The Vector Kill Chain: Part II
🔑The Combat Key to the Martial Arts
The Vector Kill Chain is an approach to martial arts that prioritizes the tactical use of time and distance as weapons.
The term “kill chain” is a military concept that identifies the structure of an attack.
Five vectors comprise the Vector Kill Chain: positioning, entry, pressure, objective, and clear.
Each vector encompasses holistic force — movement, firepower, and communication — and is a sequential series of unfolding events within the time-distance theater.
The kill chain methodology can be overlaid into popular martial arts, such as Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Karate.
The following image illustrates the five vectors across time and distance between actors.
See the original article: The Vector Kill Chain. Jeet Kune Do, Fight Tactics, and… | by Scott Gehring | S.E.F. Blog | Medium
Mapping the Keys of Combat
How does one map practical day-to-day fighting tools and techniques to vectors?
For example, where do elbow and knee strikes fit in versus a thigh kick versus a jab?
When is the appropriate vector in the kill chain to engage grappling techniques versus those of striking?
While several drivers can dictate these decisions, when it comes to tactical principles, the answer comes down to the correct time and distance.
The following diagram is known as the “Combat Key.” It illustrates where the shared principles, concepts, and tools of martial arts fit within the Vector Kill Chain.
The Combat Key maps each vector of attack back to actionable principles and concepts of martial arts.
It applies to all three engagement types within the time-distance theater: assault, quickdraw, and sparring.
Additionally, the Combat Key spans the self-defense and sports domains.
Each vector is composed of a yin and yang duality.
The Positioning Vector
The positioning vector is called Vector Zero since there is zero firepower. Actors are out of range of each other’s tools — no contact.
Only movement and communication are applicable here.
Positioning in this vector is divided into two main parts: analysis and preparation.
Analysis is input. Preparation is output.
The analysis is passive, and the preparation is active.
From these tensions emerge the duality of Vector Zero.
Vector Zero is another term for Bruce Lee’s preliminary analysis phase of a fight.
Positioning is the most strategic of the five vectors.
The Entry Vector
The Entry Vector is driven based on the duality between counter and leadoff.
Leadoff is the actor who initiates the attack.
The counter is the actor who receives and responds to the attack.
Positioning is the most strategic of the five vectors, but entry is the most tactical.
For more on how the entry vector is applied, see the video, The Entry Vector: Understanding the Curve of Attack.
The Pressure Vector
The Pressure Vector is based on the foundational duality between zoning and blitzing.
There are two types of forward pressure: on-center or off-center.
Blitzing is defined as forward on-center pressure down the opponent’s centerline.
Zoning is forward off-center pressure.
The pressure vector acts as a bridge between the strategic, the tactical, and the fight objective.
The pressure vector is outlined in the following article and video: The 7 Deadly Blitzes.
The Objective Vector
The objective vector is driven by the force objective duality.
The force objective duality states that when applying force upon an opponent fundamentally there are only two sub-objectives: damage and control.
Control creates damage, and damage creates control.
The objective vector is focused on maximizing force output efficiency.
For a more detailed breakdown of the objective vector, see the video: Maximizing the Force Objective Duality, Attack Curves & the Objective Vector.
The Clearing Vector
There is an old saying in fighting: “When in doubt, stick and move.” This saying is the essence of the clearing vector.
Two fighters cannot stay connected eternally like two lovers. Eventually, there will be a need to disconnect.
Sticking and moving is how the disconnect is accomplished.
Its primary focus is on the duality between movement and firepower.
Stick means fire. Move means movement.
The clearing vector provides an educated disconnect from the fight, taking one back to the positioning vector and into a further state of readiness.
The Dualistic Loop
After completing the clearing vector, the kill chain resets, becoming a kill chain circle, much like a Gatling gun.
This kill chain circle is called the EPOC loop.
In Closing
The Vector Kill Chain is a powerful idea in martial arts that enables people to end fights swiftly and efficiently.
It is a highly progressive approach to hand-to-hand combat and, when applied correctly, lays waste to one’s adversaries.
Wield with caution.
About the Author
Scott Gehring is a modern-day enlightenment warrior who delights in adventure, free-spiritedness, creativity, tinkering, travel, and an insatiable love for constructive conflict. An acclaimed expert in multiple art styles, Scott, for over 35 years, has passionately pursued understanding, performance, health, discipline, truth, morality, and the purity of combat.
More on Scott:
About — Scott Gehring — Medium
They Get Their Kicks — YouTube
TheyGetTheirKicks (@GetTheirKicks) / X (twitter.com)
Strategic Engagement of Force (@force_strategic) / X (twitter.com)
