Rushing

No, this is not football rushing, although the two are related. In football, a rusher charges into the opponents instead of backing up. In sparring, a rusher is one who charges into attacks instead of avoiding, deflecting, or blocking them. Rushers tend to rush into kicks more than into punches since their chances of success are better against kicks.

When sparring, fighters tend to fear kicks from opponents; beginners spend more time watching the opponent’s feet than they do watching the opponent's hands. However, hands are much deadlier weapons than are the feet; they are closer to the target, can move quicker, can change directions while moving, and are more versatile. So it is better to watch the opponent's upper body for indications of imminent kicks. This way you may detect any type of attack, not just kicks.

Instead of fearing kicks and trying to avoid then, fighters should remove the power of the kicks by rushing into them and counterattacking. Many fighters try to avoid a kick by moving backward away from it, only to get hit by it anyway. Once you start moving backward, you are in a defensive mode. To move forward in an offensive mode, you have to decide to fight back, stop your backward movement, switch into attack mode, and start moving forward. When you move backward, it indicates cowardliness, fear, lack of confidence in your ability, and weakness. It not only empowers your opponent, it weakens your fighting spirit. The better option is to rush into kicks. Rushing indicate courage, lack of fear, extreme confidence, and strength.