# Sparring -



## Raewyn (Jul 23, 2004)

Im new to sparring and already I feel frustrated. When sparring how do you stop yourself from hitting your self in the head with your gloves, when someone hits your gloves? Do you actually need to hold your guard higher and have your gloves touching your head?? Whats the go with this??? How do you stop the attcker from punching through your guard, Im ahaving trouble with especially sparring against men. please help!!!:idunno:


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## tmanifold (Jul 23, 2004)

Here is my take on this but this is a little off the status quo. In MMA sparring a close guard like in boxing is of little use. You don't have those big gloves to hide behind. I put my hands out a little farther as it gives me a little wiggle room if I am a touch slow. Your lead hand should definatly not touch your head but putting yur rear hand on your cheek is all right.
Concentrate on parrying, head movement and shielding. By shielding, I mean quick covers in response to specific attacks. The two most common for me were a vertical elbow sheild, where you basically grab the back of your head with your hand and use the bent < shape of your arm as a sheild for a head blow. The other one I used alot was alot quicker but not as strong. If the attack came from the left side, shrug your left shoulder up as you tuck you head down (chin in to your collar bone) and bring the right hand up to cover whats left of your head. It short and fast but like I said not as strong.

It is really all about head and body movement. Side to side and change levels.


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## Baoquan (Jul 23, 2004)

*tmanifod* is dead on...give yourself a little more room in the guard, and try to slip/evade punches more that "blocking" them. Its much easier to nudge an arm a few inches away from its intended target (especially if the intended target has moved away from where it was) than to stop it dead.


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## Tony (Jul 23, 2004)

I agree with everybody else here! When I spar I keep one hand away from my face slightly, but just enough to cover it when i need to and the other slightly higher than my waist so I can block kicks. Also use your legs to keep your opponent at a distance. Use some feints to draw him in and when you see an opening go for it. Learn to evade punches as well as blocking them. Duck, bob and weave. Practice drills with a partner where he aims a round house kick at your head and you duck as it comes in and progress so he makes it faster. In your sparring do you use takedowns? because sometimes I can a persons leg and just push it so I knock him off balance.


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## Tony (Jul 23, 2004)

Oh yeah another thing keep moving forward and never turn your back on your opponent.


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## redfang (Jul 24, 2004)

A good offense is the best defense.  Who really cares if you get tagged once or twice if you take out or take down your opponent.


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## tmanifold (Jul 24, 2004)

redfang said:
			
		

> A good offense is the best defense.  Who really cares if you get tagged once or twice if you take out or take down your opponent.



It depend on how hard you were tagged. :btg: 

I think it is easy to attack while using the methods I mentioned above.

Tony


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## kenpo tiger (Jul 24, 2004)

Raisin said:
			
		

> Im new to sparring and already I feel frustrated. When sparring how do you stop yourself from hitting your self in the head with your gloves, when someone hits your gloves? Do you actually need to hold your guard higher and have your gloves touching your head?? Whats the go with this??? How do you stop the attcker from punching through your guard, Im ahaving trouble with especially sparring against men. please help!!!:idunno:


Hey Raisin.  
I see your art is tkd, so we all have to adjust our replies to reflect that.  One defends and attacks differently in tkd than in kenpo.  When I trained in tkd I always took the initiative and went on the offensive, starting with low kicks.  I'm small and I have to get inside in order to do any damage -- those long-legged (tall!) people I used to spar were frustrated by that.

I assume you wear one of the 'life-preserver' chest protectors with the colored targets.  That's good because it limits where you're initially able to be kicked and you can learn to defend a smaller space more easily.

A tip from kenpo.  
We are taught in my school to be circular when sparring - i.e., don't move back and forth on a straight line and don't allow anyone to back you into a corner!  Try to keep the center of the sparring ring as your territory.  

We also do what is called a  perimeter check with our hands.  Your forward hand is the hand which is furthest ahead of you, approximatelyhigh chest/low shoulder level, and your rear hand is approximately waist height.  That way you can keep your opponent's punches at bay with the forward hand (parrying) and check with the rear hand, which is available to defend with should your forward parry/check miss.  We also rotate our hands in a circular motion, reversing which is forward dependent upon our stance, and bringing the rear hand up as the forward hand goes down, thus protecting the center line at all times as well as your head and groin by having a hand at the proper level to defend.

I won't even try going into blocking kicks, as I assume that is part of your curriculum and your instructor has been doing drills with you.  Oh yes.  Learning to duck is useful against those high kicks, because your center of gravity is low and stable when you duck (assuming you are in a horse or modified horse stance), and that allows you to get inside and deliver a kick of your own while your opponent is attempting to land and regroup from missing his.

Let us know how you do.  Sparring is fun - enjoy yourself!!  KT:asian:


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## Raewyn (Jul 25, 2004)

Thanks so much for that guys!!!!!! Great advise.  I acutally do Incorporated Martial Arts which is a bit of everything, but TKD is the basis for it.  When we sparr we do not have head gear or a chest guard, all we have are leg pads, gloves and a mouth guard, so sparring can be a bit frightening for me.  I will definatley let you know how I get on.  Thanks again!!!!!!!


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## tmanifold (Jul 25, 2004)

Stopping the attacks farther out from you body with parries and jams will help with the fright. Part of the problem is that if you cover, you are still getting hit. Covering minimizes the damage but from a psychological point of view it doesn't matter.

Tony


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## Andrew Green (Aug 1, 2004)

Yes, put your hands on your head, in contact with your head.  Use your forearms as shields, keep moving and deflect them instead of taking them full on.  If you are in this position you should be looking to change levels and get in to a clinch or a leg shot as you will be getting hit.  However against a superior striker this is a very good option as you can protect the important things long enough to get in.

Yes it can be done without gloves, You just have to learn how to move and how to position your whole body.

NEVER reach out to meet a attack as you will get hit with a follow up if fighting anyone with decent striking skills.

If possible catching, slipping, parrying are better options, but keep your hands in close and move.


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