Applying WPD-RC Empty Space concept with distance and Range.

My karate/combatives teacher Rick Wilson talks a great deal about how Empty Space and understanding it is largely a foundational principle in understanding combat.

It seems like common sense at first. BJJ says when you’re on top you take space, when you’re on bottom you create it. When you’re putting a submission on you take space, when you’re escaping you create it or move for it. In wrestling you take space to take balance, and you create space to avoid someoen taking your balance.

Yes it is simple. Infact thinking of this concept actually simplifies other principles and concepts in martial arts.

But the complexity is on how broad it is, to find it, to see it.

For example, creating space on the ground is used to escape. But it’s more than framing, you need to frame and go somewhere, usually someplace that is empty, and some spaces are better than others. To know this one must understand space.

On top one must take space away, but they must understand exactly where that is, and how it feels to take it.

A wrestler must know exactly where they need to wrap and how, need to be sensitive to every bit of space to take it, and the person defending or countering a takedown must sense every little place that it exists.

It’s not enough to see space, take or create it. There must be a fundamental understanding of it, we have to know it. To get all isosteric, you have to feel it, make it a part of you. Body mechanics do not work well if one does not know where space is. If you want to smash through the structure of a strong well balanced person, you must know how to hit into space, knowing where space is involves using body mechanics to move yourself.

But I want to focus on how empty space explains the concept of controlling the distance. In striking arts distance and range are essentially holy grails. People talk about range and understanding it in the same way as internal martial artists will talk about chi/ki energy. The difference is, controlling the distance at least has some quantifiable qualities that can be observed. But knowing how two people who understand distance and range can beat each other with it gets more isosteric. It’s seen as so complex it’s almost mysterious.

People do know footwork is a key to controlling range and distance. Afterall, if you can move faster and better than your opponent, you can move through space better, and thus control it better. Same with having more reach, you can occupy it much easier.

But that’s the thing. It actually is nothing more than that, the person that can read distance and simply occupy it better with footwork and their tools is the one that often has the advantage when there is space.

It’s no different than a wrestling taking up space in a body lock, but instead of double underhooks and body locks, you’re using the speed and precision of your jab to fill the space. You’re footwork helps you move through it in a relationship with your opponent, and your jab or whatever strike you’re using simply takes control of it.

You control it by being able to move through it better than your opponent(Footwork) and you take control of it with your weapons.

Machida here uses his movement to manage it. Then uses the kick to fill it, and since Belfort doesn’t react or do anything with his own tools in space, he got knocked out.

With weapons it’s even more pronounced. Maija Solderholm talks in her first book how most duels often end with a mutual kill or mutual injury. Not something history records because it sucks. The best duelists never got hurt, never got hit.

But one reason mutual kills are so common is the best thing to do is move through space and occupy it with your weapon. So many people pre-emptively strike that the other guy does it too. So they both kill or injure each other.


But one of my first blog posts was about a strong defense so you can freely focus on attacking. Well it was Maija that motivated that, and the better your defense is, the easier you can stop someone from taking control of the space with their weapon, without you getting hit by it.


Still sounds complicated, but that’s all it is. Moving through space and occupying it with movement and an attack. You keep someone from using their weapons to control the space with your defense, and your defense helps you keep attacking without dying or getting hit.

That’s the basic concept.

Thing is though, there are so many ways to understand space. I truly think people should read my teachers book. Because I’m his loyal and rebellous student who loves the guy.

And also because it actually examines the concept of space as a singular topic.

Thing is, even if you read this book, you’ll still have questions, and still perhaps not entirely understand it. I’m still wrestling with it, and I read the book (Does not help my working memory is terrible. ADHD is known for that)

Thing is though his website is available and he’s easy to contact.

And even if you don’t want to do that, let the book get you started on the concept.