George St-Pierre once said, “Fighting is ninety percent mental, ten percent physical”. This is undoubtedly true at the highest level of any combat sport, like mixed martial arts. Contrary to popular belief, fighting is a highly intellectual pursuit, as well as a physical one. What the untrained eye sees as a random movement is likely a feint, meant to draw a reaction and gather information, akin to a real-time game of chess. Once both fighters have gathered enough data, they begin to lay traps to exploit throughout later rounds. Today, we are pleased to share a guide on how to feint and set traps in MMA.
What Is Feinting?
Feinting, at its core, is a movement done to deceive your opponent and gather information. There are a vast number of individual feints; we will start by feinting the jab – the most important punch.
The jab is known as the most important punch in boxing, and the same can be said about MMA. You can use your jab to set up combinations, knockout blows, or blind your opponent while taking an angle.
So why would we feint instead of actually throwing a jab?
The answer is multifaceted. Firstly, you are left open anytime you punch. This is an unavoidable fact of any technique and should be considered when crafting your individual fighting style. Feinting the jab allows you to reap some of the benefits of a real jab, without incurring some of the risk of actually punching.
The feint will not do damage, as it does not make contact; however, you are also far less exposed after feinting. Additionally, feinting the jab lets you gather data on your opponent’s reaction – you can see and take note of how they choose to defend jabs. Some opponents may take a high guard, some may catch or parry. Other opponents may use head or lateral movement to reposition. Regardless of what your opponent does, you now have information and a head start on how to best break through their defense. Watch the above video of Israel “Stylebender” Adesanya explaining his concept of feinting.
A feint must be believable to be of any use. Your opponent needs to actually think a strike is being thrown to draw a genuine reaction. This is known as biting on feint; it is also why many high-level, technical fights can appear “boring” to untrained eyes.
One way to sell a feint is to feint in rhythm with how you actually strike. For example, if you have been throwing sharp, quick jabs, your feint should also be sharp and quick. Watch Coach Tom Yankello explain this concept in the clip above.
Feinting is a true art. It’s all about making feints believable to deceive your opponent.
Setting Traps
Setting traps refers to a fighter using feints, footwork, and their ring IQ to set up favorable situations for themselves. These traps have an extremely wide range, as every fighter has unique strengths and predispositions.
One of these “traps” that City Kickboxing is known for is the rear hip feint. This is a feint for either the rear low kick or rear cross. The actual feint looks like the start of a rear low kick – you rotate your hips toward your lead side while sliding your rear foot one-half step forward.
To set up this feint, throw a few solid rear low kicks. This will condition your opponent to react more genuinely. After landing two or three low kicks, you are ready to use your feints to set traps!
Rear Hip Feint
Watch how your opponent reacts to the feint; they will likely leave an opening for you to expose. For example, if they attempt to check your low kick feint, you can spring forward and close the gap with a boxing combination due to your rear foot sliding forward during the feint. Raising your knee to check places all of your weight on your standing leg, making it difficult to move quickly.
If your opponent reacts to your feint by dropping their hands to catch your kick, feint once more, then immediately throw a question mark kick. Watch Israel Adesanya explain this concept in the video above.
Mastery Of Basics
Feinting is an advanced concept and should be treated as such. Beginners can get lost in the nuance and technicalities of feinting and setting traps.
One key aspect of effective feinting is getting your opponent to respect your striking. A jab feint, no matter how well executed, will never work unless your opponent is already wary of your jab. This goes for any feint and corresponding strike.
To start adding feints to your training, ask yourself what your best weapons are. If you have a crisp jab or lead hook, a lead side feint is a perfect choice to add to your arsenal.
Conversely, a fighter with a devastating rear cross or rear low kick would benefit from adding the rear hip feint to their arsenal.
Level Changing
Targeting your opponent’s body as well as their head will elevate your feinting game even further. If you only target your opponent’s head, they can simply put up a high guard and avoid the bulk of your offense. Targeting your opponent’s body doubles their mental load and helps you apply pressure.
One classic tried and true setup is repeatedly jabbing your opponent’s body to set up a rear overhand or cross. Depending on your opponent’s mental fortitude, fight IQ and physical stamina, this may take multiple rounds. It is important to be patient and not rush your own work; you need to be able to visually see and sense that your opponent has been lulled into a false sense of security.
A perfect example of this feint being used to set a trap is when Canelo Alvarez fought Amir Khan. Khan is well known to be extremely quick, possessing fast hands and a reach advantage over most fighters in his division. Canelo came into the fight knowing this and had a perfect gameplan. Over the course of six rounds, Canelo conditioned Khan to expect a single body jab, not thrown in combination. As the rounds progressed Khan became less vigilant with his defense and began dropping his hands and reaching to block Canelos body jab. Canelo sensed his opportunity and struck. He feinted a body jab and then exploded into a power rear overhand that ended the fight via knockout.
Conclusion
The art of feinting and setting traps goes far beyond what a single guide can cover; we hope that the concepts above provide a framework for you to add these skills into your own arsenal. Try using feints and traps in your next sparring session and let us know which ones work best for you!
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