trekmann Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 Fellow Karateka, I have been training for six months now, and I thought I was progressing well. I really feel confidant doing kata and Basic moves, but I have massive problems when it comes to sparring. When I spar with the more experienced students who are my size I seem to flinch a lot and continually move backwards away from my opponent. I just cannot commit to holding my ground and taking whatever comes my way if I cannot block it. As our sparring is only light contact and we wear protective headgear you would think this would not be a problem. I have spoken to my Sensai about this and he believes that it I will become more confident with exposure to Kumite over time. This is really getting me down and I do not know if I am confident to progress any further up the ranks until I overcome this problem/fear. Can anyone who has been in this situation give me some tips on how to rise above this problem? The strongest principle in human growth lies in human choice (Alexander Chase).
Ironberg Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 Work up to it. Kumite can be a rewarding rush once you get use to it. Do blocking drills more often and become more use to relying on your reflexes instead of your flinching. Learn to circle; Always keep your eye on a strategic spot on your opponent, and do not let your eyes become predictable. Practice on your strong techniques often and vigorously. Practice makes perfect. As long as you put your heart into it you will succeed. Good luck. "An enlightened man would offer a weary traveler a bed for the night, and invite him to share a civilized conversation over a bowl of... Cocoa Puffs."
Mart Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 Youre senai is right, its natural what you are doing and will change over time Seize the day!
gheinisch Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 As the others have said keep at it and don't give up. Fear is the unknown and the only way to overcome it is too keep facing it. I think everyone goes through a time when they fear one thing or another, you be the master of it, with the right training of course. Keep practicing and things should fall in place to where you are more comfortable and aggressive in your sparring matches. Good Luck! "If your hand goes forth withhold your temper""If your temper goes forth withold your hand"-Gichin Funakoshi
Dijita Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 We did this cool exercise yesterday in class that might help you. I really enjoyed doing it, as I'm not very good at blocking yet because it's just not an innate reaction. Anyways, this is what we did: With a partner you figure out who will defend and who will attack. So lets say you are the defender... you have your partner attack you with various kicking and punching combos, and you practice blocking them PROPERLY. You do this for 2 minutes and then you switch. The whole idea is that the attacker should be focusing on proper footwork, technique and looking for the openings. The defender should be focusing on blocking properly, staying light on their feet and maintaning a good fighting stance at all times and making sure they are always protecting their head. I hope this helps, if you dedicate yourself to training and doing exercises like this and other similar ones.. you'll find that you will get better and better, and you won't back off for no reason. Good luck, and have fun training!
aefibird Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 Keep on training and practicing and I'm sure you'll be more confident with kumite. Try practicing with one higher grade regularly, someone who has plenty of experience. They will be able to help you and bring you on and should be able to start you off sparring slowly and help you to build up. Try to relax and visualise yourself being firm and only moving when you want to, not when you're forced to by your partner. Plenty of blocking drills will help your reflexes, so try and do that as much as possible. Good luck with your training! "Was it really worth it? Only time and death may ever tell..." The Beautiful South - The Rose of My CologneSheffield Steelers!
Mart Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 Actually yes this is a good point that bigbird makes. Slowing it down can help remember youre supposed to be learning not getting smacked about. It will be usefull to have sparring just a little too fast for you, but only just. That way you will learn fast. Dont be afraisd to say "can we slow down" Seize the day!
ShotoMan Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 Actually yes this is a good point that bigbird makes. "bigbird?" ShotoMan of the Shotokan
TheDevilAside Posted April 24, 2004 Posted April 24, 2004 lol Your instructor is right, just keep on sparring and you'll get used to it eventually. It takes some time for your brain to make the realization that getting hit doesn't hurt that much in the first place (with gear on, of course) so why flinch? Just give it time and practice, and try to have an aggressive mindset. "If you're going through hell, keep going." - Sir Winston Churchill
karatekid1975 Posted April 24, 2004 Posted April 24, 2004 I would write my whole experience with this, but it would be too long. So just read the article I wrote for KF ... http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4969 I hope this helps Laurie F
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