Tips/Crituque on my sparring?

[Montana]

Point sparring is a game of tag. You have to get your "point" before the other guy does. If the other guy just keeps backing up as you press him, back him into a corner. Learn to use feints (example: fake a kick, lunge with a back fist) but mix it up because people learn real quick what you're doing.

Bummer groin kicks aren't allowed..they are so much fun against kickers, especially head hunters. Just do it once and that takes away a lot of what they want to do.

The one tournament I actually competed in wat against a 3rd dan BB in TKD. I could tell that he wanted to kick me in the head in a real bad way, so after we broke for a point call I got into a very low stance and presented him mty head on a silver platter. He moved forward and started ti side kick to my head. I dropped to the floor on my side and launced a side kick perfectly to his groin.

Boy, was he...uhhhh...MAD! he pretty much lost control at that poibnt because he knew I had suckered him. He never threw a kick the rest of the match, which I won.

[AdamKralic]

Angles. You kept charging straight ahead in a line. If your opponent was better at check mark type footwork you'd lose badly. Good opponents are hard to force straight backwards for any distance. A step back? Sure. A step left or a step right would be superior in most cases though.

Ring movement. Circle. Circling to the backside of your opponent can create advantages if they do not match your movement in time. Circling to the front can give different advantages. If you image a line coming from the front of your opponent...that is the center line. When match starts your center lines are aligned. Unless you have a really good height advantage on him...attacking the center line is not near ideal.

Learn to blitz off your front foot. Think one armed Superman. It's a leap. Speed is king in point sparring. Circle to advantage and superman blitz with a reverse punch ready.

Edited January 15, 2013 by AdamKralic

[AdamKralic]

Here is a good fight in your age bracket. I know the fighter in the white helmet as my son trains with him 2x a week.

Notice his:

Speed.

Looking for angles, advantages.

His opponent is slower and not as "long" BUT...he had some GREAT angles and really great timing.

[AdamKralic]

Here is an old video of my son. I show this not to brag or anything as he has MAJOR flaws that he shows in this....but this was his first fight where he "got" circles, check mark angles and not backing up more than 1 step no matter what.

My son is the smaller kid in the red boots. The bigger kid was aggressive with a front kick delivered in a center line fashion. It's not hard to dodge.

[lit-arate]

I second pretty much everything everyone has said about angles, circling, faking, and versatility of strikes.

My three additional suggestions (two practical, one abstract):

1) Keep your bloody hands up. Half the points your opponent scored on you were from the flying superman back-knuckle someone mentioned above. That's a move that is super effective, but shouldn't be; your hands should be extended in front of you and covering your face/head so that you can just bat that move away and counter. I think of my defense as a zone defense: front hand covers solar plexus to abdomen, back hand covers solar plexus to nose, front leg covers abdomen and lower. If one of those slides out of place, or drops when you kick (may I emphasize that one again: drops when you kick), that zone is open, and your opponent will be glad to enter.

2) It might be counter-intuitive given your hardstyle background, but I recommend getting your stance forward (weight on front foot, feet pointing forward/45). Watching you fight, it seems like you have a tendency not to follow up or throw multiple multiple strikes, and I'm certain shifting your weight would remedy that. If you're facing away from your opponent when you throw a kick, you have to turn all the way around to throw a hand--and by that time, it's too late.

3) Start thinking about playing your opponent more. This is effectively similar to faking, but a slight psychological difference. As in chess, where you really should be playing through your opponent's head (what will s/he do next if I do x?), I find that I do much better if I drop my own plans and just try to help my opponent make poor plans and get him/her to agree to make a mistake. As with the side-kick groin-shot post above, if you notice that your opponent tends to drop his hands when he throws a roundhouse kick at your chest, give him your chest--and a head-shot. When you think about it, most martial arts techniques (ie. from kata, bunkai, etc.) begin with a block/counter, so it's your job to pick which block/counter you really like, and invite your opponent to practice that technique with you.

And an observation: I'm 6'6" (198 cm), flexible, and have solid kicks. I throw spinning kicks, aerial kicks, etc--and I think I've landed maybe two in my years and years of sparring. I throw them for two reasons: they freak people out (so that they make mistakes), and they help my opponent fixate on my legs so that I can score with a basic straight punch. So, learn fun kicks if you want--because they are fun--but don't fool yourself into thinking you'll score with them. And keep in mind that if someone calls your high-kick bluff even once in a tournament by blitzing when you jump or spin, that strategy is sort of shot to hell for the rest of the match for sure, and possibly every other fight you have left in that tourney.

Keep it up!

[lit-arate]

Here is an old video of my son. I show this not to brag or anything as he has MAJOR flaws that he shows in this....but this was his first fight where he "got" circles, check mark angles and not backing up more than 1 step no matter what.

My son is the smaller kid in the red boots. The bigger kid was aggressive with a front kick delivered in a center line fashion. It's not hard to dodge.

That wasn't a fight: that was murder. Give your son a high-five for me.

[ps1]

Here is an old video of my son. I show this not to brag or anything as he has MAJOR flaws that he shows in this....but this was his first fight where he "got" circles, check mark angles and not backing up more than 1 step no matter what.

My son is the smaller kid in the red boots. The bigger kid was aggressive with a front kick delivered in a center line fashion. It's not hard to dodge.

Your child has a much better grasp on angles than most kids of that age. If he sticks with it, he can be exceptional.