Sparring Drills

[Kyokushin]

Does anybody know of sparring drills that help students work on their reaction time. I love to free sparr, but I want to work on getting good at blocking techniques. Any suggestions? Thanks:)

[Pacificshore]

How about taking some masking tape and taping a star pattern down on the floor, stand in the middle of the star and then move your feet and body in the different directions that is present while executing blocks and strikes at the same time. This will help in your footwork, timing, distance, and angles of attack or retreat.

[monkeygirl]

If you have soft foam-padded bats, like the Strikers from Century, you can swing them randomly and quickly at the students. They then have to react quickly and use their blocks.

 

Don't be afraid to hit them, as long as it's quick and soft. When they get hit, it teaches them to block faster next time!

[KickChick]

As you commented , you love "free sparring" but students do seem to forget what they were taught (blocking) and tend to fight on instinct. The problem with this is that the student's natural fighting instincts are usually pretty poor. By encompassing several types of sparring drills we can then develop our instincts to the point where fighting on instinct becomes an advantage instead of a disadvantage.

 

A difficult technique to teach students in sparring is to block and counter. Most students try to block the strike until the strikes stop coming. They will then attack with a combo of their own.

 

This drill will help the the student learn the concept of shifting, blocking, and countering altogther. This type of counter will often stop an attack before it can fully develop.

 

Students are closely facing each other in a fighting stance , toe to toe. For example .... a reverse punch to the body. When the punch is delivered, the opponent shifts slightly to the inside, using a scoop or low block, and counter with a reverse punch to the body. The other person will then do the same shift, block, and counter movement.

 

This should be done continuously and should be begin slowly so the students can coordinate the movements. Try not to have the students shift their body too much so that they remain in a toe to toe position. This drill will not only train the specific movements that are involved, but through repetition, it will instill the block / counter combination as an instinctive reaction rather than a planned one.

 

A variety of shift, block, and counter combinations can be used. For example, a left jab to the face can be countered with a high or face block with the right arm and followed with a left jab. Again, start slow so that a rhythm can be set up and the speed can be gradually increased.

 

Here is another drill to improve reaction time. This drill helps to shorten the time delay between seeing an opponent's movement and reacting to it. Have two students face each other at arms length. They should both be relaxed with their arms resting at their sides. They then stare into each others eyes and try not to look anywhere else. This allows for maximum use of peripheral vision which is what should be primarily taught with the use of a sparring reaction drill.

 

One person is the attacker.... the other is the defender. The attacker attempts to strike the defender on the ear with his palm, keeping his arm straight, and elbows remaining locked. The defender attempts to block the strike, raising the correct arm by bending it at the elbow. The attacker strikes using one arm or the other, using a broken rhythm and mixing up which arm will be doing the strike. All strikes should begin with both partners arms fully down at their sides. Both partners then touch their thighs between each strike or block.

 

The speed of the strikes and the time between strikes should be adjusted to suit each student. Control is key! ....strikes should not make contact with the ear to avoid inner ear damage. You can also do strikes directed at the temple to avoid possible ear damage.