Another Sparring Frustration!!!

[Raewyn]

I posted a thread in regards to sparring not so long ago, and I thank those who gave me some really good pointers. We had sparring the other night in training and it all went out the window. I got hit and could'nt remember what I should be doing or what combinations I could use. You know, I dream about my moves that I could be doing, and I practise these at home, but when it comes to the crunch and Im sparring with some one else I cant get it to work!!! What can I do to get it right????? Obviously I need more practise. Is it something that needs to be in your genetic make up to be able to do really well??? I walk away feeling that Im never going to get it!!!!!

 

[hardheadjarhead]

You just need more birthdays.

I didn't mean that sarcastically. Sparring takes years to develop, and sometimes the only advice is to plug away at it until it stops "going out the window."

Without knowing you I can say with a certain amount of confidence that you'll get it eventually.

Here's some advice...which is always cheap here at MT. Some of it might apply to you. If not, then I've wasted electrons. No big deal.

1. Compare yourself to people with similar skills. If you're getting tagged by these awesome athletes of senior rank with way more experience, that's because they're awesome athletes of senior rank with way more experience. You can't expect to tag them much yet. While it is often said that you only get better by fighting people better than you, there are times when you need to go against people your level or worse so that you can test things at a lower stress level.

2. Note your small victories. If you got a sidekick in on a guy and he handles you for the rest of the bout...hey...you DID get the sidekick. Last week perhaps you couldn't touch him. This counts for defensive movements too. If you're blocking more shots, take stock of that. Quietly give yourself credit for it.

3. Accept that you're going to have "off days" and others are going to have "on days".

4. Watch the bouts of people you think you might realistically be able to handle in the next year or so. Focus on your prospective opponent and note their responses and attacks. This is good training for you because you can relax and take stock of their style without the stress of them actually hitting you. You don't have to worry about locking up. There is no "sweat grenade" sitting in your lap with the pin pulled.

5. Unlocking, that point where you stop freezing in response to certain techniques, takes a long time to overcome.

6. Don't introduce techniques and combinations in the ring until they've been completely ingrained outside of the ring. They have to be second nature. Shadow box them to death and THEN try them out on an opponent. I've worked combos for six months or more before trying them out.

7. Along those lines...keep your attacks simple and direct. Sophistication comes with time.


I could go on, but its six a.m. and I've only had one cup of joe.


Regards,


Steve

 

[The Kai]

Work on a core technique. One that works for you and you can apply in more than one situation. From that base build around it

 

[bluespacething]

I've heard so many people say that you don't truly start learning until you get your black belt. That includes sparring as well. I don't spar much but working on your muscle memory by doing techniques over and over again will help you in sparring. Practicing sparring as much as you can will also help you out. Eventually you will be able to figure out what will be working for you and what won't, and you'll be able to get that muscle memory that will help you out.

 

[Lisa]

Oh Raisin, I so know how you feel! I often play sparring scenarios in my head and think I have it all figured out and then *poof!* it all falls to the wayside. It is so frustrating and at times makes me wonder why I am doing it at all. My problem is that when I am sparring and things start to fall apart I let my frustration get the better of me. I have started to pull back and take a few hits. I am learning (very slowly, hard to teach an old dog new tricks ya know ) to wait for openings and how to create them as well. There is lots of good advice in the posts above mine. I am gonna try some of them.

Just figured I would let you know that your not alone!

 

[Feisty Mouse]

I've been training at the studio I'm at now for a little over 1.5 years now. I was starting sparring pretty soon after I started training.

LAST WEEK I felt relaxed and comfortable for the first time with some light sparring. It does take time.

If you feel totally overwhelmed, tell your sparring partner (esp. if it's a senior rank), and slow it down. It's not going to help train you if you're always going to be totally overwhelmed.

Really, just stick with it, and communicate with your instructors. It's taken me a long time, and I'm not even 1/2 way to really engaging in sparring.

 

[TX_BB]

Thehardheadjarhead said it well, but I'll try to throw you a bone. Try a dedicated training partners. You need to develope a small band of MA's to hold the bag for you - ideally tall, same size and smaller hopefully all faster than you. Work on your reactions based on the normal footwork. The only hard thing is that it's tough to wait to hit the bag(Heavy Shield). Work basics first and then combinations. You may want to buy an Xtreme body shield if you want to get training intensity.

Good Luck

 

[Dan Anderson]

Raisin,

Okay. Let's go over a couple of definitions:
fighting - winning or losing, this could be a fight or contest
sparring - training to become skilled in fighting

It sounds like you are fighting instead of sparring.

Confusion comes in when you are attempting to operate at too high a gradient for your personal skill level.

So, slow down. Get your partners to slow down. Develope your skills so you can get to a point where you can go fast and not get brain fade. Also, purchase Fighting Tactics & Strategies from my website. It will give you all sorts of info on the subject.

Yours,
Dan Anderson

 

[hardheadjarhead]

Raisin,

Dan here has written what many consider the "Bible" of sparring, American Freestyle Karate: A guide to sparring. It is well worth the purchase.

You also get to see what he looked like with hair.


Regards,


Steve

 

[songstrike]

Raisin,

I understand what you are going through, and what I tried may help you. I searched websites, libraries, and bookstores for all of the tips I could on sparring. An excellent one I found on the web is called "free sparring tips".
What I do is before sparring classes I only focus on maybe one or two of the tips that I have researched, and try to apply only those during that sparring session. The next sparring session that comes around, add another of the tips to what you have already applied. Keep doing this off, and on so you don't overwhelm yourself with too many tecqs.
This may or may not work for you, but I really like doing it this way. I usually mix the new tecq, right into my normal sparring, keeping the new tip ready to try at will.
I have found that if I start forgetting old tecqs. I will then go over what I used in the past and brush up on them again, without adding any extras. Hope this helps!

Sincerely, Song

 

[Raewyn]

What an awesome website, I will purchase that book, looks really helpful. Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Raewyn]

Thanks all for all your helpful advise, and Nalia its good to know that Im not alone. I must tell you though when Im sorting out all my moves in my head I'm really really good!!! lol.


I have only been doing this for 1.5 years and some people who have started the same time are really quite good. I guess some people just have the knack, and some people like me just have to practise alot more and the coordination going.

 

[KempoJoe]

I would say hardhead said it perfect, I would only add (2cents) try and relax more I found from personel experience I was so pumped it made me boxy and easy to follow so I find feeling relaxed and enjoying sparring/all out allowed me to be more fluid it a safe trianing method to allow you to be more prepared for actual defense. on that this is a great site and thank you.Hey did anyone go to the martial arts gathering at lake George New York?

 

[songstrike]

Raisin,

Thought I'd clarify. I don't purchase any books on sparring. There is plenty of places you can pick up tips without purchasing anything! Just a little time is all you need to spend!

oops, just realized it was someone else that gave you a lead about a book. My apoligies!

sincerely, Song

 

[bignick]

well...are we talking about olympic style sparring...or self-defense situations with less rules...cause that'll make a difference....

If we're talking about olympic sparring...one strategy that i've seen in taekwondo and judo used by the sport fighters is to focus one a few techniques and absolutely grind them into the dust...work them and work them...this will get you really good at competition moves...i see this especially in sport judo...there are like 40 accepted traditional judo throws and if you went to a tournament...you'd maybe see 5...

the same goes for tkd sparring...how many points are scored with a roundhouse or variant alone...

on a side not...i don't really recommend this...because i feel it produces an unbalanced martial artist...but i think it would certainly help your sparring at least in the short term...

like other people have been saying...it takes time..some people progress faster...some slower...like hardheadjarhead said...give yourself credit for what your accomplishing....compare yourself to how good you were when you first started...you'll probably see a vast improvement...

also thinking about different combos and such is a good way to come up with something new...but you need to step beyond that and actually practice them to become effective with them...

like one of my instructors said to a kids class about practicing at home yesterday...thinking about it helps this much *holds fingers barely apart*...doing it helps this much *holds arm far apart*...

 

[Sarah]

well...are we talking about olympic style sparring...or self-defense situations with less rules...cause that'll make a difference....
...

What Raison and and I do isnt really TKD sparring, I guess it would be more like Kick Boxing, also has a lot of close contact sparring...more punching than what I have seen in (for example) ITF sparring. And for yellow belts like ourselve's not many high kicks, more low/middle kicking.

 

[Tkang_TKD]

Raisin,

Try not to be so hard on yourself. What you experience with losing sight of what techniques you want to use is pretty common, especially when you are fairly new to sparring (my definition of new is < 2 years of active sparring).

I'll be the first one to tell you that I've gone through this myself, and still do from time to time. Nothing disrupts the thought process like getting hit.

Unfortunately, the only advice I can offer is to keep working at it. The best way to do that is to keep sparring. I agree with others to use basic techiques and just work them.

If your sparring with senior students, definitely take stock in the small victories. If you can land shots now that you couldn't a week or month ago, that's a victory. You don't have to win to improve. You just have to continue to be willing to try to improve.

Sparring does not necessarily become a natural thing to all people. In my school, I've seen many people that are great at sparring, and many people who are not. I'm 34 years old, and I get schooled time to time by some of our younger students and some of our older.

When someone beats me, or I have techniques that don't work, I try something else. I also spend alot of time working on techniques and combos at home. Nothing can replace the actual experience of trying those techniques while sparring. Timing more times than not is everything. Once you learn to set up a technique and you gauge the reaction time of an opponent to how you throw a technique, you skills will improve.

The other thing I can say is that with time, once you are more accustomed to being hit, the more you will learn to keep your cool, and remember techniques. The person that maintains their cool in the bout will generally win if skills/weight etc are equal.

Hope this helps a little.

Sincerely,
Thomas Kangas

 

[Marginal]

I have only been doing this for 1.5 years and some people who have started the same time are really quite good. I guess some people just have the knack, and some people like me just have to practise alot more and the coordination going.

Also keep in mind that your self-perception is rarely correct. Every once and a while, a senior will compliment me by way of telling me I've come a long way from when they saw me last, and it always surprises me because I thought I was putting along doing just what I've always been doing. You tend to ramp up without ever realizing it in my experience.

 

[Raewyn]

Thanks to everybody who posted, youve all been a great help.

 

[Sarah]

Raisin,

Okay. Let's go over a couple of definitions:
fighting - winning or losing, this could be a fight or contest
sparring - training to become skilled in fighting

That is a really good point, it sounds like commen sense but easy to get caught up in the moment and forget what your goals etc are, especially for us beginners. I think sometimes a compititve side kicks in when someone hits you.