JT_the_Ninja
Black Belt
A few students from my do jang went to a tournament (I believe up in Erie, PA) last weekend, and came home a bit disgruntled, as I found out last night (I suspect the rules were light contact). Apparently, when it came to sparring those of another school (Japanese, I think it was), what happened was that the opponent did practically nothing but raise his/her forward arm and aim a fist to the head, which is not only ridiculous from a self-defense standpoint but caused more damage to the attacker than the attacked (several had to go to the hospital with a broken arm or hand).
What makes it worse, though, is that the students from my school reacted to an open opponent with a punch to the gut, yet lost the point even when they landed first because their attack wasn't as visible as the overhead strike. Eventually, they said, a lot of matches devolved into series of overhead strikes making both combatants look bad in the process. (It may also be worth noting that the judges weren't wearing TSD uniforms)
My sa bom nim suggested two things in this situation: (1) counter with a backfist to the side of the head, which the judges will see and is likely to be faster anyway, or (2) back kick/back wheel kick/side kick, making sure to lean slightly into it so that the opponent's strike wouldn't land anyway.
Anyone else seen cheap tactics like this? I'm not a big sparrer (I like to keep all my body parts intact), but this was ridiculous to hear, especially from a tournament.
What makes it worse, though, is that the students from my school reacted to an open opponent with a punch to the gut, yet lost the point even when they landed first because their attack wasn't as visible as the overhead strike. Eventually, they said, a lot of matches devolved into series of overhead strikes making both combatants look bad in the process. (It may also be worth noting that the judges weren't wearing TSD uniforms)
My sa bom nim suggested two things in this situation: (1) counter with a backfist to the side of the head, which the judges will see and is likely to be faster anyway, or (2) back kick/back wheel kick/side kick, making sure to lean slightly into it so that the opponent's strike wouldn't land anyway.
Anyone else seen cheap tactics like this? I'm not a big sparrer (I like to keep all my body parts intact), but this was ridiculous to hear, especially from a tournament.