Quote:
Originally Posted by Adversary
You'll actually see this in mixed-martial-arts competition. For instance some fighters don't attempt to block (i.e. check) leg kicks at all, preferring to stand in a heavy stance. Or when a fighter gets hurt and trapped along the fence, you may see him raise his arms to cover his head, trying to avoid a knockout punch. Savvy fighters have had great luck attacking the body when a hurt opponent does this, while fighters that just keep swinging for the head sometimes strike out.
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I've done this myself in a few amateur boxing matches among friends... but on the higher end of things it's a key component of Rope-a-dope. If you're only interested in protecting one part of your chest & stomach or chest & head it's very easy to force your target to strike your arms (or shield) instead of that location the majority of the time they try to attack that location, although it becomes very difficult to protect the abdomen or head (respectively) if you do that.
Alternatively (more along the lines of presenting a side as discussed in Gladiators) you could also adopt a low leaning bent over stance that offered your head, arms (at least upper arms and shoulders) and upper chest (hit location 9), even allowing strikes to the back of hit location 9 from the front, but made it a little more difficult (or perhaps easier to defend via blocks and parries) strikes to your lower torso. This stance would be relatively low and probably require one leg to be forward and therefore also easier to attack at any time.
Thoughts?