Is there a side advantage?

[PlasmaShock]

When sparring, does it matter if you and you opponent are facing the same side vs diff sides?

IE.

Being either right or left handed with left of right for forward.

Nomally people are tight handed, left foot front and when they face eachother, they are at opposing sides.

So what if a right handed person was right foot forward and they both faced the same side.

Advantage of any kind?

In the tournaments i go to, yes. in shotokan tournaments, you only get points for the head, sternum, above the waist and the rib cage area(with roundhouse kicks). if you face sideways and have a good guard, they will have a hard time trying to get in and scoring a point on the more vital targets. if you have any more questions similar or close to this one, will gladly try to help.

[bushido_man96]

When sparring, does it matter if you and you opponent are facing the same side vs diff sides?

IE.

Being either right or left handed with left of right for forward.

Nomally people are tight handed, left foot front and when they face eachother, they are at opposing sides.

So what if a right handed person was right foot forward and they both faced the same side.

Advantage of any kind?

In the tournaments i go to, yes. in shotokan tournaments, you only get points for the head, sternum, above the waist and the rib cage area(with roundhouse kicks). if you face sideways and have a good guard, they will have a hard time trying to get in and scoring a point on the more vital targets. if you have any more questions similar or close to this one, will gladly try to help.

The rules that I spar in at class and at tournaments are similar to yours, and I find it useful to be able to spar from both situations. You can use it to try to cut off targets, frustrate the opponent, or open up target areas to bait the opponent.

[PlasmaShock]

well said.

[baronbvp]

I am left-handed and normally fight right side forward. My stance is usually boxing/KB stance but with karate hands. It throws off most people because they don't see true lefties very often, but I always see righties so I am used to it. One thing I now watch out for - and this seems silly but has bitten me - is if we both throw a power punch simultaneously. I have hit the other person's fist with my fist and almost broken my hand twice and come close a few other times. (My left hits their right.) It hurts a LOT. It instantly stopped us both from sparring every time it happened. Another thing I am sensitive to is right leg kicks to my groin, but theirs is open to me as well. (Obviously we think about but don't train to that. However, mistakes happen during sparring and I hate getting "sorry" kicked there, groin protector or not.)

Not as many people switch stances during a match as I would expect. I like to. When I get tired or see an opportunity, I switch to left side forward. It provides relief from fatigue and a different perspective to be belly to belly. Now I can use my strong left hand for a good left hook to a rightie's open right side, or an uppercut. I switch back when it makes sense.

[ZCH]

fighting opposite sides takes away a rear leg kick to the stomach. and forces them to kick with the front leg which can be good if they aren't that fast with their front leg kicks.