Fix my guard!

[tallgeese]

I don't think you can look at just the hand position without just a brief look at the entire body position. A short overview of my personal suggestion that's worked for me across a wide variety so circumstances, but we'll focus last on the hands.

First up, feet about shoulder width apart with the rear foot off line back about half a step. You're upper body should be angled slightly to the back foot side, but not extessively. This gives you great movement while giving you optimum defensive options.

The hands are up, but loose. My back reast near my cheek bone on it's side. The lead hand is slightly out and again around the jaw to nose area. the lead shoulder is elevated a bit and the chin dipped to it.

You should have the elbows tight to the side, but again skeletally tight. Not using tight muscles. Just keep them from winging out.

Now, structure is useless without a way to use it.

I suggest blocking body shots with the elbows by rotating at the midsection. Anything below the belt gets blocked by the legs, and head coverage is performed by the hands and upper forearms. This keeps you from dropping your hands and exposing your head.

Just what's worked for me. Good luck, let me know how it works out. I'll see if I can find some video of this in action.

[bushido_man96]

Train with boxers for a while. Point sparring tends to be done with control and light contact, while sparring for boxing is done with control and harder contact. getting hit in the face hard will make you want to keep your guard high.

Thanks for the suggestion MasterPain. I have considered doing that to also work on my punches too but at the moment time and lack of money means its not really possible. TBH we do get hit quite hard in the face in our point sparring; ITF Taekwondo is pretty much full contact apart from you can't win if your KO opponent. I really think my problem stems from having a high tolerance to pain and being able to roll with the punches. My coach always says I won the fight just not the spar. It just means I'm giving away points.

This is one of the reasons I never liked point sparring, especially in the ATA. Tall, quicker guys would just own me because all they had to do was slip something in that made contact to get a point. I can get inside and slug away, but that's no good for a point strategy.

To echo was MasterPain suggested, just have some of the training partners ar your dojang spar with you, only using head shots, like a Boxing match. That way, you know everything is coming high, and you will focus more on keeping that guard up.

[Wolfman08]

Train with boxers for a while. Point sparring tends to be done with control and light contact, while sparring for boxing is done with control and harder contact. getting hit in the face hard will make you want to keep your guard high.

I noticed most boxers have a guard high enough that it opens their legs up to strikes. So, he'd learn to defend his face, but open his legs up (a point in some TKD branches, and generally a bad idea in the real world).

Really any alteration to your guard that protects your face will open your legs up, and vice versa. A guard that protects your stomach will open your ribs, a guard that protects your ribs opens your back and your stomach. A guard that protects your left side will open your right. The best thing you could for your opponent is to try to protect one specific area with your guard, because it tends to open everything else up. The best thing you could do for you is to use a guard which protects your chest and upper abdomen. Shifting your guard (or moving your hands) will protect the rest.

A boxers guard held with your hands about level with your chest and elbows about one fist away from your floating ribs is ideal. To protect your head from here you just need to drill your rising block (use your lead so your rear can counter). To protect your stomach close your arms in and bend slightly (watch boxers, they'll drop their elbows on top of their opponents hands/wrists) or use a downward forearm block. To guard your floating ribs bend to the side being attacked and drop your elbow on top of the attack. And liberally apply low blocks and shin blocks to guard your legs. Pair all of this with lots of body movement and footwork.

To work this is kind of a four step process. Step one is just to do it alot to the air. Start out with just running it static and slowly work it into shadow boxing and bag work. After getting comfortable with this move to step two: Pad work. Start with simple drills where you defend and then attack (half step back and do a high block, then pop back in and either do a cross to the head or lead leg round kick to the floating ribs). Then move to you feeding an attack and defending against the counter attack (lead leg round kick to the thigh and then sink your elbows to guard a belly shot). Once this comes naturally to you move to step three: 50% sparring. Basically, sparring, but going about 50% your normal speed and using 50% your normal force on impact (or use no contact if you're do light contact sparring as it is). Generally you'd want to start doing this with you primarily on the defensive, and move to your primarily on the offensive, and finally move to 50% regular sparring. This helps to wean you into it, since most people have a massively easier time learning to defend then to defend against a counter. Step four? Step four is fun: regular sparring.

Have fun.

[MasterPain]

Train with boxers for a while. Point sparring tends to be done with control and light contact, while sparring for boxing is done with control and harder contact. getting hit in the face hard will make you want to keep your guard high.

Thanks for the suggestion MasterPain. I have considered doing that to also work on my punches too but at the moment time and lack of money means its not really possible. TBH we do get hit quite hard in the face in our point sparring; ITF Taekwondo is pretty much full contact apart from you can't win if your KO opponent. I really think my problem stems from having a high tolerance to pain and being able to roll with the punches. My coach always says I won the fight just not the spar. It just means I'm giving away points.

This is one of the reasons I never liked point sparring, especially in the ATA. Tall, quicker guys would just own me because all they had to do was slip something in that made contact to get a point. I can get inside and slug away, but that's no good for a point strategy.

To echo was MasterPain suggested, just have some of the training partners ar your dojang spar with you, only using head shots, like a Boxing match. That way, you know everything is coming high, and you will focus more on keeping that guard up.

The last time I point sparred, i ran a guy into the trophy table. I lost.

[bushido_man96]

The last time I point sparred, i ran a guy into the trophy table. I lost.

I think that's a matter of perpective there.

Tallgeese: I like your breakdown of the stance and guard. I actually try to do something like that in TKD sparring. I have noticed that when I take body hand technique shots, I tend to just kind of crunch up and absorb, as opposed to really "blocking" anything.

Now side kicks to the body are a different story, I try to block and sweep them out of the way, and cut an angle to the 45 degrees, so I can be close for a counter. This doesn't always work well for me, though, as my angle tends to naturally go backwards or sideways more than angled forward, and part of that kick still snags on me. After a time, I just get frustrated and start bringing my elbows down on those damn side kicks. Take that, ankles! Hahahaha......sorry, got carried away there. I tend to when I get frustrated.

[DWx]

The last time I point sparred, i ran a guy into the trophy table. I lost.

I think that's a matter of perpective there.

hehe I have a TKD friend who kicked someone through the judges' table. They weren't too happy about it.

Now side kicks to the body are a different story, I try to block and sweep them out of the way, and cut an angle to the 45 degrees, so I can be close for a counter. This doesn't always work well for me, though, as my angle tends to naturally go backwards or sideways more than angled forward, and part of that kick still snags on me.

See that's part of the reason my lead arm is down as in that photo I linked to earlier. We're taught to keep it there to guard the ribs against the side kick. From that position its easy to intercept the kick, slip in to the open side and reverse punch with the rear hand while almost pushing/deflecting the kick across with the down arm.

...start bringing my elbows down on those damn side kicks. Take that, ankles! Hahahaha......sorry, got carried away there. I tend to when I get frustrated.

Elbows are always good, especially if they're using their instep to kick with

Thanks for the breakdown tallgeese. I'll try it out. Cheers as well Wolfman08. I guess it really is just a case of forcing myself to spar differently and actively try not to revert back.

[jason ainley]

Personally i would keep the arms positioned at midsection keeping your elbows on your ribs ,from this position you can either raise an arm up to protect the head from a kick or pull one across the body to absorb a mid section kick.

Keeping the arms high can obscure vision and leave the body far to exposed.

Avoiding punches is best done by moving the head because of the mobility and speed of the hands blocking really dosnt work , kicks can be blocked/ obsorbed leaving the opponent on one leg and vulnerable to a counter attack especially if they are predicable in their approach eg using the same technique/ combination all the time.

Boxing training can help with head movement but the key to avoid in getting hit is good footwork if your feet move then your head moves.

Jason

[tallgeese]

Foot work and head movement are critical. But you defend by doing a couple of things:

1) You can displace the target. This would be moving the head and using body mechanics.

2) You can displace the attack. Blocking, parrying, ect.

or, and best of all

3) Do both. Body movement evasion and moving the attack. Now if one fails, the other is in place.

To do this and cover the head, the hands have to be up. Moving them from the midsection is wasted movement. Espicially when your elbows can cover the middle areas.

Again, just what's worked for me. I've never had a problem with a high set of fists obscuring vision.