no contact sparring

[garrisons2]

We do a fair amount of "No contact" sparring in classes (There is a specific class for contact sparring). What I am focused on trying to achieve and anxious for it's occurrence is when I will start to instinctively react properly and not fall into the set ups the black belts do on me. Any input based on personal experience would be appreciated. I've been going about 3 times a week for a year and half, blue belt

 

[TheOriginalName]

I'll offer my 2 cents here.........

I love sparring. We have two sparring classes a week (each one about 6 or 7 rounds). It's an awesome workout and gets you thinking.

A couple of tips.

1 - Each week try something new.
Go in there with a specific goal to attempt something you have never done before. It may be a new type of kick or a new combo. Sparring (particularly non-contact) is the time to experiment.

2 - Eat the poison berry
This is a John B. Will theory (www.bjj.com.au). If we eat a berry that makes us sick we automatically say "not going to eat that again". Don't let this happen in your sparring. If you try something and it fail don't think "not doing that again". Instead go "didn't work there......gotta try that again". Give it 20 goes before you decide it won't work - chances are it will work at least once and you'll be stoked with teh new move.

3 - Talk
After class grab your opponent and talk their ears off. If a black belt set you up go up to him and ask how he did it - how to avoid it and if there was anything else you didn't do properly.
This is called feedback.....it's a powerful way of learning and often overlooked.

Personally i love to spar - will do it with almost anyone - but at the end of the day it's all about learning and enjoying yourself. So get in there, try new things, analysie what happened and then get back in there.......

Have fun

 

[dancingalone]

Many students overlook defense when they start sparring. I find it useful to teach beginners to how to maintain a proper guard position at all times, even when moving in any direction. As the student gets more comfortable with using movement in combination with the guard to avoid be hit, it's time to work in practical blocking drills, like smashing weak kicks with your elbows or moving in at an angle to discomfort the attacker. Then counterattacks begin in earnest.

Most teachers just throw you into the ring and tell you to throw combinations, that the best defense is a good offense. Perhaps, but it pays to work on defense from the very beginning, too.

 

[Windsinger]

If I didn't know any better, I would say dancingalone was talking about me. :lol2:

For some reason, just about anything I do that involves some kind of conflict, from video games to TKD, defense goes right out the window. I somehow forget that limbs can be used to block or redirect attacks just as well as they can initiate them. About the best I do for defense is circling to get away from being in front of my opponent. Granted, intense combat strategy probably isn't expected too much from a yellow stripe, but still...

Now, that said, I think TheOriginalName's tips are great, and I'm going to try and work on those myself.

 

[Kacey]

Take a technique out of your patterns. Use it in step sparring. Use it in free sparring. Make it your own. When you've done that, pick another technique. Otherwise, all those wonderful techniques in patterns will just stay in the patterns, and never get used.

As far as black belts setting you up... well... that's how you learn. Whenever you get a chance, watch the sparring. Figure out what each black belt does best, and start thinking of ways to counter it. Try it (see above). If it works - great!!!. If it doesn't - try something else. Talk to your seniors; ask their advice, and try it; ask them to practice with you outside of class if they (and you) can. Remember, all your seniors have been where you are now - and if it weren't for their seniors doing to them exactly what they are doing to you, they wouldn't have the skills they have. So take advantage of their skills and experience, and use it to your advantage. And have fun with it - the black belts may be trying to win a sparring match - but that's nowhere near as serious as someone trying to beat the crap out of you as part of a mugging (or worse). Use sparring practice as a time to experiment - because if you ever really have to defend yourself, you need to be truly certain of your skills, and sparring is how you learn that certainty.

 

[K31]

To my way of thinking if you "instinctively react" then you are letting yourself get set up. You should always be questioning why someone is using a particular technique to a particular area. You should also always strive to be aggressive. If you are constantly thinking of "reacting" you are fighting your opponents fight. If you instinctively react you are telling your opponent what your response to a given attack will be and he will adapt.

There is a reason why in traditional Asian MA that you spar everyone in the class. Upper belts will hopefully run into unexpected responses from inexperienced students who "don't know any better" than to use the standard tactics the school teaches. Neither will an opponent who does not know your particular brand of MA in a real fight.

 

[igillman]

I have to agree with everything said so far including the very all-encompassing post by "TheOriginalName". I would also like to add/reinforce some things...

1) Sparring is "the" time to practice your moves. It is the only place where you get to see how effective they are and what people do to avoid them. In class I do not care about winning or losing, I care about seeing if my stuff actually works or not.

2) Try stepping towards your opponent when they throw a kick. It puts lots of higher belts off-guard as this does not usually happen. I have done some boxing so stepping up to them and punching the chest guard (or pretending to with non-contact) is a great surprise move.

3) There is no special move that will always score and there is no magic bullet. Surprise moves like number (2) above will work once or twice but do not rely on them exclusively.

4) There is no "proper reaction" to something. There are good and bad ways to react but no "proper way". Some people (the smaller ones) dodge, others like me (larger and heavier) will take the hit (or block it) and step in with a haymaker that knocks the little guy back about 10 feet.

5) Practice combinations that start out the same but end up differently.

6) Spar more and more. Break down what you did right and wrong each time you spar. Talk to lots of different people. People of different builds will have different answers, find the ones that work for you.

7) Have fun out there. If you have fun you relax more and a relaxed body uses less energy and reacts faster.

8) Blocks followed by kicks are good combinations to learn. That way you turn a defensive move into an offensive move automatically.

9) Not every kick will hit. Some kicks are used as setups for others.

 

[Kacey]

There is some great advice in igillman's post - especially the parts in bold.

I have to agree with everything said so far including the very all-encompassing post by "TheOriginalName". I would also like to add/reinforce some things...

1) Sparring is "the" time to practice your moves. It is the only place where you get to see how effective they are and what people do to avoid them. In class I do not care about winning or losing, I care about seeing if my stuff actually works or not.

2) Try stepping towards your opponent when they throw a kick. It puts lots of higher belts off-guard as this does not usually happen. I have done some boxing so stepping up to them and punching the chest guard (or pretending to with non-contact) is a great surprise move.

3) There is no special move that will always score and there is no magic bullet. Surprise moves like number (2) above will work once or twice but do not rely on them exclusively.

4) There is no "proper reaction" to something. There are good and bad ways to react but no "proper way". Some people (the smaller ones) dodge, others like me (larger and heavier) will take the hit (or block it) and step in with a haymaker that knocks the little guy back about 10 feet.

5) Practice combinations that start out the same but end up differently.

6) Spar more and more. Break down what you did right and wrong each time you spar. Talk to lots of different people. People of different builds will have different answers, find the ones that work for you.

7) Have fun out there. If you have fun you relax more and a relaxed body uses less energy and reacts faster.

8) Blocks followed by kicks are good combinations to learn. That way you turn a defensive move into an offensive move automatically.

9) Not every kick will hit. Some kicks are used as setups for others.

If it doesn't work in class, where there are rules designed to protect you from serious injury - it's not going to work anywhere else. The way to get better at sparring is to spar more, to experiment with more techniques so you have more tools in your arsenal. Go to other classes and spar with different people; if you spar with the same people all the time, it's too easy to fall into a habit of using certain techniques that always work on that person... then you get up against someone you're not familiar with, and "that technique" doesn't work.

 

[sekiryu]

Any tips for lower belts who know few techniques? I'm pretty much limited to 4 types of kicks, while everyone else has an entire arsenal of moves.

I use a blocking counter (don't know the proper term) alot, and occasionally dodge...but I'm limited to roundhouse and side kick (and the skipping variants).

I technically haven't learned the back thrust kick yet, but I know how to do it--I'm just worried that if I pull it off during sparring, the instructor might not like it because I haven't been taught it yet.

Haven't really learned the walking or back stances either.....

 

[Andrew Green]

I'd bet you get the best results when you learn to relax, and stop carring so much about getting tagged.

Your body resonds faster when it is relaxed, and if you are worrying too much about getting hit you tend to tense up and overreact to things, which makes it very easy to set up hits.

Next start looking at angles, as a bit of a oversimplification you get hit when you stand in front of someone. If someone starts hitting at you, move so you aren't in front of them and you are harder to hit. This doesn't mean move back, then you are still in front of them, circle around them and counter.

And finally start setting your own stuff up. Keeping the same things in mind. To hit them you need them in front of you. For them to hit you you need to be in front of them. So when you step in with your jab, get off center for the follow up, keeping them in front of you, but angling out so you are not in front of them. Use your intial strike to force a reaction, which creates a opening. Hit the opening.

But keep in mind, the people that are better then you are supposed to be able to hit you more often. That's just the way it is. Relax, let that happen, and pay attention to what they are doing and what you are doing that lets them do it.

 

[Andrew Green]

Any tips for lower belts who know few techniques? I'm pretty much limited to 4 types of kicks, while everyone else has an entire arsenal of moves.

I use a blocking counter (don't know the proper term) alot, and occasionally dodge...but I'm limited to roundhouse and side kick (and the skipping variants).

I technically haven't learned the back thrust kick yet, but I know how to do it--I'm just worried that if I pull it off during sparring, the instructor might not like it because I haven't been taught it yet.

Haven't really learned the walking or back stances either.....

Number of techniques don't matter much. Look at pro boxers and what techniques they throw. I bet 95% of the punches are 1 of 3 different "techniques. Go to Muay Thai and you might be up to 4 or 5 different "techniques"

But jab, cross, hook, front kick & round kick and you are pretty much set in terms of number of "techniques"

Right now its timing, angles and how you set those techniques up that matter. A very common beginner mistake is to think advanced techniques are the key to scoring, they aren't, in fact they are more likely to get you scored on, even at advanced levels. Anything beyond the basics requires a very good setup and very good timing to really be put to use, and even then it will only get used once and a while.

 

[tshadowchaser]

First and foremost have fun when sparring.
Before you spar ask one or two people to watch you closely and to let you know after class what they saw that you can improve upon ( higher belts would be better).
As has been said before try new things and work those techniques till you can make them work. If they do not work on the higher belts they may still work on those your own level.
If you find you keep getting hit with one particular technique ask some of the black belts what your flaw in blocking this technique is.

 

[igillman]

Tips for lower belts with few techniques...
You should know (or be able to do) roundhouse, side, and front kick. Practice the "hook kick" or the back kick as they will add a way of attacking a "closed stance" (see below). It is not how many kicks you know but how well you perform those kicks that count. Bruce Lee said "I do not fear a man that has practiced 10,000 kicks once, I fear a man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.".

There are 2 major types of stance you will face. Open and closed. Open is when both you and your opponent are faced as if you are both looking in a mirror. A roundhouse kick from you (or their) back leg will strike the opponent in the chest. A Closed Stance (I use the word stance because I have no other word for it) is when a back leg roundhouse kick will hit the opponents back.

A good kick for an open stance is a roundhouse. A good kick for a closed stance is either a hook kick or a back kick. A side kick or a front kick work fairly well in both cases as they follow the path down the centre.

So, back to basics. You have 4 kicks you can use. Front Kick and Side Kick are good when attacking in a straight line. Front kick is quicker, side kick is stronger. When you want to attack from the side you have to think "roundhouse or Hook/back kick?" and execute whichever one will hit their chest based on the closed or open stances described above.

Yes, you have less kicks in your arsenal than your opponent, but if you can perform those kicks well you will end up beating them. Practice the kicks you know like they are the only ones in existence, practice them and practice them some more.

If your school is anything like ours then your instructor will be delighted that you are trying new kicks, it shows your enthusiasm and your desire for knowledge. Your instructor may even pull you aside after the sparring and show you how to do it properly.

 

[garrisons2]

Good feedack so far, thanks

 

[sekiryu]

I've actually never seen anyone do a front snap kick in sparring at our class. As far as the closed stance, a skipping roundhouse/side kick should be able to score where a regular roundhouse/side kick would hit the opponents back, correct?

 

[igillman]

That's right, they will strike the chest. Now you are thinking like a martial artist

The front kick can either be a snap upwards or it can be a push forwards. The push front kick can be used either to keep someone at a distance or to score a point when they end up facing you directly. If someone likes approaching you while doing lots of roundhouses one after the other then the front push kick works very well for scoring or putting them on their back.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I've actually never seen anyone do a front snap kick in sparring at our class.

I guess not as popular since a lot of people tend to spar in a side stance, but it's a useful kick.

As far as the closed stance, a skipping roundhouse/side kick should be able to score where a regular roundhouse/side kick would hit the opponents back, correct?

Don't think so mechanical ("if this than that..."). A rear leg roundhouse in closed stance can still score since the kidneys, etc... are still targets. Sidekicks are completely different since they come from a different angle so they are less about stance and more about distance and movement.

Don't think in terms of mechanical absolutes. It's not about "this works, this doesn't ". It's all probabilities and risk/reward.

 

[TheOriginalName]

Any tips for lower belts who know few techniques?quote]


What others have given you so far is great stuff.

One thing i would like to highlight - ANGLES!!!
This is probably the easiest thing but hardest to do during sparring.

If someone lunges a punch at you - block\parry then create an angle by rotating your body out of the way. It will totally stop their attack because you are no longer playing the linear game.

Also stay light on you feet - the faster you can move the easier to get out of the way (best way to avoid an attack....not be there).

And if you only have a small arsinal that's great - it give you no excuses not to try using each and every kick\punch\block etc during sparring. Mix them up - experiment, learn what combos work and what don't.

And again - communicate. If your a white belt doing your second sparring class and you come up against a black belt simply ask them to go easy - they probably would already but it doesn't hurt to ask.

And as previously highlighted - sparring is about learning. You won't get hurt (well not seriously hurt anyway) so get in there and eat as many berries as you can - soon you'll find that none of them are poison if you do it at the right time.

Catch you all on the mats