Training my guard

[Kung Fu Wang]

In stead of worrying about your own guard, you should let your opponent to worry about his guard. You need to move your fists closer to your opponent's head than to allow your opponent's fists to be close to your head. In other words, if you don't give your opponent enough space to generate his fast and powerful punch, you will be safe.

How to achieve that? You will need to "occupy" the space between you and your opponent. Try to fight in your opponent's territory than to fight in your own territory.

 

[JowGaWolf]

In stead of worrying about your own guard, you should let your opponent to worry about his guard. You need to move your fists closer to your opponent's head than to allow your opponent's fists to be close to your head. In other words, if you don't give your opponent enough space to generate his fast and powerful punch, you will be safe.

How to achieve that? You will need to "occupy" the space between you and your opponent. Try to fight in your opponent's territory than to fight in your own territory.

One of the ways I do this is to get a feel of when my opponent is about to attack. I hit my opponent right when I think he's about to attack. Most people get into a defensive mode when they feel like they are about to be attacked. Sometimes I do the opposite. It can be dangerous if I time it wrong "think double ko" but if timed just right. I'll be able to hit my opponent when he's thinking about hitting me. It's like I steal the timing for his attack and use it against him.

 

[Midnight-shadow]

One of the ways I do this is to get a feel of when my opponent is about to attack. I hit my opponent right when I think he's about to attack. Most people get into a defensive mode when they feel like they are about to be attacked. Sometimes I do the opposite. It can be dangerous if I time it wrong "think double ko" but if timed just right. I'll be able to hit my opponent when he's thinking about hitting me. It's like I steal the timing for his attack and use it against him.

That sounds far too advanced for me right now. Maybe in the future though I'll be able to do that.

 

[JowGaWolf]

That sounds far too advanced for me right now. Maybe in the future though I'll be able to do that.

It's advanced, but not really. It requires that you pay attention to your feelings. If you tend to get nervous right before you get hit, then that nervousness is what you want to be aware of. Basically when you feel that specific nervousness, strike your opponent. From there you'll learn how to refine it and pick up other signals.

These best description is when people flinch when they think they are about to be hit. Instead of flinching just punch the person. Trade the flinch reaction for a punch teaching. Keep in mind sometimes you'll know when you'll be hit and sometimes your opponent will catch you sleeping. The hard part is training it so that you can use it at will.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

One of the ways I do this is to get a feel of when my opponent is about to attack. I hit my opponent right when I think he's about to attack. Most people get into a defensive mode when they feel like they are about to be attacked. Sometimes I do the opposite. It can be dangerous if I time it wrong "think double ko" but if timed just right. I'll be able to hit my opponent when he's thinking about hitting me.

This is why I like to move my hands as close to my opponent's head as possible. If I detect that he intends to punch me with the right arm, I can just use very little force to punch back on his right shoulder to prevent him from even starting his right punch. If my hands can't reach that far, at least I want my hands to be close to his elbow joints. A push on my opponent's upper arm can be as good as to push on his shoulder.

With this kind of thinking, you cannot just use your arms to guard your head. You need to use your arm to force your opponent to guard his head. This may sound like macho talk. It's a mind set.

Boxer use his straight jab arm, keep his fist in front of his opponent's face. and ready to punch his back cross whenever he see open. It's similar strategy.

It's like I steal the timing for his attack and use it against him.

Agree! If your opponent attacks you, it safes your footwork to step in. His attack can be your attack too.

Either you knock me down, or I knock you down. Let's do it. IMO, that's the right kind of fighting spirit.

 

[Midnight-shadow]

Hi all, just wanted to say thanks to you all for the great advice. I've started training my footwork more and incorporating more side stepping, although I haven't had a chance to use it during sparring yet. I'm also practicing covering different parts of my body and then returning to my guard. Right now I'm struggling to put both the footwork and cover/guard together, but I'm sure that will come with time.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[marques]

Right now I'm struggling to put both the footwork and cover/guard together, but I'm sure that will come with time.
Thanks again everyone.

All together is not easy. I use footwork quite well when I am dominating or at distance. Otherwise, I forget it and also need to make an effort to use footwork under pressure (or IRL). Even professional fighters freeze with hands up, no footwork, under high pressure. So it is not easy and takes time. Any small improvement means you are in the right way.

 

[JR 137]

Right now I'm struggling to put both the footwork and cover/guard together, but I'm sure that will come with time.

Thanks again everyone.

There's no substitute for experience. There's no substitute for hard work. Those are the only two indisputable facts I've come to myself in karate.

The more you train and the harder you train, the easier the difficult stuff becomes. Keep at it.

 

[drop bear]

So have we got a video yet?

 

[Midnight-shadow]

So have we got a video yet?

Of me training? Kinda hard when I have nobody to film me, plus I don't think my instructor would approve.

 

[drop bear]

Of me training? Kinda hard when I have nobody to film me, plus I don't think my instructor would approve.

Hard to figure out how to help if we can't see what you are doing is all.

For all I know at the moment the other guy might just be better than you. In which case there is nothing really to fix.

Or you might be moving to the wrong spot and getting nailed. Or even blocking with something as simple as dropping your head or turning away.

 

[KangTsai]

Personally I only parry upward to set up a kick or a body 2. Otherwise I don't even have my front hand up during sparring, since what happens at my arm length is usually pretty predictable to me. The only times I have been hit in the face in the past months is when my lead arm was OUT, not DOWN. My strategy now consists of never staying at mid-range and pounding away at an opponent's guard to force an opening. In that strategy, my long guard works wonders against similarly tall or shorter opponents. This only works because my range sense is good and I have a fast back-step.

My tips are

-don't move backward when getting punched; move forward and dip your head for strikes down the centre.
-Never put your hands in an "I don't want trouble" position. You will enjoy a feast of hooks and your own gloves hitting your face.
-The long guard. If your tall, it's a complete cheese strategy.
-Predict punches or train reaction time.
-After an arm moves, weave to that side.
-RANGE: Know where you can't be hit.

Your problem is your guard and everything else. Hope you know what to prioritise upon.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Otherwise I don't even have my front hand up during sparring

Never put your hands in an "I don't want trouble" position. You will enjoy a feast of hooks and your own gloves hitting your face.

I hate when they teach this one in many of the women's self-defense classes. I've seen people do this over an over and each time a punched looped over the outstretched "Chinese zombie" guard. People will even try to use it to "jam" punches but it's totally useless.

 

[hoshin1600]

I hate when they teach this one in many of the women's self-defense classes. I've seen people do this over an over and each time a punched looped over the outstretched "Chinese zombie" guard. People will even try to use it to "jam" punches but it's totally useless.

of course,,,things you dont understand are useless.
this isnt the correct place to discuss it, but tools need to be understood if you expect them to work.

 

[JowGaWolf]

of course,,,things you dont understand are useless.
this isnt the correct place to discuss it, but tools need to be understood if you expect them to work.

The thing is that I've seen it used and have seen it fail. It's always the same result. Someone either counters it with a hook or a looping punch. I can pull up street fights where this has failed, I can pull up professional fights where this has fail, I can pull up kung fu videos where this has failed. So as far as what I've seen there is no one who has been successful in using that technique outside a demo.

 

[JowGaWolf]

of course,,,things you dont understand are useless.
this isnt the correct place to discuss it, but tools need to be understood if you expect them to work.

open a thread and share your wisdom about the "outstretched arms I don't want to fight" technique.

 

[Reedone816]

of course,,,things you dont understand are useless.
this isnt the correct place to discuss it, but tools need to be understood if you expect them to work.

Yep this,
I've more or less understand both side of view.
Seen several yt clips amateur layman fully outstretch both hand forward being KOed by a looping hook/overhand, but again that because the person refused to engaged.
While for a good outstretch hand usage we can see it in mma fighter jon jones or Klitschko's boxing, where they use it to calculate range and screw up straight line attack of the opponent.
They are different in posture of course.
While for me, we being taught to stretch 3/4 of our hand forward to mark our inner circle where if the opponent limb enter the line there we will strike, they start first, we arrive first.

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[JowGaWolf]

Yep this,
I've more or less understand both side of view.
Seen several yt clips amateur layman fully outstretch both hand forward being KOed by a looping hook/overhand, but again that because the person refused to engaged.
While for a good outstretch hand usage we can see it in mma fighter jon jones or Klitschko's boxing, where they use it to calculate range and screw up straight line attack of the opponent.
They are different in posture of course.
While for me, we being taught to stretch 3/4 of our hand forward to mark our inner circle where if the opponent limb enter the line there we will strike, they start first, we arrive first.

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If the out stretched are didn't look like "I don't want fight, Back off" then it's not the same thing I'm talking about

 

[JowGaWolf]

This is the one I'm referring to. This one is useless. Arms are in the fired position so she will need to bend her arms in order strike back. The idea position would allow her to punch with force. The other issue is that I can grab her finger from there and break them if I want. Simply grabbing her finger will cause her to pull her hand away in an effort to prevent me from breaking her finger. I just simply need to move forward when she pulls her hand back. The other problem is that I can easily strike her lower body or go under her arm for a shoot at the waist or her legs. looping and hooking punches will work too. The Tai Chi guy learn that the hard way. There are just better defensive postures to take. Men often tell women to take defensive postures that men don't take.

 

[Reedone816]

Yeah that posture.
Fully extended arm and or elbow pointed outward and or spreads fingers are a big no in mine.
Strange what you said about taichi though, but from several chen and yang taichi practitioners i met they have their hand extended about half to three quarter of their arm length, similar with the tui sao stance.
Might be because of my limited exposure...

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