Sparring Against Little Control

[KnifeHand]

Longarm25, thanks for all the help, you're amazing. Can I take lessons from you? Anyway - thanks for all the help everyone else, I really appreciate it. I do realize that on the street I will use techniques I am not allowed to use in point sparring, trust me. By saying that I still won the match, I was merely pointing out that it is frustrating that this dude doesn't have the control not to bust my face up. If I wanted to, I could have landed all my kicks and punches hard, and in areas that would count for points. The other thing is that this guy has the wrong attitude, and I wondered if anyone else has experienced this, and how they handled it. Anyway, this topic is about dead, thanks for everything.

[cross]

and I wondered if anyone else has experienced this, and how they handled it.

 

I think you pretty much answered your own question >>>

I could have landed all my kicks and punches hard

[jarrettmeyer]

Well here's another point of view.

 

My background: I am an overweight white belt who lacks control. I'm not studying karate to learn to pound on people, but 2 outta 3 ain't bad. I've wrestled, boxed, and fenced in my past, so I have a little knowledge of fighting technique. Here's what works against me.

 

1. Keep moving. I can't keep up. Eventually I break down to the point where the little guys are spinning around me, and I stand in the middle and chase.

 

2. Get in and out. It takes me longer to control the distance. I can fight in quick rapid bursts, but I lack the endurance to keep going. My fencing and boxing taught me good blocking, but attack 2, 3, or 4 times before I can riposte.

 

3. It takes me longer to attack. My weight and size telegraph my technique, and my attacks linger out in the open longer than they should. Because of my size, I generate a lot of momentum, so if you get off angle, it will take me even longer to react.

 

4. I am VERY reluctant to kick. (a) I have less control than with my hands, and I'm not comfortable kicking yet. (b) My feet are slower than my hands, and I have yet to land a kick that didn't hurt my opponent.

 

Good luck against the big guy.

[KnifeHand]

jarrettmayer, that was an amazing post. Thanks for the insight, if you ever want to know how a little guy thinks,let me know. I appreciate it, and good luck with all you do.

[shotochem]

Hello Knifehand,

 

I am of similar stature, I can feel your pain!!! The way to deal with the situation is to use yor skill and agility. You are more experienced and should be able to to see the telegraphing of a larger slower whitebelt. Let him attack first and just keep countering until he makes a mistake. Do not be concerned about "POINTS". Who cares who gets the points in the dojo? It is not a competition. You are there to learn and to make your partner and yourself better. When you take a point mentality it can sometimes ruin your effectiveness. When I spar, I tend to constantly try new things and work on things I need to improve. I have been known to pick one technique and use it to score the entire sparring session. If I want to work a technique I'll just keep blocking and moving to set up that particular technique. Then I'll work another ect... I rarely try to win while sparring in the dojo after a while the points just start to come more frequently. Its all good fun and I find I get more out of training in this manner.

[pyeman]

to be honest if anyone hits me too hard i tell them njot to do it but if they do it again then i hit them back. It is an aggressive approach but in most cases it works!

[jarrettmeyer]

Hey, no problem. Glad to help. Lots of people are helping me, and I like to teach any time I get the opportunity.

 

But before you go trying to teach him a lesson yourself, talk to your Sensai. Although I have met no one at my dojo who is like this, my Sensai has a strict policy of not teaching students who want to get into fights. If you're there for that reason, you'll be asked to leave and never come back.

 

Shy of that not working.... MwaHaHaHa.... Remember, control the distance, attack from off-angles, watch for him to telegraph his moves and weight shifts, and attack quickly after he throws his technique.

 

Also, one last thing. You must be loose and calm. If you're worrying about getting hit, then your mind will be too preoccupied, and you'll probably get hit. You should only be tense at the moment of impact. I don't know about that whole "mind like water" thing, but a body at ease is definitely going to help. Big guys will tend to tense up. In fact, a lot of newbies will do this, regardless of size. This burns a lot of energy, all of it wasted.

[jarrettmeyer]

to be honest if anyone hits me too hard i tell them njot to do it but if they do it again then i hit them back. It is an aggressive approach but in most cases it works!

 

Hey! That's how I'm learning! Seriously. But I'm working with good black belts who know have fooled me enough to show that they know what they're doing. If I hit too hard, they hit back. I say, "Thank you, sir."

[Karategurl]

Yikes!! thats kinda scary knifehand!!!...You should go as hard as the lower rank goes.. if they come at you full force, watch out!!