Fighting Techniques
Part One

Back Kick- Explosive surprise move to catch opponents from behind. Judge opponent's distance from you carefully, then lash out with your back legs, taking all your weight to your front paws.

Belly Rake- A fight-stopper. Slice your claws against the soft flesh of your opponent's belly. If you're pinned down, the belly rake quickly puts you back in control.
Front Paw Blow- Frontal attack. Bring your front paw down hard on your opponents head with claws sheathed.

Front Paw Strike/ Forepaw Slash- Frontal attack. Slide 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, 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 the 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.

Fighting Techniques
Part Two

Leap-And-Hold - (Cont.) 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 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 their grip, thinking you are defeated, push yourself up explosively. This will throw off an unweary 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 they are too rattled to fight back. This is most effective against rats, who are small enough to throw.

Fighting Techniques
Part Three

Tail Yank- Grab your opponents tail and yank it with such force that your opponent is thrown off balance.
Teeth Grip- Target your opponent's extremities- the legs, tail, scruff, or ears, sink your teeth in 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 an weakened opponent. Rear up on back legs and bring your weight down on opponent. If opponent does the same, wrestle and flip them under you. This makes you vulnerable to the belly rake.

Half-Turn Belly Rake- Turn onto your side, slip under the opponents belly, rake it with your claws, then swiftly turn back onto all fours out from under your opponent.

Fighting Techniques
Part Four

Badger Defense- Leap over opponent, turn on your back legs and bite opponent's back leg. Used only when fighting badgers.

Duck and Twist- Simple defensive move. The cat ducks, then twists around, rolling onto their back, and then springs to their paws.

Jump and Pin- Complicated move. Leap backwards, and bounce off of the surface- hill, tree, fence, wall, etc- and with precise accuracy, land on the opponent, pinning them down.

Hunting Techniques

Mice/Vole: Drop into a crouch and place all your weight onto your back legs. When you are close enough to your prey, pounce explosively, stunning it, then apply a killing bite to the neck.
Rabbits: A rabbit will smell you before it sees you, so approach against the wind if possible. If it sees/hears/smells you, you may have to chase it. Once you're close enough, pounce and apply a killing bite to the neck.

Birds: You may need to climb a tree or ledge. Approach carefully! Leap up or pounce, snagging your claws into the birds feathers, pulling it down. Once you have it close enough, apply a killing bite. If you can't get a killing strike in, try to disable the wings.

Fish: Sit patiently beside the river and wait for a fish to surface. As soon as you spot it, dart your paw out and scoop it out of the water, applying a killung bite. Try to move away from the shore so the fish doesn't fall back in.