Need help with sparring-need advice

[seca2man]

Hello fellow kenposits:

So I've been training for about 2 months in a AKKS school. The instructor and his top students are good people. The forms and techniques are starting to awaken some dormant muscle memory. However when it comes to sparring, let's just say that I'm plain awful! I didn't do much sparring when I first trained in EPAK, my old instructor was heavy into forms training. I know practice makes perfect, but sparring's kinda hard to practice on your own, right? For some reason when I spar, I can't seem to get out of the linear attack mind set and everything I throw usually gets blocked. Plus, the head instructor keeps pairing me up with the advanced belts which means I get the stuffing (gently) knocked out of me.

Any advice on improving my god-awful sparring? Any books or drills you guys can recommend? I personally find it a little embarassing to perform the techniques and forms reasonably well, but then fall flat on my face when sparring.

Thanks in advance!

Sean

[Jonathan Randall]

Yup, I do. I got my clocked cleaned after jumping into Kenpo from straight linear styles such as TKD and Shotokan (I was not advanced enough to have utilized those styles very real strengths and some of the limitations were STUDIO specific and not style specific). Answer? Aside from the obvious (more time sparring), try shadowboxing WHILE visualizing attacks from the back, side, 45 degree, 15 degree, 315 degree, etc. to your person. Practice quick transitions (while visualizing an opponent) with checks and counters at ALL angles. This is what instructor Dave Kovar in Sacramento recommended to me way back when (mid-1980's) and it worked miracles. This should help - it certainly helped me. Best of luck!

[Touch Of Death]

Never spar without a specific thing you want to accomplish.
Sean

[MattJ]

You can also work isolation drills. Get a partner and have them do a certain specific attack, and you work a particular defense or counter. You can also limit the technical repetiore more generally, say the attacker spars but without using kicks, or only can use his front hand.

These give you the advantage of training against resistance without overloading you so much.

[tshadowchaser]

practice picturing a technique being thrown at you in your head. Take the time to see the technique approach you and watch and feel yourself defending it with various techniques. Find on or two that you like and visualize them over and over and over again.
Working out with those more advanced that you is a great way to learn. Yes, you get hit more often, but you learn to move faster. They can also help you if you are only practicing one or two certain techniques because they can throw more techniques and let you practice defense and attack.

[Inverse Falcon]

I would guess your linear approach is tied in with your footwork. How good are you at avoiding their blows? Do you feel comfortable circling, pivoting, and side stepping? Good footwork can not only help you evade, but can also set you up to attack from unexpected angles. Try to get comfortable attacking while you evade, hitting on the way back, and hitting when they're about to hit. Fakes can work well too, not just to set up another attack, but to give you a split second to adjust your stance or your positioning. I think you'll find that if you become comfortable moving around in a non-linear way, your thinking and your attacks may follow.

[Seabrook]

Originally Posted by seca2man

For some reason when I spar, I can't seem to get out of the linear attack mind set and everything I throw usually gets blocked. Plus, the head instructor keeps pairing me up with the advanced belts which means I get the stuffing (gently) knocked out of me.

Any advice on improving my god-awful sparring? Any books or drills you guys can recommend? I personally find it a little embarassing to perform the techniques and forms reasonably well, but then fall flat on my face when sparring.

Thanks in advance!

Sean

See my points below.

[Seabrook]

Originally Posted by seca2man

Hello fellow kenposits:

For some reason when I spar, I can't seem to get out of the linear attack mind set and everything I throw usually gets blocked. Plus, the head instructor keeps pairing me up with the advanced belts which means I get the stuffing (gently) knocked out of me.

Any advice on improving my god-awful sparring? Any books or drills you guys can recommend? I personally find it a little embarassing to perform the techniques and forms reasonably well, but then fall flat on my face when sparring.

Thanks in advance!

Sean

Sean,

If you fight often, you are going to get really good at sparring, especially when you are fighting many people that are better than you. It won't be long when you can dominate fights against other beginners because of your experience in fighting good fighters.

Here are a few tips:

(1) the weakest area of Kenpoists (generally speaking) is their kicks. So work on delivering fast and effective kicks when putting your combinations together.
(2) commit to hitting; don't be hesitant when you strike - go for it
(3) don't just use your lead leg and lead hand like so many do (e.g. use your reverse punch).
(4) take a zone of sanctuary when your opponent attacks
(5) don't look at the target you are trying to hit
(6) shadow-box
(7) be patient and you WILL see results!


Jamie Seabrook
www.seabrook.gotkenpo.com

[Brian R. VanCise]

Relax, have patience and work on improving your sparring each and every lesson. Another factor is not to get stuck in a rut be creative and try different fakes, angles and lines of attack and defense. The more you do it the better you will get. Good luck.

[kosho]

Hope this finds you well. To get better at this find someone who will take the time to work with you. Once this is done start with the same teq: say round house kick... thats all the person working with you can deliver. then sit back and watch the balance shifting and what not than needs to take place. have the person start slow and build from there... as you do this you will see things repeat them selfs so when you do this is class you will see there movement before it happens and be able to stop or counter there Teq: once you are able to do this move on to a different teq: punch, grabs, ETC... this really works well with anything you must give it time...natural law of balance, things must be rooted to have power. once in-balance is created the attacker is showing you how to take them out..
truly the attacker does all the work...
steve

[Danjo]

Three step and one step sparring are good too. They help get the reflexes down without all of the damage. First off, start with agreed upon moves and defenses. Then as you get that down, agree on three attacks and ad-lib your reactions. Then agree to have your partner attack three times and not tell you what they will be. From there go to free sparring. Doing this enough will really get the reflexes in shape. Have each other vary the attack speed and be sure to mix it up in terms of what is thrown in.

[seca2man]

Wow...thanks for the great advice! I think I might be able to find a fellow dojo-mate to try out some of these ideas. It's a big class and I'm not the only white belt there.

Appreciate the response and thanks so much

Full Salute

Sean

[thekuntawman]

hello,

sparring is my specialty. if you need help with fighting there isnt much you can learn from a posting that will help you. my recommendation is to study in person, even if its only for one day with a teacher. you can get more from one match with a good fighter, while he give you advise, than you can from any other kind of information (including reading websites, books or watching you tube).

i just read that you only have a few months. but be patient, skill can come easy for some and slow for others, but nothing beat hard training. i would advice to put your trust in your teacher, maybe some private lessons, but early in your training its going to be slow, dont rush it.