Trouble With Sparring

[CrimsonPhoenix]

First of all I’ll say that I really enjoy sparring. I clarify that we do not do point sparring. I love getting out in the ring and sparring with another student or instructor. Ever since I tested for my blue belt, the expectations of how I spar have went up a good deal. More about thinking things through, setting things up, and working on angles and positioning.

One of my downfalls is that I’ve always been more inclined to face my opponent and spar them head on, no matter how much bigger they are than me. My instructors have told me that I can’t fight ‘strength for strength’ when that person is much stronger than I am. I’m a female and it just isn’t physically possible for me to do that.

I’m fine with sparring my instructors and people smaller than me. That doesn’t bother me. But when I’m paired up with a guy who’s taller and bigger than me, it’s completely different. I’m shorter (5'4) so basically any guy is taller than me.

For example. I was paired with a yellow belt who’s just getting introduced to sparring. I’m several ranks higher than him, but he’s taller, bigger, and older. We’re told to keep the contact light since he’s just learning. So we start sparring and I got pushed around a lot. I got in a few good punches and kicks, but it was really embarrassing because he would land a good technique that I should have blocked and would ask me if I was okay. I even ended up on the ground once. It’s not like he’s one of those ‘bull in the china shop’ guys who’s really aggressive either.

I really felt like I could have done much better. I’m normally more. . .aggressive and won’t let myself get pushed around like that, but this time was like our positions were switched. As if he was the more experienced student. I felt more like I was holding back and hesitating, rather than just getting out there and sparring, and that makes me uncomfortable.
It’s also happened when I was sparring a guy who was the ‘bull in the china shop’ type. I ended up on the floor about eight times because he kept charging in and I kept getting pushed back.

Has anyone else had any similar problems? How can I get past this? How can I use my greater experience to be a smarter fighter? It really frustrates me that I’m like this when sparring someone like this. It’s never really happened with my instructors, just other students. I don’t feel as though I’m intimidated by sparring someone bigger/taller. It’s not like I’m afraid of getting hit or hitting the other person either.

I just feel as though I can’t accept this and don't feel comfortable with how I'm reacting while sparring.

 

[girlbug2]

Crimson,

I have similar problems with sparring. During class I have been very aggressive in performing my techniques and I can put lots of power into my strikes, but when it comes to sparring I just don't seem to be one of those lucky people that has "it". I love to do it, and I have no intention of stopping, but I'm the first to admit that my wires often seem crossed in sparring and I often don't react properly to incoming moves, have bad timing, etc. Perhaps it's a problem with overthinking. I am an introvert after all, and we are known to overthink when we should just react . In theory, practice can eventually train that out to some degree, but likely not 100%.

You'll get responses from many here who have a lot more experience with sparring than I. But let me tell you not to beat yourself up over it. I do believe that some people are just wired better for it than others -- I've seen newbies spar extremely well, experienced students spar poorly. I do believe there is such a thing as sparring talent that some are just born with more of than others; much like in any other art some people seem to be naturally more gifted. You can usually spot those gifted ones very early on. Perhaps that yellow belt you mentioned is gifted.

Please don't lose heart though, patience and continued practice always pay off in the end.

 

[granfire]

Come to our school!

One of my instructors is a very short female (I am 5'5" and I am a good deal taller than her....but she kicks your butt everytime.

You have to figure out your strength. You just can't go up against a guy twice your size. Naturally they hold back. heaven knows we had a 13 year old kid, huge, with legs like tree trunks. bad thing about him , he had not yet realized how big and strong he was.

You have to work the angles. Use the space. Just going straight line you run out of room eventually. Explore the opponent's weak side. Make them move to your liking, not react to what they have.

Tall guys sometimes don't cover the closeup real well, when you get past the kicks (again, won't happen straightline) you might have a direct shot at him.

If you missed a block ask your partner to do it again. I know I can do (should, too) though have never used the privilege.

It's a matter of thinking on your feet. The best block is still, 20 years after the Karate Kid, the one you are not there to take the blow!

 

[Hyper_Shadow]

I can't speak for being physically limited and sparring. However when I spar with my weaker students I tend to give them advice geared towards working their advantages. I tend to put a lot of pressure on my students and I will always push the offensive. What I try to do is leave small openeing s for them to attack and gain ground through my offensive. More often than not when put on the back foot by a larger opponent smaller folks tend to just go completely defensive and miss all their opportunities.
My advice is if you're physically getting pushed around reverse it on your opponent. Keep moving around em and constantly change what you're doing. Don't get stuck in a rhythm trap with your opponent. Get the little digs in where they leave their guard open. Don't worry about the grade and who you're sparring, just go for any obvious openings and use your smaller frame to your advantage, not theirs. Plus, I know it is generally better to work from your opponents sides but working online has a lot of advantages that not enough people are willing to explore. You should work where you are comfortable and proficient. Sure, it is vital to become stronger where you are weaker, but if you leave your strengths, they'll stagnate (personally, I love working online, it's the fastest and most direct route through your opponents guard in my opinion).
Fact is all you can really do is keep sparring and it'll all become clearer what you need to do over time. Having not seen you spar, none of us here can really draw any reasonable advice to give, only give general pointers.
Best advice I can give is keep your guard up, don't fall down and never turn your back to your opponent.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Absolutely keep moving, you always move--but NOT *away*.

Backing straight up is worse than useless, it may help keep you out of reach( you hope) but keeps you out of YOUR effective range as well, sidesteps and circling around them as they charge are your friends.

 

[BrandonLucas]

I would agree with what everyone is saying about working your angles of attack. Because you are smaller in stature, you need to know how to use this to your advantage.

The main thing you need to keep in mind is to not be frustrated. No matter if you get hit or not, keep your mind clear. If you become frustrated, it's going to slow your reaction time down. The same goes for getting over-excited about hitting your opponent.

It is a hard judgement call to make, since none of us could see you spar, but generally speaking smaller framed people are able to work the angles of attack and defense faster and easier than larger framed people.

And attacking straight ahead has its place, too. Alot of times, your opponent won't expect a direct attack, and will be looking for you to use different angles.

I think what would help us out in giving sparring advice would be if you could take a video of yourself sparring in class, and then we could see exactly what you're talking about.

But, definitely, if you get knocked down, don't get discouraged. It happens to all of us.

 

[jks9199]

I'm going to address several points that came up here.

First, size and fighting style. I don't care how big or small you are -- it's much easier to be effective if you're not fighting yourself at the same time. You like to be aggressive, fight square on and move in on your opponent? Great! DO THAT! Move in and dominate them.

Second, sparring problems in general. Sparring is a means of practicing under pressure. Under pressure, the mind goes blank. In other words... It's absolutely normal and expected that when you spar, you'll have trouble taking what you did in line drills or other exercises, and making it work. You can help by doing partner drills, where things are more controlled. You can do different types of sparring, like defining one person as the attacker, so that all the defender has to do is worry about defending.

Finally, rank and fighting. I was told a story once, that goes something like this:
It used to be common that villages would hold a martial arts tournament on major holidays. The way these tournaments would run was simple. Someone would take the ring, and hold it until someone beat them. That person would then hold the ring, fighting all comers, until they got beat. And so on... One day, a highly ranked master took the ring, and he was holding it for hours; it seemed nobody could beat him. Until a young student, with very little training got in the ring... The youngster beat the master with one of the earliest techniques learned.

Very simply, at any given time, anyone can be defeated. Never expect that, just because you've got a darker belt around your waist, you'll beat someone. Your belt may be in the ring with you -- but it's not fighting for you.

 

[igillman]

Your instructors are right, strength for strength you will lose but it is not because you are female, it is simply because they are bigger than you. So you have to fight a different fight. If they are stronger than you then in a head to head slugging match you will lose, so don't make it one!!! They would love a head to head slugfest, it suits them, their style of fighting and their build.

So you have 2 choices...
1) Make the fight a slugfest and lose.
2) Make both of you uncomfortable by bouncing around a bit, coming in for one or two hits and then backing off.

If you are the smaller one then take the second option. Dodge around, duck and dive, don't do more than 3 kicks in a row otherwise they will nail you. Just remember, you are the smaller party and you cannot control the centre. I am built like a tank and I have had that happen to me before. You just have to change styles, suck it up and accept it.

 

[terryl965]

Remember it is about knowing when to get in and when to step out. Sparring is great even with a bigger opponet just remember the common sparring rules, get faster quicker and smarter than your opponet.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Not sure what style of sparring your doing, but I'd like to comment as one of those taller guys that frustrates shorter opponents.

Every size has its advantages and disadvantages. If you're taller you have a reach advantage, but will need to develope a strategy for dealing with an opponent who gets inside your guard. A shorter person will be able to keep opponents outside of her guard more easily but will have a harder time striking at a distance.

Advantage tall: lots of reach! Keeping opponents away is easier; they have to risk receiving a strike (or several) in order to get close enough to deliver a strike. Depending upon the height difference, the opponent may not be able to kick high enough get a head shot. Longer legs also make it easier to cover ground quickly with fewer steps.

Advantage short: Smaller target area, quicker movements, generally. A short person has less mass in each limb to move, so pulling rapidfire roundhouse kicks and rapidfire combos are physically easier. Quicker directional changes will also be easier for a short person due to less inertia. Also, the lower center of gravity means greater stability. Your target area is smaller and more easilly guarded and overall, you present a smaller profile, making it easier to duck and cover. Once inside a taller person's guard, a shorter fighter is usually at an advantage and can make those rapidfire combos really work.

Everyone has a strike zone. The object is to know where yours is and maximize it. One advantage you have to fighting opponents of different sizes is that if you ever need to use your technique outside of the dojang, you won't be hampered by having only sparred with people your own size and weight.

One thing I can tell you is that if you ever spar tournaments, you'll be paired up by gender and weight most of the time, so if you intend to spar in tournaments, don't neglect training against people your own height.

Being six four, there aren't a lot of opponents in class who are my height. In fact, there's only one: my seventeen year old son (six three, but at that point, its the same). Because we're always sparring people shorter than ourselves, once we have to spar eachother, we need to adjust a lot, as a height based fighting style is no longer an advantage.

At the same time, some of the most frutsrating opponents for me, particularly in kendo, are the much shorter opponents of similar skill to myself. In taekwondo it isn't quite as bad, but if the opponent is more than a foot smaller than me, they present unique challenges in a sparring environment.

Granfire really hit the nail on the head about working the angles. Make your size work for you. Work the angles, circle, and frustrate them. You'll get better as you do so and you'll also make taller students force themselves to rely on something other than height.

Daniel

 

[Marginal]

Also worth mentioning that even the bigger heavier guys out there still do much better if they learn to work angles etc as well. Standing there like a stump just sets you up for the other guy no matter your size.

 

[tkd75]

First, size and fighting style. I don't care how big or small you are -- it's much easier to be effective if you're not fighting yourself at the same time. You like to be aggressive, fight square on and move in on your opponent? Great! DO THAT! Move in and dominate them.

AMEN to that! Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies.

I'm 5'3", and usually any adults I spar are taller than I. There's been lots of great advice given already, but here goes my advice:

While working your angles, get inside your opponets reach. If you're sparring someone who generally throws tons of kicks, get close and strike!

 

[granfire]

AMEN to that! Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies.

I'm 5'3", and usually any adults I spar are taller than I. There's been lots of great advice given already, but here goes my advice:

While working your angles, get inside your opponets reach. If you're sparring someone who generally throws tons of kicks, get close and strike!

Exactly! But it won't happen straightline. Sometimes the direct route is not the quickest - or in this case the least painful!

 

[Deaf Smith]

Crimson,

In defense use side slips. Shuffles and slides to one side or another as they attack YOU. Counter-attack as you sideslip. Learn to block AND strike in the same motion. This is called single timing.

In attack, learn the difference between 'attack on preparation' and 'attack on attack' (the worst thing you can do is attack after being hit.) This is JKD. Attack on prep is bascily when he is getting ready to launch an attack you attack first. Most people, when they are prepareing to attack, don't think much of defensive moves. On 'attack on attack' look for his 'tells', that is when he telegraphs he is going to throw a particular punch or kick, and you move in right then.

A good way to learn is to watch! Yes watch others spar. Look for their 'tells'. Look for any movement that gives away what they are about to do. Look for when they are moving into position to attack. When you can guess what they are about to do before they do it, then when you spar, start looking for those tells.

And yes, don't match strength for strength. There are some men I spar that are much bigger than me. What is more, one of then can kick so hard he would just break my arms if I blocked and it was for real. So I slip to the side. I nullify the power in the kicks by not being where the kick is going to land.

Deaf

 

[CrimsonPhoenix]

Thank you to everyone for the advice. It's really given me a lot to think about, and I'm going to have mull over everything this week. I'm still very frustrated, but looking forward to tomorrow's class. Maybe I can put some of your advice into practice. I do hope we spar tomorrow night, so I can try some of these things on angles, moving, and some of the other things you've mentioned.

Perhaps it's a problem with overthinking. I am an introvert after all, and we are known to overthink when we should just react . In theory, practice can eventually train that out to some degree, but likely not 100%.

Ah, yes, I agree. I'm the same way. I'm known to be more reserved and one of my major problems was overthinking things. I had to (and still have to) concentrate on reacting.

The best block is still, 20 years after the Karate Kid, the one you are not there to take the blow!

I couldn't agree more. One of my instructors likes to emphasize this.

The main thing you need to keep in mind is to not be frustrated. No matter if you get hit or not, keep your mind clear. If you become frustrated, it's going to slow your reaction time down. The same goes for getting over-excited about hitting your opponent.

Thank you for saying that. I realize now that that's one of the things I was doing and it slowed down my reaction time.

My advice is if you're physically getting pushed around reverse it on your opponent. Keep moving around em and constantly change what you're doing. Don't get stuck in a rhythm trap with your opponent.

You have to work the angles. Use the space. Just going straight line you run out of room eventually. Explore the opponent's weak side. Make them move to your liking, not react to what they have.

Granfire really hit the nail on the head about working the angles. Make your size work for you. Work the angles, circle, and frustrate them. You'll get better as you do so and you'll also make taller students force themselves to rely on something other than height.

I'm seeing a trend here with the angles. Thank you for elaborating on it, I'm sure this is going to help!

First, size and fighting style. I don't care how big or small you are -- it's much easier to be effective if you're not fighting yourself at the same time. You like to be aggressive, fight square on and move in on your opponent? Great! DO THAT! Move in and dominate them.

I do tend to fight myself. Because fighting aggressively is just how I spar, and my instructors are trying to get me to not go head on as much, so it's really conflicting when I go out in the ring to spar and probably messing up my rhythm.

A good way to learn is to watch! Yes watch others spar. Look for their 'tells'. Look for any movement that gives away what they are about to do. Look for when they are moving into position to attack. When you can guess what they are about to do before they do it, then when you spar, start looking for those tells.

Watching. Hm.. Personally, I try to watch closely when others spar, but I'm not concentrating on the 'tell' signs. Just more of what's happening. Good idea! I like it!

 

[dancingalone]

I do tend to fight myself. Because fighting aggressively is just how I spar, and my instructors are trying to get me to not go head on as much, so it's really conflicting when I go out in the ring to spar and probably messing up my rhythm.

First, realize that sparring is NOT fighting. Sparring is a training exercise that allow you to work on timing, distancing, and movement. The rules in typical TKD sparring naturally favor taller people with more reach. If you understand that going in, you'll be able to come to terms with not doing as well as maybe you expect to.

From a self-defense, fighting perspective, please consider what advantages you might have as a smaller person. Are you harder to hit? (you should be). Are you able to create power more quickly and within a smaller zone than a bigger opponent? (This should be a skill that everyone works on regardless of size, but smaller people particularly should take it to heart).

 

[CrimsonPhoenix]

dancingalone,

Thank you for pointing that out. I realize now that I chose the wrong word for what I was trying to say.