The Importance of Finishing a Fight from a Distance: Striking and Kicking Over Grappling in Self-Defense

In self-defense, the ultimate goal is to protect yourself and escape danger as quickly and safely as possible. While many martial arts and self-defense systems emphasize a range of techniques—including grappling and ground fighting—there are compelling reasons to prioritize finishing a fight from a distance using striking and kicking.

This approach not only maximizes your safety but also minimizes the complexity and dangers associated with grappling on the ground.

The Importance of Finishing a Fight from a Distance: Striking and Kicking Over Grappling in Self-Defense

Why Distance Matters

Maintaining and controlling distance is fundamental in self-defense. When you keep your opponent at a distance, you gain several critical advantages:

Increased Reaction Time: The farther away your attacker is, the more time you have to assess their movements and react appropriately. This can be the difference between escaping unharmed and being overwhelmed.

Strategic Assessment: Distance allows you to observe your attacker’s stance, intentions, and potential weaknesses, enabling you to make informed decisions about your next move.

Minimized Risk: Close combat, especially grappling, exposes you to a higher risk of injury from punches, elbows, and knees, and can lead to being taken to the ground—where the situation becomes far more dangerous.

Reduce The Advantage of Their Larger Size And Weight: It’s crucial to recognize that an aggressor can use their size and weight as a force multiplier, especially on the ground. Larger or stronger attackers can leverage their mass to overpower you, pin you down, or inflict greater damage if the fight moves to the floor..

The Power of Striking and Kicking

Striking and kicking are powerful tools in self-defense for several reasons:

Range Advantage: Kicking, in particular, allows you to strike from a greater distance than punching, making it easier to keep your attacker at bay.

Force and Impact: The legs are stronger than the arms, so kicks can deliver more powerful blows and potentially incapacitate an attacker more quickly.

Creating Space: A well-placed kick can push your opponent back, giving you the opportunity to escape or create enough distance to reassess the situation.

Luck: There are many examples of a smaller person using a lucky punch to knock out a larger. There are no examples of someone finishing a fight with a lucky choke or armbar.

The Dangers of Grappling and Ground Fighting

While grappling and ground fighting have their place in martial arts and combat sports, they are often less effective—and more dangerous—in real-world self-defense scenarios:

Vulnerability to Multiple Attackers: Once on the ground, you are at a severe disadvantage if more than one attacker is present. Even if you are winning on the ground, you risk being attacked by others.

Unpredictable Terrain: Outside of a controlled environment, the ground may be hard, uneven, or littered with hazards, increasing the risk of injury.

Limited Mobility: Being on the ground restricts your ability to move, defend yourself, and escape, making it harder to end the fight and get to safety.

Increased Complexity: Ground fighting requires advanced technical skills and physical conditioning. In the chaos of a real fight, it is easy to make mistakes that can have serious consequences.

Finishing the Fight: Stay on Your Feet

The best self-defense strategy is to finish the fight as quickly as possible while staying on your feet. This means using strikes and kicks to create distance, neutralize the threat, and escape. As soon as you can, disengage and move to safety. Remember, the fight isn’t over until you are out of danger—so stay alert and keep your guard up even after landing a good strike.

In self-defense, finishing a fight from a distance with striking and kicking is often the safest and most effective approach. It allows you to control the situation, minimize risk, and avoid the complexity and dangers of grappling on the ground. By prioritizing distance and powerful strikes, you maximize your chances of escaping unharmed and ending the fight on your terms.

Online Violence Prevention and Self Defense Training Brought To You By Generous Supporters

• Customized Violence Prevention and Self Defense Programs For Agencies, Business And Individuals

• Online Violence Prevention And Conflict Resolution Training

• Situational Awareness: Your Primary Weapon in Self-Defense

• Self Paced Online Violence Prevention Training - Conflict Resolution Training

The Center for Violence Prevention and Self-Defense (CVPSD) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing violence by educating at-risk individuals and communities.

Through a combination of online and in-person training, workshops, and seminars, CVPSD provides practical self-defense skills, violence prevention strategies, risk assessment tools, and guidance on setting personal and relationship boundaries.

Partnering with public and private organizations, schools, nonprofits, community groups, and government agencies—including those under the General Services Administration (GSA)—CVPSD works to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to recognize, avoid, and respond effectively to threats.

.