Sparring Questions

[JR 137]

My advice is going to be pretty much the opposite of Dani's advice. No offense to Dani, as everyone's different, every art is different, and teachers within each art teach differently. That's what makes MA so interesting.

1 - I'm assuming you're turning sideways. Don't! Stay in your stance! Turning sideways gives your opponent your ribs and kidney, makes reaching your back easier, and gives them an easier front leg to sweep. You also limit your attack to your forward arm and leg (your back arm and leg are far further away). You're protecting your chest better, but trade offs are far worse IMO.

2 - this is normal when you first start sparring. It could be a conditioning thing, but quite often it's a nerves and breathing thing. You're in a new element, and you're probably holding your breath and tensing up quite a bit. You're also probably being very squirrelly in trying to block everything and hit every target that you're running out of gas. The cure - more sparring (read more experience mainly and more conditioning). What do you do in the meantime (experience can't be sped up!)? Keep your hands up, breathe, and wait for the fight to come to you; don't force things, and look for openings to attack, rather than trying to create them.

3 - As Dani mentioned - tai sabaki. What is tai sabaki? That gets trickier. I've heard it described in many different ways; my interpretation of it is body movement - footwork, angles, using body mechanics to add power to techniques.

How you deal with a taller opponent depends on the individual opponent. The key is the range or distance. The only universal don't is don't be flat footed at their preferred range; that's where they can hit you at will and you can't reach them. I do one of two things -

1 - stay outside their range, and get in quickly on a counter attack, and get back out just as quickly. Picture a roundhouse kick coming in at your ribs: once you see it coming, arms up to block while stepping forward, then punches to the stomach, followed by getting right back out.

2 - stay close. Very close. So close they can't kick you. So close they have a hard time punching you. You'll see the frustrated look in a lot of people's faces. You've basically done to them what they're trying to do to you - keeping them at a range where you're comfortable and they're not.

I've personally found with taller yet smaller/skinny guys, getting close and staying close works better. The craftier they are, the better they'll be able to use some sort of fake and wind up kicking you in the teeth. Protect your head! Don't get too comfortable.

Taller and bigger guys don't care if you're close, as they'll lean on you and make you carry their weight in a sense. Those are the guys I typically stay away from then jump in.

Either way, and it's true of practically every opponent - get to a place where they can't hit you while you can hit them (I know, groundbreaking stuff there:)) But think of it in those terms, and it'll make sense as you're sparring. Getting to that place typically involves getting off the line of attack by using angles and circular movements (tai sabaki).

You're just starting out. People are going to be able to pick you apart. Expect that. Stay calm and learn how they're picking you apart. Don't run away, don't turn sideways into a ball/fetal position. Try to block going forward instead of backwards. Try circling rather than backing up when your opponent is moving forward. Those are easily the most important things at this stage IMO. The counters will come, but you have to be in the right place in order to counter. You're not going to be able to counter if you're all balled up and just trying to survive by not getting hit; you'll actually get hit more. Your brain is wired this way (as is just about everyone's), and you have to unwire it.

Best advice anyone can give - listen to your sensei. He/she sees you in real time, day in and day out. We don't.

Edit: Become very good friends with the gedan mawashi geri! Kyokushin's signature move. That roundhouse kick to the thighs will get you very far.

[hammer]

Out of curiosity, what was the contact level?

FWIW there's a tall thinner person in my dojo and I'm still trying to figure out the best approach. I used to try to go in close to avoid his kicks...he has a very fast downward roundhouse that he can change levels of on the fly. Only problem with being in close is that he is also comfortable with knee kicks as well.

[Safroot]

My advice is going to be pretty much the opposite of Dani's advice. No offense to Dani, as everyone's different, every art is different, and teachers within each art teach differently. That's what makes MA so interesting.

1 - I'm assuming you're turning sideways. Don't! Stay in your stance! Turning sideways gives your opponent your ribs and kidney, makes reaching your back easier, and gives them an easier front leg to sweep. You also limit your attack to your forward arm and leg (your back arm and leg are far further away). You're protecting your chest better, but trade offs are far worse IMO.

2 - this is normal when you first start sparring. It could be a conditioning thing, but quite often it's a nerves and breathing thing. You're in a new element, and you're probably holding your breath and tensing up quite a bit. You're also probably being very squirrelly in trying to block everything and hit every target that you're running out of gas. The cure - more sparring (read more experience mainly and more conditioning). What do you do in the meantime (experience can't be sped up!)? Keep your hands up, breathe, and wait for the fight to come to you; don't force things, and look for openings to attack, rather than trying to create them.

3 - As Dani mentioned - tai sabaki. What is tai sabaki? That gets trickier. I've heard it described in many different ways; my interpretation of it is body movement - footwork, angles, using body mechanics to add power to techniques.

How you deal with a taller opponent depends on the individual opponent. The key is the range or distance. The only universal don't is don't be flat footed at their preferred range; that's where they can hit you at will and you can't reach them. I do one of two things -

1 - stay outside their range, and get in quickly on a counter attack, and get back out just as quickly. Picture a roundhouse kick coming in at your ribs: once you see it coming, arms up to block while stepping forward, then punches to the stomach, followed by getting right back out.

2 - stay close. Very close. So close they can't kick you. So close they have a hard time punching you. You'll see the frustrated look in a lot of people's faces. You've basically done to them what they're trying to do to you - keeping them at a range where you're comfortable and they're not.

I've personally found with taller yet smaller/skinny guys, getting close and staying close works better. The craftier they are, the better they'll be able to use some sort of fake and wind up kicking you in the teeth. Protect your head! Don't get too comfortable.

Taller and bigger guys don't care if you're close, as they'll lean on you and make you carry their weight in a sense. Those are the guys I typically stay away from then jump in.

Either way, and it's true of practically every opponent - get to a place where they can't hit you while you can hit them (I know, groundbreaking stuff there:)) But think of it in those terms, and it'll make sense as you're sparring. Getting to that place typically involves getting off the line of attack by using angles and circular movements (tai sabaki).

You're just starting out. People are going to be able to pick you apart. Expect that. Stay calm and learn how they're picking you apart. Don't run away, don't turn sideways into a ball/fetal position. Try to block going forward instead of backwards. Try circling rather than backing up when your opponent is moving forward. Those are easily the most important things at this stage IMO. The counters will come, but you have to be in the right place in order to counter. You're not going to be able to counter if you're all balled up and just trying to survive by not getting hit; you'll actually get hit more. Your brain is wired this way (as is just about everyone's), and you have to unwire it.

Best advice anyone can give - listen to your sensei. He/she sees you in real time, day in and day out. We don't.

Edit: Become very good friends with the gedan mawashi geri! Kyokushin's signature move. That roundhouse kick to the thighs will get you very far.

Thanks so much JR 137 for the great advice and the detailed post much appreciated.

[Safroot]

Out of curiosity, what was the contact level?

FWIW there's a tall thinner person in my dojo and I'm still trying to figure out the best approach. I used to try to go in close to avoid his kicks...he has a very fast downward roundhouse that he can change levels of on the fly. Only problem with being in close is that he is also comfortable with knee kicks as well.

In the dojo it's full contact but knock down & punches to head are not allowed if that makes sense and for sure it's sort of light sparring to minimize risk of injuries.

[hammer]

Out of curiosity, what was the contact level?

FWIW there's a tall thinner person in my dojo and I'm still trying to figure out the best approach. I used to try to go in close to avoid his kicks...he has a very fast downward roundhouse that he can change levels of on the fly. Only problem with being in close is that he is also comfortable with knee kicks as well.

In the dojo it's full contact but knock down & punches to head are not allowed if that makes sense and for sure it's sort of light sparring to minimize risk of injuries.

Got it...we have different levels of contact, most times we go on the light side but we are in training for another tournament so we have been dabbling in medium to hard contact recently. Was wondering because the level of effort really ramps up when you go hard.

[Safroot]

Anyone has a good resource about " tai sabaki " to understand more how to use it during sparring ?! Thanks in advance

[Dani_001]

I agree with everything that JR 137 is saying. I misunderstood your first point. I thought U meant to give others a chance, so my bad.

Learn tai sabaki when you are at the level assigned, get the basics right first. I do understand that maybe U want to get the upper hand first, but Karate is a journey and a process.

[JR 137]

Anyone has a good resource about " tai sabaki " to understand more how to use it during sparring ?! Thanks in advance

Joko Ninomiya's Sabaki Method: Karate in the Inner Circle is a great book IMO.

[Wastelander]

I had really good sparring session last night (6 x 2min sessions) and I have 3 questions:

1- Is it normal to give your opponent your side while he/she is attacking ? I have found myself doing this couple of times invoulantry?

2- what is your strategy if you feel really exhausted & tired and can't attack your opponent or even block his/her attacks ?

3-What's the best strategy when sparring with a taller opponent ? is it only kicks as my punches didn't even reach his body & I was exposing my head trying to get a good punch ?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

As JR mentioned, different arts are going to have different approaches to things, and they may all have valid reasoning for their differing opinions. Here are mine.

1. Depends--a lot of people do this by mistake, which is bad, but some people do it tactically, which can be useful. Most likely, you are doing it to absorb strikes? That can work fine, but you have to be aware of the different defensive and offensive pros and cons of the positioning you have chosen. Changing from a more square position to a side-on position can be beneficial for absorbing some strikes (especially kicks, in my experience), but it does put you in a position where you can't really utilize your normal rear-side tools, and leaves your back exposed. That said, it also gives you more reach with your lead-side tools, which can be useful, and it also sets you up for spinning techniques. Then, from the teaching perspective, as Dani pointed out, you can purposely put yourself in that position to condition your students to take advantage of openings, all the while working on your defense from an awkward position.

2. Depends on what your opponent does. If your opponent is a counter-fighter, you can probably just hang back and throw some feints to catch a breather. If they are more offensive, however, you will have to expend a lot of energy, either through evasive movement or thrust kicks, to maintain distance. Personally, in that situation, I look to grab a hold of my opponent and start using my kata techniques and Judo experience to smother and control. That can be exhausting, too, though, unless you're comfortable with doing it under pressure.

3. Essentially, your options are to stay out of their reach and try to get around them when they attack so you can counter, or close the gap to the point where they don't really have the space to do much of anything. Tai sabaki (and its lesser known component, tenshin) has already been mentioned, and is a very important tool in kumite. I've written about it rather recently on my site, actually, but to sum it up, you should not always move straight forward and straight back, on a level plane. You should try to move to angles, both offensively and defensively. You want to change your elevation, as well, and incorporate slight tilts in your body. These types of movements, at the right times, will help you avoid being hit, and will also allow you to get close enough to reach the taller fighter. You can also bait them to come closer by backing up just out of their reach, until they over-commit to an attack to try to catch you, at which point you can utilize evasion to get around their attack and counter while they are open. Bear in mind that there is no possible way to attack your opponent and NOT be open to some form of counter. The best you can do is minimize that possibility, and tai sabaki and tenshin are good ways of doing that. I also recommend attacking targets that are closer to you, such as the legs and body, more than the head, unless you can pull the head down (either by clinching, or pulling the arm, for example).

[Safroot]

I misunderstood your first point. I thought U meant to give others a chance, so my bad.

Learn tai sabaki when you are at the level assigned, get the basics right first. I do understand that maybe U want to get the upper hand first, but Karate is a journey and a process.

That's what I expected as well

At what level do you usually start learning Tai Sabaki ?