How important is speed?

[Ghost]

how important is speed and how can a slower fighter beat a faster one. what attributes must a slower fighter have to beat a faster one.

[KickNit]

Power, agility, strength.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

how important is speed and how can a slower fighter beat a faster one. what attributes must a slower fighter have to beat a faster one.

I'd say power. A slow fighter with very heavy hands can probably beat a quicker fighter.

[Tom Yum]

how important is speed and how can a slower fighter beat a faster one. what attributes must a slower fighter have to beat a faster one.

Speed is important as an aggressive attribute. Being able to launch an attack quickly is a necessity but even better than speed is timing.

If the slower fighter has better timing than the faster one, he can frustrate the opponent's speed. The catch is that timing comes with experience - a simple example? A right hand thrown just over a speedy jab done simultaneously and he'll walk into a knockdown (or knockout) punch. Being able to slip or parry big punches involves timing as well. Being able to intercept or move away from kicks.

Another attribute? Balance control. If the slower fighter can control the faster fighter's balance, he can take away his base and his ability to launch a quick attack. Get a speedy striker into muaythai clinch control, underhooks etc. and you can control his balance and change the fight.

Weapon selection. If the speedy attacker uses a punch, use a kick or two to counter. If the speedy attacker uses kicks, use a punch/strike. If the speedy attacker is very mobile on the ground, like a wrestler use smarter/passive moves to catch his mistakes - the reverse is true, if the speedy attacker goes for speedy submissions, use mobility to frustrate his attempts. Ex. Find yourself falling to the ground in leg-armbar, change the leverage of your arm immediately, which might mean moving it inward, with the force rather than against it and stack him or spin into a side mount.

Target selection. Hard weapon, soft target. Tactical examples of this include using your knee to block a kick attempt; elbow triangle to catch an overhand fist aimed at your jaw. Striking weak points to loosen up a hold or to end a fight. Using elbow strikes to the inner thigh can release a strong guard; using stomps or knee strikes while attempting escape from or gaining clinch control.

The faster fighter is at an offensive advantage when he has an unconventional attack from a deceptive angle/position. Some muaythai fighters have been knocked out by Americans/Europeans with lightning fast spinning back kicks and spinning wheel wheel kicks (ref. Manson Gibson, Serkhan Yilmaz) which are used a whole lot by karate and tae kwon do practitioners but rarely seen in the muaythai ring.

Chinese/Indonesian based styles have some fast hand techniques that seem weak when practiced by a beginner but deliver great small-distance power, fluidity and deception when coming from an experienced practitioner.

[Hardball]

What Tom Yum said!!

[aseepish]

Speed is important as an aggressive attribute. Being able to launch an attack quickly is a necessity but even better than speed is timing.

Agreed!

A big part of timing is perceptual speed: how fast you can read the attack, and react to it.

Another thing to consider: foot-work - how to be in the right place at the right time.