Point sparring tips

[Shotokan123]

Hey ive been lurking around this forum for a while now, but now need some help!

Ill be entering a point sparring competition soon, one light contact gets you the point. No sweeps, grabs etc, its a small tourney

Im guessing its best to be light on my feet so i can move around much faster?

And which combinations are best? i use jab backhand, double punch and mawashi geri to the hip then aim it to the face when practicing.

Im not the biggest of lads, and will be fighting alot of people taller than me, any tips for getting in? Ive been told im quite fast!

Thing is with rushing in, they opponent just needs to stick his leg out and with both my hands going in for the punches, he can get a point.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks

[Wastelander]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

Angles are your friend--if you move straight forward to attack or straight back to defend you will get stopped by kicks and run over by your opponent. It's unfortunate that you can't do any sweeps or grabs, but even so, you'll be in a much better position of you use angles. I like to use the opposite stance from my opponent and shoot to the outside of their body, which makes it easy to avoid or deflect kicks and then sets me up to hit them in the ribs or side of the head. I also like to throw roundhouse kicks to the stomach from that step and follow up with my hands.

[Shotokan123]

Thanks!

And great advice, i will practice that next time we spar

And what do you mean by opposite stance to opponent, if he has right leg forward i have left leg forward?

[Wastelander]

Thanks!

And great advice, i will practice that next time we spar

And what do you mean by opposite stance to opponent, if he has right leg forward i have left leg forward?

Correct. That is what I tend to do, but you may find that it doesn't work well for you, so it's something to try out and make your own decision about. For me, it makes it much easier to explode to the outside of my opponent, but I know some people prefer to use the same stance as their opponent and take a lunging step with their rear leg (thereby switching their stance and getting to the outside of their opponent).

[Mast0don]

How'd the tournament go?

[Shotokan123]

Tournament still quite a while away, thought i would post early as there isnt much traffic here. Its not a big tournament, but i want to at least get a trophy!

Yea but ill be fighting people bigger and more experienced than me so hopefully it goes well.

I just need to practice attacking at the right moments.

[DWx]

Instead of technique advice, here's some general tips and lesser known tactics:

- Know the rules. Sounds simple enough but make sure you know exactly what you can and can't do and what scores what. Then train to those rules. Makes the whole bout a lot easier.

- Similarly, turn up with a clean ironed gi and the right gear. Nothing worse than running around 5 mins before your sparring starts trying to find the correct set of gloves because there's something wrong with yours. First impressions also mean a lot and the refs will take to you better if you turn up smart, on time and with the right equipment.

- Listen to your coach (if you have one). Do everything they say when they say it. They can see the action much better than you can and can give you practical advice. Tune everybody else's voices out and focus in on them. If you don't have a coach or can't have somebody ringside, get a more experienced classmate to shout advice instead. They need to be telling you to move off if you're near the edge of the mat, when you have 30 then 10 seconds left, what the score is.

- Do you know if you get penalised for stepping out of the ring? The competitions I compete in operate using a 3 warnings = -1 point rule. So if I step out of the ring 3 times (or do something else wrong) I get a point taken away. Think of that as 2 free passes to stop the bout without incurring any penalties. If you're on the edge of the mat and they're scoring tons of points because you're really struggling to get away, step out the ring. The bout stops, ref resets you (either in the centre or a little way away from the edge). As soon as the ref says go you've a chance to move back to the centre and away from the edge. Similarly if its the last 10 seconds and you know for sure you are up on points, step out of the ring. The bout stops and you've wasted a couple of seconds times. Likewise if you need a breather because you're knackered, step out the ring then take your time getting back to the ready position. Of course you have to be very concious of how many warnings you've incurred over the fight but you can have 2 free warnings before you're affected. If you do hit 3 warnings, then you've got another 2 free warnings before you make 6 warnings and -2 points.

- Related to warnings, always bow to the ref to acknowledge one. Technically it shouldn't matter but if you're very respectful and accept his decisions (even if you don't agree with them) they're more likely to side with you.

- Visual points score. The ref and/or corner refs need to see the point to score it. So clean techniques not scrappy. Be also aware that if your opponent punches you in the head as you roundhouse them in the gut, the punch will probably get the point because it was the clearer to see.

- Be aware that some people will fly at you as soon as the ref says go to get that first point. Develop some method of countering this. A fast lead leg side kick or front kick is good. Practice by having someone come at you with a pad.

- Taken a bad hit? Even if it didn't hurt take a minute to compose yourself if the ref will allow it. You've got nothing to prove so don't just suck it up and run straight back in the ring. Especially if your eyes are watering. I know you said its light contact, but if you get caught on the nose and your eyes start to blur, you're not doing yourself any favours by going back on not being able to see anything.

- Fighting multiple rounds? Use the first round to feel them out. As long as you come out of the first round either up on points or drawing, you're ok. You need to be testing their responses to what you're doing. So every time I throw a roundhouse are they defending in a certain way? Are there any patterns? Do they telegraph their side kick by stepping in? Do they only punch with their lead arm? Then in the second round you use this knowledge to pick your points and score.

- If they're rushing you with punches sometimes hugging them is a good idea Seriously. Go forwards and clinch. If you're not allowed to clinch, the ref will just break you up and will reset you usually out of punching range. If you can, clinch, let them grab you, then as the ref tells you to stop and separate, let go and hands up. Even if you were the one to grab first, the ref might not have been able to tell but because your arms are up, they tend to then blame the other person for grabbing and give them a warning.

Some of these depend on the rules you're fighting under but I hope this helps. Good Luck!

[Mast0don]

Well, any advice I give you can't really top that.^

Staying calm always helps. If you lose your head because of a bad point, or if you freak because you're down on points, you're more likely to make a mistake. (Wild techniques, rushing in, yada-yada.)

Be tricky. Use feints and outsmart your opponent. Double-kicks are AMAZING for point-fighting. Especially at the lower levels, because no one expects them. Here's a few of my favourite kicks:

Lead side-foot to midsection, followed by a roundhouse to the head. Your opponent will almost always fall for this. He lowers his guard to block the low kick and BAM! 2 points.

Lead hook-kick to roundhouse. Aim both at the head. Most people will lean away from the hook-kick, positioning themselves perfectly for the roundhouse.

Axe kick to front foot kick. You have to sell this one. Don't throw this one off the front leg. You want to make the axe kick look powerful and heavy. Throw it off the back leg, and your opponent will try to take advantage of the "opening" you just created. Once your foot comes down, they're gonna want to lunge in with a hand combo. Instead of actually landing heavy, barely touch the ground with your foot and shoot out a staright front foot. Depending on how fast they shoot in, this might end the match. I've had people run full-blast into the kick, and practically break their sternum. (Exaggeration)

Try and work these kicks into your hand combos. If you do that, you'll be unstoppable.

[Shotokan123]

Thanks alot for the info!!

Will practise those combos

[FangPwnsAll7]

Hello. How did the advice go? Any improvements so far?