I suck at kumite.

[Sokusen]

The one thing that has helped me with kumite is understanding what type of Kumite we are doing. Ippon is different then continuous sparring which is different from full contact, which is different from self-defense. All are fun (when done safely) and all have there benefits. My biggest problem was separating Ippon from full contact. If you go into Ippon Kumite with the mindset of hammering the guy, you are constantly waiting for that killer blow. In the mean time, the other guy/girl has already scored the point and the match is over, and you are left standing there waiting for your "opening". If you are practicing Ippon Kumite then remember it is essentially a game of tag. So relax and treat it as such. Things will become smoother and you'll find you become quicker.

Try going into your next night of Kumite with one technique you want to perfect. Say to your self "I don't care what he/she throws I am throwing my reverse punch". And just work that. This takes the Macho I need to win attitude out of it, and allows you to learn. Remember it is a game and you are there to practice, so have fun.

[nacal]

You will get better, like everyone has said pick something you want to improve and focus on it.

But better still pick an attacking move and a defensive move to focus on.

As kumite contains both attack and defense searching for an opening is only half of the battle, not presnting an opening to your opponent is the other half.

Also relax, work on movement - forward and backward, also side to side.

Another good thing to do is spar against higher grades, I have found every fight to be a valuable learning experience

[IronFistKempo]

Ignore this post if you're not interested in listening to me whine. I suck at kumite. I'm still in the lower grades and we only do actual free sparring every so often, so in my own defense I haven't had all that much opportunity to practice it, and sensei is always saying how it takes years of training to really develop the skills. So I know I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but it's just in my bones to be hard on myself, so I feel like I should be light years ahead of where I am in terms of skill. My big problem is that I just don't see opportunitities when they present themselves...like if my opponent leaves himself wide open, I'll totally miss it and miss the shot.

Any advice on how not to miss these golden opportunitities?

I'm testing for rank advancement this weekend! I'm very confident in all my other abilities except for kumite. Hopefully it won't be too big a factor on the test.

Kumite's a big part of what it's all about in my mind. It all really boils down to how you train. Good fighters always attack in combination. Single punches like jabs are used to guage distance & whatnot, but when you attack you need to attack in combination, 2-3 punches followed by a kick, 2 kicks followed by 2-3 punches, so on & so forth. Learn what kick best sets up what punch for you. what kick gets you into range best, & what you can use to follow your opponent with. Once you're physically developed, which really doesn't take long at all, it's all mental.

[wouldbemaster]

Just my thoughts.

Often when in a more junior grade all the training can go out of the window in the fight because you are subconsciously worried about being hit or loosing. I dont mean this is a cowardly way just you can think too much.

If you look at martial arts there are lots of threes or combinations of threes for what its worth here are two things that you can try that I do with my students:

Combinations of three - often people concentrate on tryiong to get the winning strike only to get a first strike in which stuns the apponant but not follow up quick enough, almost standing there with a mix of pleasure and surprise that you have got a technique through. Famous fight boxing (showing my age now sorry) frank bruno against mike tyson, tyson was expected to walk it, frank through a punch which got through and then just stood there instead of carrying on not sure whether he had shocked himself. Doing techniques in threes teaches you to keep going but not to just attack without thinking. Try it turst me it works.

Also three heights. try three different heights tap to the legs the one the the head one to the body etc. Really good at confusing the opponant. If you just attack the head their hands are already there and they know whats coming for example. try different combinations of heights perhaps get a friend to shout out different combinations of heights so you have to use your brain. head head body, body head legs, legs body head, head legs head etc. again try it it works for me and my students.

you could practice only being defending against your partner attacking or only attacking whilst they defend which can help with the confidence as this provides a safe environment to warm you skills up.

The key is to relax as many have said.

Hope this helps, good luck and happy training.

Brian

[barefoot-kohai]

Just some basic things to try (in sparring kumite - ju kumite or shiai kumite) as an starting point

First: test your opponent.

Then :

If he is taller than you (he will be comfortable in long distance), shorten the distance between you and your opponent: he will be uncomfortable.

If your opponent is shorter, make the distance between both of you bigger: he will be uncomfortable, you "will see him coming" and your bigger lenght of arms and legs will be in your favour.

If he is faster than you then "Search his back": move in circles, always towards his back (if you move to the other side -his front- he will hit you easily with gyaku tsuki). If he is slower (for example, you are agile and he is big and clumsy, but powerful), move in straight line, forward or backwards.

The fighting distance is very important. If you can keep your opponent in a distance which is comfortable for you and uncomfortable for him you have got a big point in your favour, but ALWAYS keep the right distance.

Best regards.

PS- I'm not a native English speaker. Sorry for the language.

[joesteph]

If he is faster than you then "Search his back": move in circles, always towards his back (if you move to the other side -his front- he will hit you easily with gyaku tsuki). If he is slower (for example, you are agile and he is big and clumsy, but powerful), move in straight line, forward or backwards.

This is advice I haven't read or heard before, Kohai. I hadn't thought of the speed of the opponent, just his or her height. I'm an infighter myself due to height (5'6"). But maybe I'm staying "in" too long; maybe I'll try moving, as you said, "forward or backwards," and see how that works. You see, my art is non-contact, so it's that when we spar that I'm not connecting, so my opponent isn't reacting to the "strikes," and so he can "hit" me repeatedly. This is even though I feel that, if I'd been connecting, there'd be no way he could do this. Forward & backward, in & out--this could prove to be good strategy in sparring non-contact.

BTW, please don't apologize for your English. I've read your posts and they're very clear.

[barefoot-kohai]

Well, that little pieces of advice were the ones my former teacher used to give us when practised kumite.

If your opponent is faster than you and you are just in front of him/her, he will be in advantatge because of his/her speed : He/she can reach you "more easily", just attacking in straight line.

If you break your opponent's "attack line" (moving towards his back - and keeping your distance), then he/she will have to "readjust" his attack line before issuing the attack. This "extra-little-time" helps you to compensate for the speed difference and overcome the speed-difference problem. Also you break your opponent's "fighting schema": If he decides to attack, the readjustements may give you that extra time, if he decides not to, you will have avoided an attack and maybe you will find the right moment to attack yourself.

In the dojo where I practise we normally work both traditional Kata and Kihon, but also Kumite, with limited contact: we are there to enjoy Karate and practise both art and sport, not to get injuries. A limited level of contact is allowed at chudan level (I have to admit that sometimes I even enjoy it), but attacks to sensible and dangerous areas as the face or articulations must be controlled and "contact free".

These are only little rules. Only a starting point, like those signs in the road that help you find your way. Anyway, nobody will walk that way in your shoes : you have to adapt everything and discover your own way.

Another little thing I learned being in a club which had a kumite competition team: do not expect to master 50 techniques in order to apply them in (competition) kumite, nor even 10. Even good kumite competitors have a technique range limited to 3 or 4 techiques as much (and their combinations). The winning movement is not a tecnically perfect attack (or counter attack), is a combination of technique, timing, mental state and... why not... luck (sometimes)

Best regards

Barefoot-kohai

[DWx]

Good advice barefoot-kohai.

If he is faster than you then "Search his back": move in circles, always towards his back (if you move to the other side -his front- he will hit you easily with gyaku tsuki). If he is slower (for example, you are agile and he is big and clumsy, but powerful), move in straight line, forward or backwards.

I am a bit doubtful of this though. It is a strategy we also tell beginners but if you are fighting a competent fighter then circling to the back puts you at risk of any spinning type techniques off the the back leg, back kick, hook kick etc. You'd be moving into the line of power of those kicks as well as moving yourself away from the open side and the majority of targets. It is something to try but I'd be wary of how your opponent reacts to this because you could end up in a worse off position.

[Vierna]

heh I suck at kumite too, but because of fear Ill hurt my opponent... Thats why, even when I see the opening, I usually dont take it, coz Im affraid Ill hurt my opponent... Ill even rather take the hit, than block it, coz I have rather hard blocks... in the training, several friends of mine that have spared with me, complained to me about my blocks... Once, when I tried to block a gyaku zuki from a friend, I did otoshi uke so hard, that she couldnt train for a week! Since then, I avoid kumite as much as I can xD

[tallgeese]

Circling is a central complainant to sparring, I'd agree.

I'd agree as well that a good fighter will seek to move with you. It's part of the dance. To not circle means you're facing an opponent statically, if that's the case, he doesn't need to work to find and hit you. You're right there already.

Cutting to the back is a good idea. It can open you to certain counters, true. But by the very nature of what we do any movement should and will open you to counters against a good opponent. Better it's the one's he can't directly look at you to launch.

Personally, if I find the back, I'll crash and initiate body to body contact. It's just too good a chance to control. Because of this, I'll typically make the move to back from tight ranges, say off an infight.