New Sparring session ... New experiences

[Safroot]

Today was my 3rd sparring session in the dojo .. it was 7 rounds

2x 30 sec, 3x 1 min & 2x 1.5 min with 20 sec break before each one .... ahhhhh I was dying

I was much more better than previous ones and started to apply combinations as much as I can but still struggling with it.

I have discovered 4 new problems that I need your advice about:

1- I found myself leaning forward to punch and expose my upper chest for punches & if I don't lean, my punches will be weak or even might not reach my opponent.

2- I don't change my stance frequently and this was spotted out by my Sensei, I feel like I forget to change it ... my Sensei told me if we are doing it full force after 3 kicks on the same leg I might not be able to stand and that's why it's important to change stance frequently.

3- I sparred with a tall guy (190-195 cm) and myself is (172 cm). punches doesn't reach him and kicks might reach but will be weak and I feel like standing far away from him. How can you spar with a taller opponent ??

4- I couldn't take my breath after 30-45 seconds of sparring !!

Sorry for this very long post but any advice that might help me with any of above mentioned problems will be much appreciated.

[jaypo]

1. As far as leaning in to punch, you would need to work on your footwork- lunging in more with your back straight up. That would prevent the leaning. Think of a fencing competition- the slide forward by pushing off of their back foot and lunging forward- I use this a lot sparring, and if it's done fast enough, it gets thru most of the time. But keep your guard up because you're entering in to your opponent's range.

2. I love to switch. I'm right handed, but I like to fight like a southpaw a lot. I'm faster and stronger, so I like to use lead hand punches and kicks with my right. And sweeps! In Jeet Kun Do, this is a major concept- fight with your strong side forward because of this. I also like to base my stance on what my opponent is doing. If he's leaving his leg out there, I'll switch my stance where a front leg sweep will catch him. If he is aggressive and keeps charging in, I'll put my strong leg out front and catch him with a sidekick.

3. Use angles. If you can't get inside his range, you'll have to find ways around it. I like to counter by evading the technique and creating shorter distances to counter strike.

4. RELAX! A beginner sparred my Sensei last week, and he's a teenager. He was exhausted and Sensei wasn't even sweating. I told him that he's learned to relax and breathe properly over the years. Being tense and nervous will use up your wind and energy quickly. You need to learn to breathe and to relax. Oh, and practice!

Good luck with it. I used to dislike sparring because I'm ultra competitive, and I can't stand losing. But now, I approach it not like a win or lose contest, but like a learning tool. It gets more fun when you start to apply your kata techniques in a battle scenario!!

[sensei8]

Today was my 3rd sparring session in the dojo .. it was 7 rounds

2x 30 sec, 3x 1 min & 2x 1.5 min with 20 sec break before each one .... ahhhhh I was dying

I was much more better than previous ones and started to apply combinations as much as I can but still struggling with it.

I have discovered 4 new problems that I need your advice about:

Sounds like you're doing fine overall!! Your learning curve is right on target, imho.

1- I found myself leaning forward to punch and expose my upper chest for punches & if I don't lean, my punches will be weak or even might not reach my opponent.

Yeah, leaning disrupts ones posture. Not a good thing! Leaning invites someone like me to get behind you faster, and to upset your balance, with leads into you being thrown somehow and someway.

2- I don't change my stance frequently and this was spotted out by my Sensei, I feel like I forget to change it ... my Sensei told me if we are doing it full force after 3 kicks on the same leg I might not be able to stand and that's why it's important to change stance frequently.

Switching stances often keep your opponent guessing. More importantly, switching is needed for transitions, any transitions. Transitions need an understanding in footwork and the like. Not switching while on any tournament circuit will get around, and when this happens, everyone knows you don't switch stances, and they'll develop a way to benefit themselves from that little info.

3- I sparred with a tall guy (190-195 cm) and myself is (172 cm). punches doesn't reach him and kicks might reach but will be weak and I feel like standing far away from him. How can you spar with a taller opponent ??

As already mentioned, use the angles against him/her. Get inside and jam the tar out of him and reactive angles, for me, work the best. Reactive angles to us means that as I deflect, I'm counter-attacking simultaneously BUT just a split second AFTER I've deflected; a domino effect, so to speak. Allow your taller opponent to commit to the attack and then, with proper footwork, get inside your opponent by angling directional to target. But for that to work, imho, my opponent MUST totally commit to their attack so that their momentum carries them into MY space, yet them, out of their space.

4- I couldn't take my breath after 30-45 seconds of sparring !!

Proper breathing!! Don't hold your breath UNTIL it's proper to do so!! When students hold their breath while sparring, they're winded, and because your sensei isn't, that's why he's not winded at all.

The more you spar, the more you'll understand the do's and don'ts that your sensei is trying to teach you!!

[Safroot]

1. As far as leaning in to punch, you would need to work on your footwork- lunging in more with your back straight up. That would prevent the leaning. Think of a fencing competition- the slide forward by pushing off of their back foot and lunging forward- I use this a lot sparring, and if it's done fast enough, it gets thru most of the time. But keep your guard up because you're entering in to your opponent's range.

2. I love to switch. I'm right handed, but I like to fight like a southpaw a lot. I'm faster and stronger, so I like to use lead hand punches and kicks with my right. And sweeps! In Jeet Kun Do, this is a major concept- fight with your strong side forward because of this. I also like to base my stance on what my opponent is doing. If he's leaving his leg out there, I'll switch my stance where a front leg sweep will catch him. If he is aggressive and keeps charging in, I'll put my strong leg out front and catch him with a sidekick.

3. Use angles. If you can't get inside his range, you'll have to find ways around it. I like to counter by evading the technique and creating shorter distances to counter strike.

4. RELAX! A beginner sparred my Sensei last week, and he's a teenager. He was exhausted and Sensei wasn't even sweating. I told him that he's learned to relax and breathe properly over the years. Being tense and nervous will use up your wind and energy quickly. You need to learn to breathe and to relax. Oh, and practice!

Good luck with it. I used to dislike sparring because I'm ultra competitive, and I can't stand losing. But now, I approach it not like a win or lose contest, but like a learning tool. It gets more fun when you start to apply your kata techniques in a battle scenario!!

Thanks for your time and precious advice

[Safroot]

Today was my 3rd sparring session in the dojo .. it was 7 rounds

2x 30 sec, 3x 1 min & 2x 1.5 min with 20 sec break before each one .... ahhhhh I was dying

I was much more better than previous ones and started to apply combinations as much as I can but still struggling with it.

I have discovered 4 new problems that I need your advice about:

Sounds like you're doing fine overall!! Your learning curve is right on target, imho.

1- I found myself leaning forward to punch and expose my upper chest for punches & if I don't lean, my punches will be weak or even might not reach my opponent.

Yeah, leaning disrupts ones posture. Not a good thing! Leaning invites someone like me to get behind you faster, and to upset your balance, with leads into you being thrown somehow and someway.

2- I don't change my stance frequently and this was spotted out by my Sensei, I feel like I forget to change it ... my Sensei told me if we are doing it full force after 3 kicks on the same leg I might not be able to stand and that's why it's important to change stance frequently.

Switching stances often keep your opponent guessing. More importantly, switching is needed for transitions, any transitions. Transitions need an understanding in footwork and the like. Not switching while on any tournament circuit will get around, and when this happens, everyone knows you don't switch stances, and they'll develop a way to benefit themselves from that little info.

3- I sparred with a tall guy (190-195 cm) and myself is (172 cm). punches doesn't reach him and kicks might reach but will be weak and I feel like standing far away from him. How can you spar with a taller opponent ??

As already mentioned, use the angles against him/her. Get inside and jam the tar out of him and reactive angles, for me, work the best. Reactive angles to us means that as I deflect, I'm counter-attacking simultaneously BUT just a split second AFTER I've deflected; a domino effect, so to speak. Allow your taller opponent to commit to the attack and then, with proper footwork, get inside your opponent by angling directional to target. But for that to work, imho, my opponent MUST totally commit to their attack so that their momentum carries them into MY space, yet them, out of their space.

4- I couldn't take my breath after 30-45 seconds of sparring !!

Proper breathing!! Don't hold your breath UNTIL it's proper to do so!! When students hold their breath while sparring, they're winded, and because your sensei isn't, that's why he's not winded at all.

The more you spar, the more you'll understand the do's and don'ts that your sensei is trying to teach you!!

Thank you for the great advice ... I will try it next time

[Safroot]

Both Jaypo & Sensei8 mentioned using angles. I really don't have a clear understanding of how to use angles in your favour

Any one has articles or videos that illustrate the use of angles while sparring ?

[sensei8]

Angles, to those of us in Shindokan, mean to not address said opponent straight head-on!! Your footwork is a critical key to angles.

For example...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_sabaki

AND/OR...

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tai+sabaki&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=98B0C9A69A2AFA884C6F98B0C9A69A2AFA884C6F

AND/OR...

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Tai+sabaki&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=A56D8B8A6EC52FF9389AAE29BBBC00A08FDAEB6C&selectedIndex=3

[Safroot]

Angles, to those of us in Shindokan, mean to not address said opponent straight head-on!! Your footwork is a critical key to angles.

For example...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_sabaki

AND/OR...

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tai+sabaki&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=98B0C9A69A2AFA884C6F98B0C9A69A2AFA884C6F

AND/OR...

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Tai+sabaki&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=A56D8B8A6EC52FF9389AAE29BBBC00A08FDAEB6C&selectedIndex=3

Thanks for sharing, now I can have better understanding of angles and foot work

[Safroot]

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tai+sabaki&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=98B0C9A69A2AFA884C6F98B0C9A69A2AFA884C6F

That video is amazing ... i have to for you sharing it but which karate style is it ???

[Nidan Melbourne]

in terms of fighting taller opponents you want to get closer in to fight them. But i do recognise that you do kyokushin so this wouldn't really work all the time as they would be able to strike your head. But like previously mentioned use your angles because the more angles you use on top of going forwards and backwards they won't be able to predict your movement