Skilled fighters, whether trained or untrained, possess some or all of the following attributes: balance, mobility, protected stance, position of advantage, and offensive position. Police officers should be trained to recognized common pre-assault indicators so they can respond quickly to gain distance and protect themselves. If the attack has already begun and the police officer was caught off guard, he or she should rapidly assess the suspect's actions and capabilities and quickly employ reasonable protection measures. Rather than employ techniques that may fail against a skilled opponent, police officers should rely on the simple rule that the desire to win in a fight is paramount. Principles associated with this rule are seeking the target, applying weapons to open targets, controlling the head, employing angular movement, and moving to the vacuum. The end goal for police officers when facing suspects with superior fighting skills is to take immediate measures to neutralize these skills. 1 photograph