my sensai pointed something out to me

[bushido_man96]

What worked for me is this:

Stand in ready position while a partner throws punches at your face from constantly varying angles. You aren't allowed to blink, move, or respond to the punching in any way.

The moment you lean back, to the side, or forward -- or blink -- you do something like push-ups.

Im not sure i see the point of this? If you already know that they arnt going to hit you, and all you have to do is stand there, i dont see why anyone would move???

I think that, for inexperienced practitioners, that it is difficult to shrug off the natural tendencies to flinch or retract from techniques like this, even though they do know they are coming.

[sonofkanga]

just keep on training.

As you have just begun your journey,have patience.

most skills take time to be proficiant in.

remember,there are no shortcuts.

[cross]

My sensai pointed out, which I also noticed the previous week and last night, when someone takes a swing at me, whether it's a kick or a punch, I tend to drop my hands slightly and kind of lean forward a bit. My sensai said, sooner or later I'm gonna get my head knocked off if i don't fix that. It almost seems to me maybe I'm afraid of getting hit. Any advise of what I can do to avoid this is greatly appreciated.

A fairly quick way to get over these fears and erase these problems from your training is to strap on some headgear (if you feel the need). Get your training partner to wear a pair of the largest boxing gloves they can find(16 oz most likely). Stand with your back to a wall and have your partner throw loose, slow, light punches at you... that will make contact(not hard obviously) with your face if you dont move your head out of the way.

Also you can work on keeping your hands up by having your partner do a similar thing and if you drop your hands they can tap you on the place you leave open. Gradually increase the speed and add a little more power to the punches. From there you can build up on the drill adding counter attacks from yourself, footwork, etc. The important thing is to be spontaneous with your movement and make sure your partner is attacking randomly so you dont get into a set pattern.

The only problem with this drill is that very few karate schools would be willing to do this. I have seen some that do, but its a rarety. They tend to opt for different drills like the ones others have mentioned.

[cathal]

Fear.

[pers]

Well ,you have already had some good advice from miller and cross . So I just like to add that maybe you should pay more attention to your basics training .All that emphasise on correect posture ,head up ,shoulders relaxed ,knees bent ,stomack forward ,correct weight distribution ,.hands and feet in correct position ... are there for a reason .

Pay attention to them ,when you are training in one step sparring with a partner ,slow the kumite right down and check yourself out and correct yourself as you go along .

with practice and patiance you will improve and eventualy it could become like second nature to you .

[shotochem]

Also you can work on keeping your hands up by having your partner do a similar thing and if you drop your hands they can tap you on the place you leave open. Gradually increase the speed and add a little more power to the punches. From there you can build up on the drill adding counter attacks from yourself, footwork, etc. The important thing is to be spontaneous with your movement and make sure your partner is attacking randomly so you dont get into a set pattern.

The only problem with this drill is that very few karate schools would be willing to do this. I have seen some that do, but its a rarety. They tend to opt for different drills like the ones others have mentioned.

That's the method that worked for me. The best way to learn your weaknesses is to have a good willing partner with excellent control to work with you.

[poisendhearts]

stare coldy into your opponents eyes before the sparring up until you start dont look away, but blink, cuz itll look like ur crying after a while, then during sparring get peace at mind and remember your training and do what feels best, and knock him up!!!!