Maai

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out of range

kicking

The Pocket

Having an opponent “in the pocket” (i.e., 1-2 arm’s lengths away) places them in-range of most kicks, and one step (i.e., a 7-3) away from punching/striking range. Most of the action takes place inside the pocket.

Tall people have a natural “reach advantage” in karate. Tall people have longer arms and legs, which encloses a larger circle than that of a shorter person. Because of this difference in “wingspan,” there exists a small region where pockets do not overlap, and a tall person can safely attack shorter people, while being out of range of their techniques, as demonstrated by the video below. Shorter or stockier people can still become excellent karateka, but they must become extremely good at closing the distance.

Lone Starr holds a reach advantage over the shorter Dark Helmet. Because Dark Helmet did not close the distance to compensate for their height mismatch, Dark Helmet is now inside Lone Starr's pocket, and his big Schwartz remains out of range.

The Clinch

"The clinch” refers distances less than your arm’s reach away, where you can grab your opponent without reaching. Most punches and kicks are jammed up and are rendered ineffective or impossible in the clinch, so specialized strikes must be used instead. Takedowns, wrestling, and grappling moves are only possible from the cinch. There is no room to think inside the clinch; you must act immediately, because your opponent will.

Karateka with stocky body types are more successful once they close the distance and enter the clinch, because taller fighters are more prone to takedowns, and they lose their reach advantage in this region. Most of a taller fighter’s techniques will be jammed, so they must evade or retreat to reclaim the maai.

The following techniques work well in the clinch:


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