# New Sparring Curriculum



## Thesemindz (Apr 30, 2011)

In 2003 I wrote the curriculum for my first sparring classes. Those class plans eventually became my black belt thesis, "Teaching Intermediate Sparring: A Progressive Curriculum." You can find it here.


https://docs.google.com/View?docid=0AQf3knCxQaUvZGhnemNubTRfMGM4NzR4bnhi&hl=en


For the month of April we will be focusing on Sparring in the intermediate class and so I decided to go back and completely rewrite the sparring curriculum from scratch, using my original thesis, a stack of topical books from my library, and whatever additional knowledge or techniques I've learned along the way.

The books I referenced in this writing are -


_Infinite Insights into Kenpo Volume 5_, Senior Grand Master Ed Parker
_Freestyle Sparring_, Grandmaster Woo Jin Jung
_American Freestyle Karate_, Professor Dan Anderson
_American Kenpo Mastery,_ Professor Jamie A. Seabrook
_Championship Kenpo_, Steve Sanders and Donnie Williams
_Taking it to the Street_, Marc "Animal" MacYoung
_Boxer's Start Up_, Doug Werner
_Fencing_, Joseph Vince


Of course, everyone is free to use as little or as much of this in their own training or with their students as they like, credit not necessary. Standard notation are as follows, () means general aspects or evolutions of drills and concepts. <> means advanced variations or ideas which students may or may not be prepared for. [] mean clarifying commentary. {} means actions taken specifically by the defender within the context of a drill. || to connote dangers, risks, or areas of special concern.


Many strikes are referred to by abbreviations which I will try to list here. If I miss any and you can't understand through context, simply ask. Also many of the technical terms may be either foreign or mean something different to me than they do to you, again, feel free to ask if you are confused.


*Abbreviations of Terms*


fk  front kick
rk  rear kick
ssk  side snap kick
wk  wheel kick
stk  side thrust kick
ohhk  outward heel hook kick
uhhk  upward heel hook kick
rhk  kenpo style roundhouse kick
rhk(mt)  muay thai style roundhouse kick
ick  inward crescent kick
ock  outward crescent kick
tsk  thrusting sweep kick
A(B)  traditional kenpo sparring technique where the student grabs the opponent's lead hand and executes a downward or outward pull to put the opponent out of position
bks  backknuckle strike
ihp  inverted horizontal punch
vp  vertical punch
ihs  inward handsword
ohs  outward handsword
irhs  inward reverse handsword
orhs  outward reverse handsword
fihs  forward inverted handsword
phs  palm heel strike
ubf  upper body fake
lbf  lower body fake
1  push drag
2  step drag
3  drag step
4  front crossover
5  step through
6  rear crossover


Also, if you see a basic with another basic in parentheses, A(B), fk(vp), that means that the drill in question could be done with either basic for the same general effect and should be practiced as an option drill.


Finally, when a basic is underlined that means it is executed by the rear hand.


The only parts original to me are the mistakes.


*Curriculum*
This is a list of the skills I am teaching and the order of instruction. I believe this covers the necessary skills through at least the middle brown ranks.




*SPARRING THROUGH THE BEGINNER AND INTERMEDIATE LEVELS*


*BEGINNER LEVEL*


*FIRST MOVEMENTS*
Fighting Stance (neutral bow, off/def, mobility, stability, strong line/weak line, open/closed face)
Moving the Body (head, shoulders, arms, torso, legs, feet)
Bouncing and Stutter Steps (in place, forward and back, |predictable rhythm|)
Switching and Clock Concept (def/off/hop, 4 directions)
Coversteps and Lateral Stepping (+rear coverstep, |crossing feet, opening zones|)
Circle Walking (stalking, defensive)
1-3 Foot Maneuvers (push drag, step drag, drag step)


*3 ASPECTS*
Distance (elastico bks drill, stances and leaning)
Timing (partner flash drills)
Angles (circular strike defense, in/out/up, haymakers and rhk(mt))


*BASE GUARD POSITIONS*
Traditional Wedge
Universal Defensive
Hi/Low Facing
Boxer's Cover


*GUARD SWEEPS*
4 Directions (up, down, in, out)
Slaps and Hooks (hard/soft, friction/impact)
Grabbing and Pulling (gripping, bottlenecking the wrist, anchoring the elbows and sitting in the stance)


*BLOCKING*
Static Blocks (horse stance, fighting stance)
3 Zone Blocking (horse stance, fighting stance)
Moving and Blocking (box drill, four directions, hunter/prey)


*SIMPLE BASICS*
Feet (fk, wk)
Hands (vp/vp, bks, ihp)
A/B Technique (pull down checks, zone coverage)


*SIMPLE COMBINATIONS*
Hands/Hands (1-3 -bks/ihp, vp/bks, vp/vp)
Feet/Feet (1-3fk/wk)
Feet/Hands (1-3 -wk/bks, fk/vp)


*COUNTER-PUNCHING*
Up Block/ihp
In Block/bks
Out Block/vp
Iron Crane/vp(fk)


*INTERMEDIATE FOOTWORK*
1-6 Foot Maneuvers (push drag, step drag, drag step, front crossover, step through, rear crossover)
Angle Stepping (triangles, hourglass, square)
Pivot Stepping (forward and reverse)
Retreating (linearly, laterally)


*INTERMEDIATE BASICS*
Feet (rk, ssk, teep)
Hands (hi/low hooks, handswords (ihs, ohs, irhs, orhs, fihs [chopping set]), palms)


*EVADE AND COUNTER*
Defensive Rear Kick
Step to Open Side/vp(fk)
Bob/hook


*CONTINUOUS SPARRING*
Mirroring (hunter/prey, monitoring)
Evasion (long range, angular evasion)
Targets (front of torso, groin, sides of head)
Speeds (slow/med/fast correctly)
Contact Levels (no/touch/light)


*3 HIT COMBINATIONS*
Blue Freestyle (1-3 -wk/A(B)/vp, wk/bks/ihp, fk/A(B)/vp, ssk/bks/A(B), 4-5 -wk/bks/irhs, ssk/ohs/A(B), fk/A(B)/ihs)
Guard Sweep Combos
Kenpo Blitz


*INTERMEDIATE LEVEL*


*ADVANCED FOOTWORK*
Jenga
Full and 3/4 Spins
Coverouts (single, double, spinout)


*MOVING AND KICKING*
5-2fk(sk), 
1 Up the Circle with wk
In with fk
Out with rk
Circling with kicks


*COMPLEXITY IN STRIKING*
Altering Timing on Simple Combinations (wk/bks/ihp, fk/vp/fk, bks/wk/vp)
Spinning Strikes (rk, bks)


*INTERMEDIATE GUARD SWEEPS*
Elbow Catch Arm Drag
Waiter's Tray Check
Digging Through the Opponent's Guard (doggy paddle)
Striking the Arms


*MOVING AND STRIKING*
In with vp
Out with bks
Advancing with Chain Punches (piston striking)
Circling with Hand Strikes (palm/punch/handsword)
Half Step Back and Lunge/fk(vp)


*CLEARING HANDS*
Horizontal Palms/Claws
Striking (striking opponent away)
Pressing (leaning in, off hand striking)
Parrying (pushing away limbs to cancel zones, parry to grab)


*NEW KICKS*
stk (pre-pivoting, kicking through the target)
ohhk (stk that misses can become ohhk, snapping in not swinging out)
uhhk (plant then kick, testicles <knees>)
rhk (kenpo style, landing forward/out/back)
rhk(mt) (muay thai style, landing forward/out/back)


*INTERMEDIATE SPINNING TECHNIQUES*
Spin stk
Spin ohhk
rhk Spin Recovery
Spin A/B


*KICKING GUARD SWEEPS*
ick/ock (in/out guard sweep)
fk (jamming guard sweep)
ohhk (back of arm)
rhk (front of arm)


*COMPLEX COMBINATIONS*
Green Freestyle (1-3 -wk/bks/A(B)/vp, bks/ihp/5bks, wk/A(B)/irhs/fk, bks/spin rk, 6bks/rk/up block/ihp, 4-5 -wk/bks/ihp/waiter's tray guard sweep, ssk/6bks/rk/A(B), fk/vp/A(B)/phs, 5-2 -fk/vp/down guard sweep/vp)
Circling with Combos (hands and feet)
Kenpo Blitz to Combo (breaking with kicks and facing)
Double Tapping (hands and feet, holding and hitting)
Re-Orbiting Strikes (striking set, moving with a partner)


*POINT SPARRING*
Purpose (training, game)
Rules (obey judges, starting positions, ring environment)
Judging (point calls, non point calls, only clean techniques score)
Etiquette (humility, respect, only call points you see, accept rulings as final, no grumbling, encourage your teammates)


*INTERMEDIATE DEFENSES*
Jamming with Linear Strikes (fk, vp)
Stepping Past and Away from Strikes (slipping punches, angular evasion)
Stepping Past the Opponent (striking and facing)
Spinning out of Pull Down Checks
Hip Twitch wk Defense (follow with bks, counter with landing forward and jamming the counter-turn)
Stiff Leg Lifting Rear Kick (against kicks mid level and higher, lean away)


*FEINTS AND FAKES*
Lower Body Fakes (high stepping, stomping, twitching)
Upper Body Fakes (opening and closing hands, bks fake, clapping)
Sensory Distractions (looking away, making noise)
Deceptive Footwork (half steps, half spins, lunging)


*SWEEPS*
In Place Pulling
Crossover Sweep (tsk)
Rear Sliding Leg Sweep


*KICKING THE LEGS*
Control
Targets (foot, shin, knee, thigh, hip)
Kicks (fk, stk, rk, rhk, ssk, tsk, ohhk)


*SPARRING WITH BEGINNER SELF DEFENSE TECHNIQUES*
Fallen Sword (inside punch defense)
Penetrating the Wall (outside punch defense)
Attacking the Kick (inside kick defense)
Deflecting Circle (outside kick defense)


*CLOSE RANGE BASICS*
Feet (knee, stomp, low line kicks)
Hands (elbow, claw, short hands)


*CONTROLLING SPACE*
Changing Ranges (in and out with strikes)
Against the Wall (cover and counter)


*MULTIPLE OPPONENTS*
Tactics (group, separate, line)
Grabbing and Repositioning (grabbing limbs, set and throw)
Human Shielding (holding, tossing)


*HOLDS*
Clinch (from chi sao)
Side Hug (from punch defense)
Arm Hold (from opponent blocking)


*TAKEDOWNS*
One Leg Rear Sweep (opposing domination)
Clinch Takedowns (straight, turning)
Bearhug Dragdowns (sacrifice and roll to top position)


*STREET STYLE SPARRING*
Hunter/Prey (alternating roles)
Environment (walls, tight quarters, obstructions, lighting, footing)


*ADVANCED DEFENSES*
Simultaneous Actions (block and strike)
Pulling into Strikes (grab limb and pull)
Obscuring Vision (covering opponent's eyes)


*LOCKS*
Straight Arm Bar (from up guard sweep)
Figure 4 Arm Lock (off A(B) technique)
Hammerlock (from A(B) technique)
Outer Wrist Lock (off down guard sweep open faced)


*ADVANCED COMBINATIONS*
Brown Freestyle (1-3 -lbf/bks/ihp, ubf/fk/vp, 4-5 -lbf/vp/A(B), ssk/ubf/wk, 5-2fk/ubf/6rk, 6stk/ubf/spin rk)
Hand/Foot Guard Sweeps (ick/vp/rhk/spin rk, fk/elbow catch/ihs/ohs, ssk/waiter's tray/ihs/vp)
Complex Kicking (1 up the circle wk/vp/phs/6stk, teep/A(B)/ihs/bks, def rk/A(B)/stk/irhs, fk/vp/srk/ohs)
Leg Sweeps/Feints and Fakes ( ubf/in place pulling sweep/bks/irhs, lbf/bks/in place pulling sweep/uhhk, 5lbf/vp/4crossover sweep retreating/2def rk)
Grapples/Strikes (A(B)/vp/5arm hold/stomp, 5-2fk/A(B)/irhs/outer wrist lock, 6bks/rk/A(B)/clinch)


*CLOSING TO TAKEDOWN*
Closing with Long to Short Range Strikes (fk/vp/vp/grab shoulder and wrist, stk/A(B)/vp/in elbow/grab shoulder)
Strike to Takedown (palm/grab/set/takedown)


*ADVANCED SPARRING*
Control (|the more closely our training resembles reality the more dangerous it becomes|)
Continuous Street Style (grapples, sweeps, takedowns, all targets, ground fighting)


*SPARRING GAMES*
Molasses Style (super slow, flowing)
Hands/Feet (mix and match)
Hunter/Prey (offense versus defense)
Two on Two (devise stratagems)
One on Two (rotating fighters)


*CONCEPTUAL EFFECTIVENESS*
Singing During Battle (keeping the breath, distracting, war cries and chants)
Cheating (pinning the opponent's foot, misdirecting actions (pointing and looking and shouting), herding the opponent, flicking sweat and spitting, dishonorable handshakes, striking during the bow)



If you compare this curriculum to my street fighting curriculum, or even my ground fighting curriculum, you will see a lot of overlapping techniques. This is both unavoidable and completely intentional. There are only so many ways to move the human body, less still that have combat application. Although the emphasis may differ in each curriculum, the same techniques can apply across contexts, and that lesson must be emphasized to the students.

If anybody has any questions or comments feel free. I hope this is of value.


-Rob


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