my biggest... weakness ??!!

[masterintraining]

okay i have been sparring for a long time, and one of my fellow students who use to be bad in sparring has become VERY VERY good in sparring all of a sudden. I am very proud of him but, because of him doing better he has got me to realize i sparr rather sloppy.

u see i do alot o weight training alongside my martial arts training and because fo both of those key factors i have developed very strong muscular strength, but the problem is that i relize i rely to much own and without it i might not be anywere close to how good i am. so now i hav to learn to spar without relying so much own my strength, this is easier said than done for me though, as i am so used 2 using it. is there a simpler way to break this habit?

[cross]

If you have the strength, why not use it?

[G95champ]

I see this a lot. A good student is in a class with a lot of lower students and because he is not pushed he developes bad habits.

The simple answer is go back to the basics and start over. I don't mean take off yorubelt but go back to what you did or where taught early on. Simple things work best, fancy stuff gets you in troulbe more often than not.

One other thing to keep in mind. When 2 people spar together a lot they tend to learn the other sperson style. Thus a person who may not be as good in the grand scheme of things looks better vs a person he or she is used to working with. So maybe you just need to work with differant people.

[bushido_man96]

G95champ is right on, there. Your friend may have adapted to what you do, and now it is time for you to figure out how to grow a little bit more.

As for being strong, it should not be a problem. You will want to stay loose, and try to develop your speed as well. That should help things to come together for you.

[mantis.style]

What kind of sparring are you talking about?

[nine_weapons]

when it comes to fighting, "too much strength" is never a problem. It is actually an advantage. you have to realize when to use your strength though. As skill levels become more equal, attributes like strength become much more important because better attributes will be where you advantage comes from.

As for your sparring, Find what your weaknesses are and focus on those areas more. Fort example, when slipping was a weakness of mine. I made it a point to slip every time I sparred. I slipped more than I parried and blocked. If I got hit, so what? it was just training anyway, not a real fight. improve your weaknesses by making them a focus in your training.

[TigerDude]

What kind of sparring are you talking about?

That's what I was thinking. Light contact striking sparring should not be very influenced by strength - it would be more about speed. In heavy contact sparring, those with strength should use it I think.

For grappling, I think it would be hard to avoid using your strength.

[bushido_man96]

when it comes to fighting, "too much strength" is never a problem. It is actually an advantage. you have to realize when to use your strength though. As skill levels become more equal, attributes like strength become much more important because better attributes will be where you advantage comes from.

I agree here completely. Things like speed, strength, agility, always add to your various strengths, and help to overcome or hide your weaknesses.

[Kajukenbopr]

focus on training form, not muscle.

using the muscle u have is not bad at all, but focusing more on muscle than form will always leave u sloppy, probably taking ur technique level down.

go back to basics, ask ur teacher to reevaluate u and give u pointers for u to practice on.

[Jay]

Practice your footwork good footwork= not geting hit, good footwork=more power when you hit, good footwork=more speed.