frustrated.

[voxtemporalis]

I’m so frustrated with my training right now.

My forms are all nice, precise, and snappy. I can pop through a board like nobody’s business, but I can't spar. At all. At the end of every class I wind up feeling like an asshat.

The problem is that I don’t like to use kicks in my sparring. (Heh…no kicks, maybe I’m in the wrong art.) The only ones that I will use are the round kick and the front kick. I attempted a crescent kick to the head twice, and fell on my rump twice.

There was really just no point to this post, I was venting. If this doesn’t get better I’m going to just call it a day, pack it up, and go learn me some tai chi.

~SB

 

[drunkenfist]

I know where you are coming from with using all kicks in sparring.
It takes time skill and above all patience with the person teaching you.In my school they don't teach you to spar you just have at it.
I keep trying and don't give up that is the key work with shadow boxing.A kick causes you to stop and I like to keep moving so I use moving kicks like the step behind side kick,etc.I modified still kicks to fit my style of sparring.I do more damage to my opponent because they use all kicks and I don't.I study Kung Fu on top of Tae Kwon Do.I use Kung Fu blocks in sparring and I often break down a kickers defense faster.You have to watch your opponent and know their timing and style.I'm a lowly green belt but the black belts fear me because I use my strength in movement.
I demonstrate Kung Fu as a warm up before my match and to someone that knows nothing of it that scares them.They look for me to be using that and they get something totally different.
Sparring is more psychological than physical anyhow to me either your a winner or a loser when you bow in.Work on your variety of punches but when the opportunity comes for a kick take it.Sparring is not about how well you can kick or how cool you look doing it.When a turning kick comes your way block it and push the leg and you will see they lose balance easily.Then it's hello open rib targets ready for the drilling.You need to stop getting mad or else you will never learn how to spar.

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by voxtemporalis
I’m so frustrated with my training right now.

My forms are all nice, precise, and snappy. I can pop through a board like nobody’s business, but I can't spar. At all. At the end of every class I wind up feeling like an asshat.

The problem is that I don’t like to use kicks in my sparring. (Heh…no kicks, maybe I’m in the wrong art.) The only ones that I will use are the round kick and the front kick. I attempted a crescent kick to the head twice, and fell on my rump twice.

There was really just no point to this post, I was venting. If this doesn’t get better I’m going to just call it a day, pack it up, and go learn me some tai chi.

~SB

Keep working at it. There was a time I was like you, and always getting blasted. I had better hands than most, but didn't kick much. Well, eventually, I got on the offensive more, and started using basic front snap kicks, and I thought, now why didn't I do this before? It's in you, just do it. You'll surprise yourself. Good luck!:asian:

 

[A.R.K.]

Let me ask you a very serious question; what is your purpose for training?

If it is a hobby, for exercise, enjoyment etc then stick with what your doing and work on perfecting it.

If it is for self defense...your in the wrong school. Why do I say this? You mentioned your forms are great, you can break a board with no problem etc. BUT neither of these is going to help you in the parking lot when a BG jumps out of the shadows. And truthfully, neither is sparring with tippy tap point objectives. If your having difficulty kicking well....don't! In 200 uses-of-force on violent felons I have NEVER kicked one of them! I have knee spiked quite a few but the majority was hand work such as strikes, elbows and joint locks.

And I never advocate kicking above the waist in real life confrontations anyway. Those flashy, jumping, triple somersault, hollywood kicks look great in the dojang. They don't work in real life. I'll probably get flak on this but think logically for a moment. It is one thing to be in a loose fitting gi and being warmed up and stretched out then performing these kicks in the dojang. It is quite another to be in a pair of jeans walking to your car at night in the cold. See my point.

If this training is meant to save your life, or the life of a loved one then either concentrate more on realistic techniques and tactics within your current training and don't get bummed out about your inability to perform flashy kicks....that you'll never use for real anyway. Or discontinue training in this discipline and seek one that fits YOU better! It is all about YOU my friend. You need to train for YOU.

Hope this helps, stay safe.

:asian:

 

[voxtemporalis]

If it is for self defense...your in the wrong school. Why do I say this? You mentioned your forms are great, you can break a board with no problem etc. BUT neither of these is going to help you in the parking lot when a BG jumps out of the shadows. And truthfully, neither is sparring with tippy tap point objectives. If your having difficulty kicking well....don't! In 200 uses-of-force on violent felons I have NEVER kicked one of them! I have knee spiked quite a few but the majority was hand work such as strikes, elbows and joint locks.

Well, I am in it for a work out/hobby, but I'm also in it for self-defense. Our school never teaches us to do any kicks in a real-life situation. The only kick that we're taught to use in a self-defense situation is a fast front kick to the knees to stop a charge. In our school we do point sparring (the one I'm bad at) and we also have segments where we do things that are more true to life (we wear our street clothes in and people attack us and bring us to the ground and such.)

We're taught traditional point sparring because some people think that it's fun, and we're taught how to defend ourselves because, well, it's practical.

I was just mentioning how bad at I at point sparring because it is really frustrating to be the worst at something. Last night I got my butt kicked by someone who had just joined the school with no previous knowledge and had never been in the ring before.

 

[drunkenfist]

Do you have group sparring? Basically they call it that but it's simulating a gang fight on the street.People say the Tae Kwon Do kicks won't serve you on the street but I had to defend myself with them once.They are incrediably useful if you have items in your hands and stuff like that.A guy attacked me in the parking lot at work and all it took was a turning kick and a sidekick to the knee cap to bring it to an end.As with any art it's only as good as you make it.The average thug on the street does not know how to defend against martial arts period.When you fight one of them you might as well be a black belt.The Tae Kwon Do kicks are extremely deceptive in some instances.The snap kick position could be a turning kick,side kick,or a snap kick.You build timing and coordination is sparring and that helps on the street.You get used to having blows thrown at you and fighting a live target.
Like on the street anything can happen in a sparring match.

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

Originally posted by drunkenfist
Do you have group sparring? Basically they call it that but it's simulating a gang fight on the street.People say the Tae Kwon Do kicks won't serve you on the street but I had to defend myself with them once.They are incrediably useful if you have items in your hands and stuff like that.A guy attacked me in the parking lot at work and all it took was a turning kick and a sidekick to the knee cap to bring it to an end.As with any art it's only as good as you make it.The average thug on the street does not know how to defend against martial arts period.When you fight one of them you might as well be a black belt.The Tae Kwon Do kicks are extremely deceptive in some instances.The snap kick position could be a turning kick,side kick,or a snap kick.You build timing and coordination is sparring and that helps on the street.You get used to having blows thrown at you and fighting a live target.
Like on the street anything can happen in a sparring match.

Spread the word, yes spread the word! Taekwondo is not just some useless and worthless sporting, wannabe martial art!!

As with most things, it all comes down to the person practicing the MA... :asian:

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by cali_tkdbruin
Spread the word, yes spread the word! Taekwondo is not just some useless and worthless sporting, wannabe martial art!!

As with most things, it all comes down to the person practicing the MA... :asian:

Thank you, my thoughts exactly. Never underestimate the "Human Soul." Do, and you're in a world of s***t:asian:

 

[tkdcanada]

Amen to that. It's nice to hear good things about TKD for a change.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Originally posted by voxtemporalis
I’m so frustrated with my training right now.

My forms are all nice, precise, and snappy. I can pop through a board like nobody’s business, but I can't spar. At all. At the end of every class I wind up feeling like an asshat.

The problem is that I don’t like to use kicks in my sparring. (Heh…no kicks, maybe I’m in the wrong art.) The only ones that I will use are the round kick and the front kick. I attempted a crescent kick to the head twice, and fell on my rump twice.

There was really just no point to this post, I was venting. If this doesn’t get better I’m going to just call it a day, pack it up, and go learn me some tai chi.

~SB

Well in my opinion if you never attempted another cresent kick in sparring again it would be to soon. The art is yours to use as you see fit. Environmental conditions usualy limit that there fancy kicking anyway so stick with what you know and get better at that. You may never find the right time to pull of that cresent kick. That would be ok.
Sean

 

[drunkenfist]

I do completely agree that some fancier kicks are best left for the sparring match.I would use basic kicks that were taught early in your training for the street.I find the basic kicks functional yet damaging to an attacker on the street.If your a bad butt type that has to look good while working on your opponent then just let the thug rob you.Chances are when you stand there and challenge the thug majority of his power is gone.If you appear stronger than he is then you can beat him.Remember on the streets there are no rules so all those things the master taught you are useable here.I'm not sure who your teacher is or whatever but at my Dojang only Masters can be in charge of the school.The guy that owns my school came directly from General Choi 30 years ago so he teaches as he did.Our school beats out all the others in tournaments including Kung Fu and Tang Soo Do schools.Many people present it as a sport but only because they have not learned the underlying principles of the art.The art has been proven in combat over time.I will admit compared to other arts it's basic but it's functional.People look at the art and think that looks too simple or easy but it's one of the hardest arts I have been with.People think Tai Chi is an exercise but I have watched guys beat the crap out of people with it.Adding a Chinese Martial art to my Tae Kwon Do has taught me alot more.
My internal energy and motor skills have increased so it fills in alot of holes in my training.Maybe grabbing a Tai Chi class at another school or community center is not such a bad idea.
I do it and I get alot more out of both arts by having them together.

 

[voxtemporalis]

Maybe grabbing a Tai Chi class at another school or community center is not such a bad idea.

It's sort of funny that you say this because I am moving soon, and as I was getting a showing on the new house I noticed that there was a MA school nearby, and I took a walk over there and it was a tai chi school. The quality of instruction looks decent and I am signing up in a few months when I move.

 

[MountainSage]

If you got a adequate roundhouse, don't sweat the high fancy kicks. In my school, they love the high kicks, yet a good solid roundhouse to the ribcage will bring the head down to a level for a easy cresent or axe kick. When an opponent can't breath and they get a headache; it a very bad day for them.

Mountain Sage

 

[voxtemporalis]

When an opponent can't breath and they get a headache; it a very bad day for them.

Ow. I know exactly what you mean. One of the things I had to learn right away was to step aside and keep my guard up as soon as the match started. I learned the hard way - as soon as the match started, I took a spinning side kick squarely to the chest. Ouch!

 

[MountainSage]

What works for me to counter the spinning kick is to close the distance. As a large person, closing in destroys there targeting, distance, timing, and balance. I believe this will work no matter a person size. You will get hit, but the power will be minimized and your opponent will have to back away to regain balance and distance, there's the opening for a punch to solar plexus or any kick with the front leg, but you got to be quick, the opening is there for only a moment. This work best on opponents that back straight away from you and square up . It can be done to the side, remember you can score through the blocking arm protecting the ribs plus you can brusie the hell out of the opponenets arm. You can crash in at any time you sense a kick coming and minimize the power, plus control the opponent by pushing he around the ring thus showing dominance:btg:

Mountain Sage

 

[Langdow]

Another option would be to start watching how people set up the kick, and recognize when it will come. Watch the shoulders. As soon as they starting turning a kick push kick in the rear will push them out of range of their kick, and probably knock them over or at the very least disorient them enough that you can rush in with a combination.

Have fun and keep your hands up, dental work really sucks

 

[drunkenfist]

The best way I found to spar is let them bring it then slip to the side.I'm a meat and potatoes guy in sparring let them have their caviar since we all know steak is the best.I can do more by doing nothing is the golden rule I spar by.The blackbelts like to bring it with fancy combinations,etc.I watch them wait until the leg is coming then slip aside about an inch then have at it with my fists.
Nothing will frustrate a high rank more than just standing there waiting for them.I'm deadly with my variety of blocks and punch combinations.They wear down quicker from all that kicking also.
While they work on their fancy kicking combos I work with my evasion and foot work skills.I can do abunch of kicks also but they are expecting that.Tae Kwon Do is a very straight line art so just add some curves to counter.They kick straight I move left and right that simple.I was just at class and I was sparring a third degree he got very angry because he kicked I timed then moved and hit him with a backfist from the side in the chest.
Why wear yourself out?The match is in the technique not the butt kicking.Spinning kicks are my favorite to work against they work up the momentum and spin.Throw a good kung fu block at them and they fall from their own force.Kind of like tossing a stick in the spokes of a bike.I'm just saying don't worry about looking good since your dance is all in the footwork.

 

[TKDman]

Go watch BloodSport the movie.

 

[TKDman]

Btw, as far as sparring goes you can't really think of stuff to do when something happens to you. For instance: If he does a side kick, I will sidestep and crescent him in the head.... You can't think period, if you just empty your mind, that way you wont be nervous, slow, or off rhythm. Try to slow your breathing down and make your body think that your just standing there calmly. You don't want to be nervous or out of breath, those are the worst things that can happen.

There are:

Agressive Fighters - go all out without stopping until the round is over

Counter Fighters - Fighters that wait for an attack and counter it fo the point

Defensive fighters - fighters that wait for the precise moment to attack and exploit it or fighting out of defensive stances.

Fast Offensive Fighters - Very fast people that go in and out a lot, move around a lot.

Remember, never fight their style, never try to beat them with their own technique... remember you run the show.

 

[MountainSage]

All of us in TKD should reread the last paragraph of TKDman's post about types of fighters. Then reread, then reread....! This is such an important point and so simple we tend to forget, "Fight your fight, not your opponents". I have suckered soooo many smaller guy into a bad position because they fight my big man style.


Mountian Sage