Combat Sports Glossary

noun A person who engages in physical combat or conflict

• The fighting man was honored for his bravery in battle.
• That guy is a real fighting man, always ready for a challenge.
• Yo, check out the new recruit, he's a total fighting man.
• She's a strong and determined woman, a true fighting man in her own right.

noun a defensive action in fencing or other sports involving the use of a blade or hand to deflect an opponent's attack

verb to ward off or deflect an attack, argument, or criticism

• The skilled fencer was able to parry every attack from his opponent.
• I watched as the two swordsmen tried to parry each other's strikes.
• He tried to parry my joke with a witty comeback.
• She was able to parry all of the difficult questions during the interview.

noun a sudden or forceful movement backwards

verb to push or force something backwards

• The knight thrust back the enemy with a powerful blow.
• She quickly thrust back the intruder with a broom.
• He just thrust back at the bully and walked away.
• Despite facing many challenges, she always manages to thrust back and keep moving forward.

noun a wrestling move or technique in which one person brings another to the ground typically by grabbing hold of their legs or torso

adjective used to describe something that is designed to bring someone or something down or defeat them

• The police executed a successful takedown of the criminal organization.
• Did you see that epic takedown in the wrestling match last night?
• I heard he got into a takedown with his ex-girlfriend at the party.
• The CEO's decision to cut costs was a takedown of the company's bloated expenses.

noun a round in a tournament in which the losers of an earlier round compete for a chance to continue in the tournament

• The repechage round in the tournament gives teams a second chance to qualify for the next stage.
• I didn't realize there was a repechage round in the competition.
• If we lose, we'll just have to go through the repechage.
• Life sometimes feels like a repechage, giving us second chances to make things right.

noun a secondary or delayed effect or repercussion, especially a damaging one

• The fencer delivered a swift afterblow to her opponent's torso.
• He got hit with an afterblow right after he thought he had won.
• She nailed him with an afterblow when he least expected it.
• The unexpected afterblow of losing his job left him feeling devastated.