how can you learn how to add and subtract, multiply and divide? And without learning basic numerical functions, how can you perform simple daily tasks like calculating your change in a store?

When you learn to add, you practice by adding specific equations under the guidance of a teacher. Through this tutelage, you learn the principles of addition. There is no way for you to practice and memorize every numerical equation you will ever need in life. Once you master the principles of addition, you are able
to add whatever sum is presented to you without difficulty.

The addition you practice is not the end product of your learning, it is merely one step on your way to mathematical competency. However, the rules of adding remain constant in every country throughout the world. Everyone adds different equations, but all use the same rules.

In combat, you begin from learning how to make basic physical movements of attack and defense, similar to learning how to count. You then learn how to combine these movements in arranged applications, like learning the rules of addition. Once proficient in applications, you are able to apply your skills to many situations according to the demands of the situation, like adding your pocket change or calculating how much your grocery bill will be. Each step requires following the system until you learn and master its principles. Once you master the principles, you are free to apply them in many ways.

Addition and subtraction each have their own important function. We cannot say addition is better than subtraction or vice versa. Each is important in its own merit. Therefore, Junsado incorporates many types of skills. Sometimes you will need kicking and punching, sometimes grappling, sometimes a combination of
both. None is any better or worse than the other. It is a matter of appropriateness. Add when you must add. Subtract when you must subtract. Kick when you must kick. Throw when you must throw. Through the system of Junsado, you will come to understand the appropriateness of each skill, so you can adapt a
strategy and fighting style that is most fitting for you.

Becoming a Balanced Fighter

Combat is a series of visible and concealed maneuvers whose goal is to destroy the opponent and bring victory. The visible maneuvers include planning, practice and the physical actions you take to attack the opponent and
defend yourself during combat. The concealed maneuvers are the psychological preparation and the covert strategies and tactics you employ in the fight.

A combination of both concealed and visible maneuvers is necessary to defeat an opponent. If you are physically very strong and well conditioned, but uninformed regarding fighting strategy, you will defeat unskilled opponents easily though brute force, but you will be outwitted by skilled tacticians. Conversely, if you have a brilliant tactical mind, but spend little time for perfecting your physical weapons, you will have trouble implementing your brilliant strategy.

In both cases, unbalanced training leads to defeat. To be successful, combine the tools of combat skills and physical training with a blue print of well-planned and adaptable strategy. Imagine having a blueprint for a beautiful house and not having any tools or lumber with which to build it. All you have is a drawing. It
has no practical function unless you act on it. Or what about having many tools and materials without knowing where to begin building. The chances of ending up with a dream house are small.

The same is true for combat skills and strategy. Know where you are going, how you will get there and what tools you will need along the way.

Components of Combat Skills

The outcome of any physical confrontation is determined by several interconnected factors. The most important and controllable factors are those qualities that make up your combat skills:

1. Ability
2. Instinct
3. Strategy
4. Determination
5. Physical condition
6. Efficiency
7. Adaptability
8. Experience

Each of these elements can be cultivated through consistent and effective training.

Beyond Conflict: Harmony in Combat

At its highest levels, combat is comprised of two forces moving not against each other, but in harmony with each other. They are not compelled by emotions or fears. They are in full control of their actions and understand the actions of their opponent. Like a physical game of chess, they plan many moves in advance and estimate their opponent’s actions and reactions based on training, experience, and intuition. This combat is beyond the combat of conflict.