If you have a boxing background and you like to jab with the stick, consider trying the Pass Smash. It is a simple stroke and is best begun when the opponent enters the pocket on a male triangle or just pressures in and stays there.

Get your man used to you jabbing and moving away from his stick. This will set him up for a move past his stick. Just try not to get hit with it as it passes. Then, when he takes ground from you as you jab out and throws anything—forehand or backhand—go right with a hard side hop right behind his stroke whether it is a forehand or a back hand.

Just as with the pass slash, your motion is powering the shot. Now, with the pass slash you are long stepping off and ripping the stick through. But with the pass smash you are skipping to the side and as your feet land your stick is being buried in him. This should make a booming sound on the bag. Just as the slash synchronizes with the step, the smash synchronizes with the skip-hop with the stick hitting as your feet touch down in the same way that a jab is thrown with stick or fist.

Withdraw the stick and repeat, pass smashing in sequences of two and three as you get behind him. Drill this, knowing it takes a lot from the calves, your core and your forearms. When you get tired in those areas, switch to the more mechanical slashes with the gliding step.

Let him have the real estate—this is a weapon fight—but make sure he pays a premium price, exacted with the sweet spot of your stick.