I hit too harshly...

[conrad665]

While doing kumite,trainers and higher belts always say I hit too harshly and clench my teeth before attacking.How can I soften my techniques so that nobody will get injured?Maybe I take it too seriously when I'm hit...How can I overcome it?Thanks in advance.

[tallgeese]

Serious is good. Training should be serious if you're training for conflict. However, fighting with ego isn't. It's usually what leads to elevated contact levels on one party and impedes learining.

Getting hit is part of training and learning. Just relax and accept that. If you weren't getting hit, what would be the point of training where you are? Try stripping the ego out of the process. You're not there to show them how good you are getting, but to learn more. Take it as such.

Focus on relaxing. Breathing and balance. Just keep working on that. Try to talk partners into working at 30 percent or so. This way, you can get the feel of movement and you'll naturally relax more. When you're comfortable with the idea of taking hits again without keying up, then you can turn it back up.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[DWx]

Relaxing would probably help. Being all tense during sparring does tend to provoke the harder hits and a lot of people almost seem to panic when under stress in sparring and then hit hard.

As for clenching the teeth? Probably again due to not relaxing. To some extent you need to clench your jaw anyway as it'll help if you get smacked in the face. It'll stop you from biting your tongue or cheek.

[joesteph]

As DWx pointed out, Conrad, clenching the teeth isn't necessarily something negative. If you haven't got a mouthpiece to depend on, you can have teeth clash within your mouth so that one chips the other. It can happen while sparring, but it can also happen if holding a kick shield and the way a strong kick may strike that shield can mean a pop of the lower jaw against the upper.

I think that hard clenching, so that you're "working" the jaw muscles, reflects stress. If you're clenching whether striking, blocking, or just in motion, using a "snug" clench at all times, you're protecting your teeth. If you clench hard as you strike, then it's likely excessive effort, perhaps the stress of wanting to respond well, or the feeling that you're in an actual fight rather than with friends--fellow martial artists in your dojo/dojang whom you can trust.

For me, even though sparring in my art is non-contact, my blocks were hard, hard as strikes, and I had to concentrate on not hammering my sparring partner's limbs. I found that some easy-going sparring allowed me to concentrate on watching the power and become used to greater control when sparring with more spirit.

[conrad665]

Being hit by sb,even by a senpai or sensei is just enough to turn me into a hammer trying to hit back because I feel inferior -it shows I am still far from understanding the philosophy of karate- and I thought about talking to my partners,but then I thought they would think I am too weak or maybe they want a more exciting fight.Now this seems absurd to me when I think that way, I will try to talk to them to slow down a little bit.So far,I've kicked six people in the face (one on the mouth and fortunately no broken teeth,and one senpai) and it will be advantageous for me as well as my partners:)Deep breathing before each attack would also work,i think.Thanks for the advices,your help is much appreciated

P.S.:I never thought of protecting my tongue or sth else by clenching my teeth-it's because I get angry as I said and it just reveals when I will attack,so I must quit it if I can or do it normally.

[KarateGeorge]

There are actually many issues from remaining too tense when sparring.

First, as you are already aware, it puts you in a situation where your striking your parter overly hard. Hitting hard is fine when you're doing full-contact fighting, but when doing a more light contact sparring as is typically used in most classes, this can cause issues.

Secondly, when you're tense, you telegraph your movements very easily. Tense muscles exagerrate your movements and can help your opponent to remain one step ahead of you as they can see everything coming.

Thirdly, staying tense actually slows down your speed. Fighting relaxed and making the tension right at the moment of impact, and then releasing the tension afterwards allows you to strike with significantly greater speed than staying tense through the entire set of motions necessary for the technique being performed.

Fourth, staying tense wears you out much, much quicker. If you can stay relaxed throughout the fight, you will conserve much more energy. If you're in a self-defense situation, you never know just how long you'll need to keep going. They may have buddies right around the corner for all you know, are you may have to make an escape at some point and start running. You don't want to be worn out too quickly.

Lastly, staying relaxed physically also ties with staying relaxed mentally. If you can remain relaxed, you can really focus more on what you're doing. Being able to flow through your techniques naturally without having to lose focus is vital. Getting tense and worried in a fight can all to easily result in losing focus, which can lead to accidental injuries in class, or possibly worse on the street.

[conrad665]

Yesterday's workout was a little better-I tried to chat with my partners during kumite to get rid of stress and instead of blocking,I went backwards and sides not to cause harm.I hope I can go on like this,because there weren't many higher ranks(green and higher) that would make me stressed and I don't know what will happen.I concern it too much,because I may break sb's nose or teeth if I don't stop.

[joesteph]

Yesterday's workout was a little better-I tried to chat with my partners during kumite to get rid of stress . . .

It sounds like a good start, Conrad. As you continue, I'm sure you'll reach a happy medium. Remember, too, that as you yourself move up the belt chain, there'll be lesser experienced, lesser trained students you'll be matched up with, and the rule of thumb is to take it easy with them.

Just to dabble a bit in armchair psychology, do you feel (or have others noted) that you seem to be one person when performing the regimented exercises/drills, and another person when sparring? It happened with me (as my teacher pointed out which I'm grateful for) and I worked at correcting it.

[conrad665]

..do you feel (or have others noted) that you seem to be one person when performing the regimented exercises/drills, and another person when sparring?

This really defines the situation I'm in.I focus on technique during exercises,but I never think if I am performing the techniques right during sparring-my aim completely changes.Or used to change,I should say:) for I am working on it.

[sensei8]

"Emotional content; not anger!" ~ Bruce Lee

What do you think Bruce was saying when he uttered those words?

Emotions are good if used properly. What are the contents of your emotions? Anger? Sadness? Frustration? Hatred? Joy? Whatever is the content of the emotion; control it, harness it for positive. In your post you write: "...I may break sb's nose or teeth if I don't stop.", this isn't emotional content; it's anger. Anger isn't needed, especially on the dojo floor. Besides, that emotion can get you kicked out of the dojo!

Control your emotions. Don't let your emotions get the best of you. If you can't...then don't do the martial arts until you can. Martial Artists strive to re-channel emotions, like anger, fear and frustration, to amplify the power of a strike or kick, or when breaking a brick or throwing an attacker.

Kick harder. Punch faster. “Martial” takes precedence over “art”. Unleashing power is only the first stage on the martial path. The next less traveled stage, is the challenge to control the power. This demands meditation and deep contemplation of the consequences of our actions.

First, we must control ourselves and to do this we must know ourselves. It's sometimes much more easier said than done; but, it's doable. If you feel overwhelmed, angry or upset, stop for a few minutes. Take a break, or a walk. Calm down before you respond or react. Move and breathe; use breathing and relaxation techniques to calm you.

Remember, just as learning a kick or joint lock requires repetition and practice, emotional content requires practice –- keep practicing.

I sincerely hope that things work out for the best!