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 your weight on your front paws.

 

Belly Rake - A fight-stopper. Slice with unsheathed claws across soft flesh of opponent's belly. If you're pinned down, the belly rake quickly puts you back in control.

 

Front Paw Blow - Front attack. Bring your front paw down hard on your opponent's head. Claws sheathed.

 

Front Paw Strike - Front attack. Slice downward with your front paw at the body or face of you opponent. Claws unsheathed.

 

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 large opponent. Spring onto opponent's back and grip with unsheathed claws. Now you are beyond range of your 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 countermove, and try to jump free before you get squashed.

 

Partner Fighting - Warriors who have trained and fought together will often instinctively fall into a paired defensive position, each protecting the others back while fending off and opponent on either side. Slashing, clawing, and leaping together, battle pairs can be a whilewind 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 an attacking position.

 

Scruff Shake - Secure a strong teeth grip in the scruff of your opponent's neck; then shake violently until he or she is too rattled to fight back. Most effective against rats, which are small enough to throw. A strong throw will stun or kill them.

 

Teeth Grip - Target you 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 you claws remain free to fight.

 

Upright Lock - Final, crushing move on already weakened opponent. Rear up on back legs and bring full weight down on opponent. If opponent does same, wrestle and flip him under you. This move makes you vulnerable to the belly rake, so requires great strength and speed.

 

Tail Trip - Charge your opponent head-on and looked directly into their eyes. Be careful to avoid your own tripping; just try to keep your foe from looking at anything but your eyes. When you go to attack them change direction and run passed them, then use your tail to trip them up. From there you need to quickly turn around and do whatever would be best for the moment. Attack or pinning is always effective.