Fighting techniques

This page lists the Clans' various fighting techniques, as described in Secrets of the Clans and Battles of the Clans.

Techniques

 * Back kick - Explosive surprise move to catch opponent from behind. Judge opponent's distance from you carefully, then lash out with your back legs, taking all weight on your front paws.
 * Belly Rake - A fight-stopper. Slice with unsheathed claws against the soft flesh of the opponent's belly. If you're pinned down, the belly rake quickly puts you back into control.
 * Front paw Blow - Frontal attack. Bring your front paw down hard on your opponent's head. Claws sheathed.
 * Front paw strike - Frontal attack. Slice downward with your front paw at the face or body of your opponent.
 * Killing bite - A death blow to the back of the neck. Quick and silent and sometimes considered dishonorable. Used only as a last resort.
 * Leap-and-hold - Ideal for a small cat facing a larger opponent. Spring onto opponent's back and grip with unsheathed claws. Now you are beyond the range of the opponent's paws and in position to inflict severe body wounds. A group of apprentices can defeat a large and dangerous warrior in this way. Watch for the drop-and-roll counter move, and try to jump free before you get squashed.
 * Partner fighting - Warriors who have trained and fought together will often fall instinctively into a defensive position, each protecting each other's back while fending off an opponent on either side. Slashing, clawing, and leaping together, battle pairs can be a whirlwind of danger for attackers.
 * Play dead - Effective in a tight situation, such as when you are pinned. Stop struggling and go limp. When your opponent relaxes his grip, thinking you are defeated, push yourself up explosively. This will throw off an unwary opponent and put you in attacking position.
 * Scruff shake - Secure a strong teeth grip in the scruff of your opponents neck; then shake violently until he or she is too rattled to fight back. Most effective against rats, who are small enough to throw. A strong throw will stun or kill them.
 * Teeth grip - Target your opponent's extremities- the legs, tail, scruff or ears- and sink in your teeth and hold. This move is similar to the leap-and-hold except your claws remain free to fight.
 * Upright Lock - Final, crushing move on already weakened opponent. Rear up on back legs and bring weight down on opponent. If opponent does the same, wrestle and flip him under you. This makes you vulnerable to the belly rake, so it takes great strength and speed.
 * Half-Turn Belly Rake - Turn onto your side, slip under the opponent's belly, rake it with your claws, then swiftly turn back onto all fours out from under your opponent.
 * Badger Defense: Leap over opponent, turn on your back legs and bite opponent's leg. Used only when fighting badgers.

Frontal Paw Blow:

 * Used by Snowpaw and Bluepaw against Crookedpaw in the battle for defense of Sunningrocks.

Partner Fighting:

 * Ravenpaw and Graypaw fighting in Into the Wild against ShadowClan.
 * Bluepaw and Snowpaw fighting RiverClan in the battle in defense of Sunningrocks.
 * Used by Ivypaw and Dovepaw fighting in Fading Echoes against ShadowClan.

Killing Bite:

 * Used by Clawface to kill Spottedleaf in Into the Wild

Leap and Hold:

 * Used by Cloudpaw against Mudclaw when Sandstorm, Cloudpaw, and Fireheart are ambushed on WindClan territory in Rising Storm.
 * Used by Bramblepaw, Stormpaw, Ashpaw, Featherpaw, and Tawnypaw against the BloodClan deputy Bone after he killed Whitestorm, the beloved ThunderClan deputy in The Darkest Hour.

Play Dead:

 * Used many times by Firestar. As an apprentice he surprised Yellowfang by playing dead, then he exploded upward, throwing her back. This is considered his signature move; he even beat his most famous enemy, the only cat he's ever killed, with it, by going limp under him then leaping up and taking him by surprise. Also used by a warrior that Sandstorm defeated.
 * Used by Lionpaw in Outcast against a black-and-white she-cat from the rogues invading the Tribe. The move was prompted by Hawkfrost.

Teeth Grip:

 * Used by Brambleclaw in the fight against Tigerstar and the rogues. Also explained in Battles Of The Clans.
 * Used by Crookedkit when first seeing Fleck.
 * Used by Bluepaw against Crookedpaw in the battle for defense of Sunningrocks. In the same battle, this is used by Snowpaw against Crookedpaw.

Half-Turn Belly Rake:

 * Used by Bluepaw in Bluestar's Prophecy when she shows Lionpaw and Goldenpaw the move after being asked by Lionpaw's mentor Swiftbreeze to perform it to show the two younger apprentices how do it one day at a battle training session. Lionpaw tries it. He is quick but clumsy, and his sister Goldenpaw is good, but she thinks too long before she does the move, and is gently scolded by Swiftbreeze.

Rear-up to Slash:

 * To hurt opponents coming from the air, this move can be used to rear up on the hind legs and slashing at the enemy. Used by Crookedkit to defend against the magpie and Fleck.
 * Taught to Crookedkit more accurately by Mapleshade.
 * Used by Crookedpaw against Bluepaw to almost defeat her in the battle for Sunningrocks.

Attack Crouch:

 * Crouching down to leap out onto your enemy Used by Crookedkit when first meeting Fleck.

Leaping:

 * To leap onto the enemy fully so it is hard for them to shake you off. Used by Ottersplash and Beetlepaw in attacking the heron.

Tucking in the Tail:

 * The less you give your enemy to hold on to, the better. This technique takes practice, as balancing with a tucked-in tail is tricky. Taught to Crookedpaw by Mapleshade. Crookedpaw later uses this against Beetlenose, who hisses that it wasn't fair to hide his tail. Cedarpelt's gave darkens, saying that only ThunderClan cats hid their tails.

Bushing out Fur:

 * Bushing out the fur makes them look twice as big as their enemies, and a frightened enemy is half-beaten. Taught to Crookedpaw by Cedarpelt. In contrast, Mapleshade taught him to slick down his fur to fool his opponent into thinking he looked weaker than he really was.

Arched Back:

 * Used to intimidate the opponent or to vent out anger. Used against Crookedpaw by Sunfall in the battle for Sunningrocks.

Shoulder Drop:

 * Grabbing the opponent's shoulders and then locking them against the ground. From here, the cat can do anything, such as churning their hind paws against their spine. Used by Crookedpaw against Bluepaw in the battle for Sunningrocks.