need to improve my fighting...fast (karate)

[KarateKid7]

iv jus gotten back into kumite...essentially the application....iv been focussing mainly on the spiritual and kata side of karate but then when i jumped back into serious kumite training after a yr or too, i feel so rubbish! i lack stamina which means after some intensiv drills, i cant even keep my guard up resulting in me getting smacked in the face. opponents i used to make meals out of have improved so much (sure my kata is better than theirs). I lack mainly flexibility speed and focus. My combos and counters are pathetic. Every one is hammering down on me and i feel inferior...please help! Any advice for the course(s) of action i should take would be greatly appreciated.

[Du Hast]

I lack mainly flexibility speed and focus. My combos and counters are pathetic. Every one is hammering down on me and i feel inferior...please help! Any advice for the course(s) of action i should take would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not sure what sort of sparring you are doing. Point sparring, or something with more contact?

I'd suggest getting a heavy bag, or if you can't get one of those, getting something safe to punch and kick at to use as a target. It sounds like you are practicing striking plenty by doing katas and drills and such. It doen't sound like you are practicing these strikes in a way that simulates the sparring.

Practice launching your techniques while you are moving around. Try using boxing style footwork. Move back and forth and side to side. Seriously, foot work is of huge importance. You can make yourself much much harder to hit, and can strike in a much more unpredictable fashion.

Look into a mirror and practice doing your techniques in a way that doesn't telegraph what you are going to be doing. Try punching with very little movement prior to the launch of the punch. This may require you to change your technique a bit.

Pick a few techniques to work on, and drill those particular techniques over and over usung the heavy bag or target. Pick a couple of combinations, and drill them over and over.

If it's point style sparring, remember that power isn't a big concern. Focus on moves that are fast, don't leave you open, and are hard for your opponent to stop. You might want to figure out why your techniques are slow enough not to score. Maybe you could modify them slightly.

Get something that generates a tone or noise in a random fashion. Stand in front of the heavy bag or target, and strike when you hear the noise. Doing this over and over will increase your reflexes and reaction time. Bruce Lee detailed a drill where he would observe people on the street, and make a slight noise when he saw them do something. The key is for you do do something to react to something you can't predict or control.

It goes without saying, but observe the people that are better than you, and try to do what they do.

[Menjo]

yea your going to spend alot of extra time training on your technique and just pretty much everything. Train at home too, good luck

[Sensei Rick]

Also, train in front of a mirror and notice any telegraph and try to eliminate it. practice over and over till you can move only the intended attack without and pre movement.

[KarateKid7]

sorry what do you mean by telegraph?

[AndrewGreen]

He means do you pull your hand back before punching, does your elbow flare out? How easily can you opponent read what you are doing?

Stamina - start running or skipping.

The rest, pick one thing and work it. Fight with only a jab and a cross for a while, focusing on your footwork, ignore everything else and get beaten. Just worry about making your footwork better.

Trying to win when you are new is a mistake in terms of progress, you should be trying to improve, not win. And that means losing for a while.