inadequate in sparring

[kenpo_cory]

I've been feeling kinda inadequate in my sparring abitities lately. I feel like i haven't been holding my own anymore. Does anyone asle ever go through this or is it just me? Any advise on how to get over this?

[fist of fury]

Nope it's just you.

[MartialArtist]

Originally posted by kenpo_cory
I've been feeling kinda inadequate in my sparring abitities lately. I feel like i haven't been holding my own anymore. Does anyone asle ever go through this or is it just me? Any advise on how to get over this?
It's probably just a lapse. I've gotten them once in a while. What it is most likely is mental. However, other factors would mean that you're too tired, or your diet needs to be changed.

I remember that if I ever had a lapse, or a plateau in anything from lifting to whatever, I would take a week off and get back into it. However, something may be bothering you mentally or emotionally, something that's just stuck in your mind.

[chufeng]

Everyone plateaus from time to time...
Just stick with your training...when it's time to make noticeable progress, it will just happen.

:asian:
chufeng

[dearnis.com]

keep plugging away; you have to cross the plateau before you can start to climb again.

[Zepp]

Everybody has bad days. Sometimes you hit a string of them together (I know I have). On a couple of my worst days, I've had my ass handed to me in sparring by people 2 or 3 belts lower than me (which is kinda funny when they're the people who are always asking you for sparring tips more than they ask anyone else).

Could be you're just tired. Could be you're mentally burned out. Could be you just need to stop thinking about it so much and just take a zen attitude toward sparring.

Let us know when you figure it out. :asian:

[kenpo_cory]

Cool, thanks guys. Except fists of fury. :D

[Eggman]

Try to remember that sparring is just a game of tag and sometimes you are going to be it.

[yilisifu]

Basics. Work your basics. You've probably hit a plateau as Chufeng noted. Don't give up. When your body and mind have assimilated everything, you'll be back on track.

[gravity]

Originally posted by Eggman
Try to remember that sparring is just a game of tag and sometimes you are going to be it.

I have to respectfully add that it depends on the type of sparring being conducted. I recently came back from Bangkok and trained in a pro Muay Thai camp and I can attest that those guys don't tag :D - each other I mean.....that should be tagging me, I'm fragile :rofl:

Have a good one

[jukado1]

Kenpo_cory: you might want to first, take a couple of days off of sparring but continue to do some light working out, then when you come back when you spar concentrate on emphzise only one sparring princaple each time you spar, ie. emphzise working only counters to backfists, work on controling the distance, but whenever your oppenent throws a backfist, concertrate on 1. slipping and countering with a front hand to the ribs. 2. when the backfist is thrown, slip to the outside and throw a counter ridgehand to the head. and each w/o work on 1 offensive or defensive princaple. good luck train hard, train smart.

[MartialArtist]

Many times, (it occurs more times than you think with pros or people who put multiple hours daily), it may be a physical burn-out. Just rest for a while to get back up physically and stretch during that time period.

[tonbo]

Good suggestions, all around.

I would also recommend changing your mindset in sparring from time to time. If you feel like you are hitting the plateau, try changing your thinking for a bit: instead of working all your techniques, pick one thing to work on, and worry only about that. For example, don't worry about anything else except getting three backfists to the head (hitting your opponent, not receiving!!) during a match. Realize you will get hit in the meantime and don't worry about it.....just work your goal, and focus on that. It can be really refreshing, sometimes.

One thing I used in a recent match, just for fun, was to tell my partner what my goal was. Before the match started, I told her, "I'm going to hit you in the head 8 times". She laughed, and during the match, I proceeded to count out each time. It was fun, a challenge, and put a whole new spin on things.

Just something else to try...;)

Peace--

[rmcrobertson]

Just wanted to note--as somebody who got sidekicked in the face pretty good on Saturday--that I pretty much agree with what's been written. Sparring is silly anyway, but absolutely necessary--try not to take it excessively seriously, and just keep pluggin.'

Or to quote Chief Dan George, "Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't."

[kenpo_cory]

Thanks for all the suggestions , I will definitely give em a try.

[Shinzu]

everyone has their down and outs. keep you head up and remember your training. things only get better with time.

[the_kicking_fiend]

I think you can try too hard sometimes in sparring and that messes you up. If your relaxed, with an open frsh mind I find my sparring is much better. Don't worry about trying to use one technique over and over, doing that will leave your mind unfocused on what your opponent is doing! I just find leave your mind fairly empty and react instinctively to what your opponent does. Then you're faster, sharper and will probably hold your own again! That's from my own experience anyway! :asian:

your friendly fiend,
d

[ekkaia]

what do you mean by inadequate? i've had problems with sparring recently as well. my gripe comes with the force i go at. i just can't bring myself to strike with much force and hurt the other person. apparently my hands are quite fast (this is what my sparring partners have said), so i usually just 'tap'. i even find myself drawing back with my fists so i don't actually connect with the head (very bad habit pulling shots i know...) we don't use equipment so i don't feel it necessary to pound the other person...

then the other day i come up against someone literally twice my size. 100kg (i'm 50) and he tried to pound the crap outta me! i'd never seen him spar or even touch hands with someone before, so i was just taking it easy and seeing what he had. at the time i didn't feel like he was trying to really hurt me, so i didn't get annoyed enough to go with a bit more force on him. i was just concentrating on myself and getting outta the way basically! i got a few of my tappy shots in, and in hindsight that's when he got aggressive. full weight behind his shoulder pushes and finally he got a punch in right to my mouth. shocked at the time, no bleeding or anything. i was ready to continue, hehe. (that didn't happen though, training bro got annoyed and sparred him instead, and dropped him :D ) later on my friends said he was going really hard on me and they wanted to take him on, haha. but how would/should one deal with such aggressive force in a sparring context? note the size difference, and my knee shots weren't acknowledged (he has bad knees, so i didn't go all the way through. and mind u, he'd back off a tiny bit and literally drive into me right afterwards). any thoughts? i've just come to the conclusion i shouldn't spar ppl like that, and the only way they learn is if i play dirty and kick their knees out :p :D

[rmcrobertson]

Yeah, I sympathize--just turned 50 too--and this is pretty much exactly how I got kicked in the face hard a couple of Saturdays ago.

The idea of smiling and passing over sparring the guy strikes me as good. However, sometimes you can't decently do that in classes. And I guess I think that as a black belt, we have a responsibility to teach...

For me, the problem is failing to act on what I know to be true. I knew this guy was a bit of a jerk--not consciously, but I could easily see that he was gonna be a problem because of stuff going on in the back of his head, and coming out in sparring--and I didn't initially act on what I knew to be true. Something big for me to learn, there...

Once I got nailed, though--well, I guess I thought, "If there are no rules, then there are no rules." Apparently I broke his cup, and there was other evil...I don't really recollect.

But I aslo think of two other issues in this context: a) problems big guys have learning the art; b) inadequate teaching.

Thanks.

[Kirk]

Well one thing I've learned from this thread is ... don't spar
people from outside your school. Kicking in the face and taking out the knees??? Here I was thinking sparring was a tool that you and your partner used to develop timing, and learning the proper gap necessary to use specific weapons.

[ekkaia]

i meant i'm 50kg not 50yrs old, lol. failing to act on what one knows is true... hmm that could be a case for me as well. it's always when u go home and recollect that u realise all the faults in the game. obviously at the time u can't think and rationalise properly. bugger! i want a rematch now! haha

[ekkaia]

Originally posted by Kirk
Well one thing I've learned from this thread is ... don't spar
people from outside your school. Kicking in the face and taking out the knees??? Here I was thinking sparring was a tool that you and your partner used to develop timing, and learning the proper gap necessary to use specific weapons.

well that's what i mean... sparring is a tool, not a life and death situation where u'd have to REALLY use ur skills. that's one reason i don't put much force into my strikes, because it's a tool to learn timing, reaction, a sense of feeling, etc etc. i don't need a 100kg guy driving his full weight into my chest to get a feeling of forward energy. once he's taken my space he should have backed off. lucky for me i didn't fall over with him on top of me, or i'd be squished to death! and i, in turn didn't need to drive my fists into the side of his head for him to know i got him. the taps were enough to show i got through. if i clench my fists and i'd be 3 inches into his head, but i don't need to do that to get the point across. i was joking about taking the knees out in sparring btw :p i was just saying that someone so big who doesn't acknowledge or respect the other person's skill in sparring won't learn unless u do to them what they do to you...

[Kirk]

Originally posted by ekkaia
well that's what i mean... sparring is a tool, not a life and death situation where u'd have to REALLY use ur skills. that's one reason i don't put much force into my strikes, because it's a tool to learn timing, reaction, a sense of feeling, etc etc. i don't need a 100kg guy driving his full weight into my chest to get a feeling of forward energy. once he's taken my space he should have backed off. lucky for me i didn't fall over with him on top of me, or i'd be squished to death! and i, in turn didn't need to drive my fists into the side of his head for him to know i got him. the taps were enough to show i got through. if i clench my fists and i'd be 3 inches into his head, but i don't need to do that to get the point across. i was joking about taking the knees out in sparring btw :p i was just saying that someone so big who doesn't acknowledge or respect the other person's skill in sparring won't learn unless u do to them what they do to you...


Okay, I gotcha. Sorry I misunderstood! .. breathing a HUGE
sigh of relief now. :)

[MartialArtist]

Originally posted by ekkaia
what do you mean by inadequate? i've had problems with sparring recently as well. my gripe comes with the force i go at. i just can't bring myself to strike with much force and hurt the other person. apparently my hands are quite fast (this is what my sparring partners have said), so i usually just 'tap'. i even find myself drawing back with my fists so i don't actually connect with the head (very bad habit pulling shots i know...) we don't use equipment so i don't feel it necessary to pound the other person...

then the other day i come up against someone literally twice my size. 100kg (i'm 50) and he tried to pound the crap outta me! i'd never seen him spar or even touch hands with someone before, so i was just taking it easy and seeing what he had. at the time i didn't feel like he was trying to really hurt me, so i didn't get annoyed enough to go with a bit more force on him. i was just concentrating on myself and getting outta the way basically! i got a few of my tappy shots in, and in hindsight that's when he got aggressive. full weight behind his shoulder pushes and finally he got a punch in right to my mouth. shocked at the time, no bleeding or anything. i was ready to continue, hehe. (that didn't happen though, training bro got annoyed and sparred him instead, and dropped him :D ) later on my friends said he was going really hard on me and they wanted to take him on, haha. but how would/should one deal with such aggressive force in a sparring context? note the size difference, and my knee shots weren't acknowledged (he has bad knees, so i didn't go all the way through. and mind u, he'd back off a tiny bit and literally drive into me right afterwards). any thoughts? i've just come to the conclusion i shouldn't spar ppl like that, and the only way they learn is if i play dirty and kick their knees out :p :D
If the opponent has bad knees, that's understandable. He hit you in the mouth? If shots to the face work, then do the same. It shouldn't be that the guy can do this and that while you are limited to such few moves.

From how you describe it, it just looks like the guy lost his cool but he got it coming for getting all fussy over it (as your training partner dropped him).

[rmcrobertson]

It occurs to me that: a) good for you for not breaking his knees; b) why not bow out and say, "I think we both need to stop until we recover our composure and control?"

After all, the arts are supposed to mean handling the situation with the least violence possible...and by the way, where the heck was the teacher of the class while this was going on? When I had the problem a couple of weeks ago, Clyde was right up my tailfeathers making sure that nothing unreasonable was transpiring...

[kenpo_cory]

Originally posted by ekkaia
what do you mean by inadequate?

Well, I wasn't doing very well against one of my students, I'm not the head instructor by the way I just teach the morning classes twice a week. Things were just going wrong for me, I wasn't landing any shots and taking a lot of em it seemed. Now that I look back on it I think I was trying to go really soft and he wasn't so I wasn't keeping up with him. I think I was just feeling sorry for myself and wanted to whine. I got lots of encouragement from all of you guys and I really appreciate it, I think it helped a lot.

[ekkaia]

yeh i'm the same with not keeping up. i personally don't think alot of the times when touching hands, i just try and concentrate on my defences against any type of force. it's my attack that needs working on i guess.

rmc, my sifu was walking around in between the rooms at the time (we have a clinic next door to the training area). he's 76yrs old and doesn't teach the class anymore, that's what my sihing and i do. since my sihing was there, he was the one supervising everyone. i personally don't think i lost my cool, that's why i'm bitching and moaning now about how i wish i did, lol :D