Never saw it coming...

[TKDinAK]

OK... admittedly, I haven't done a great amount of sparring... yet. But I do love it.

Last sparring class, I was paired up against a 20 year old 3rd Dan. I'm a 46 year old green belt.

We are an ITF school, and punches are a serious part of our arsenal and training. Still, when I spar, I mainly watch the hip/waist area. Would rather get tagged by a punch than a kick.

Never got to land a punch or a kick on the youngster (not because I didn't try real hard) but I was pretty happy with how well I was able to avoid and block for the most part... only got tagged solid once. Of course he was probably going about 1/2 speed and power (or less)... I was going as fast as I possibly could. LOL!

Anyway... we're faced off in a closed stance, left foot forward, and out of nowhere, my head gets spun to the left and I'm looking out the ear hole in my head gear. Didn't hurt at all, but it was just shocking to get tagged like that and not have a clue where it came from. After class was over, I asked him what he got me with, and he said it was a left leg turning kick.

I'm fairly comfortable with my reflexes... but how in the world do you defend against something you can't see coming?

 

[puunui]

I'm fairly comfortable with my reflexes... but how in the world do you defend against something you can't see coming?

Stand farther away initially so that he has to take a step before he can reach you with his kick.

 

[Cyriacus]

Assess the Range. You dont need to stay out of His (If Hes that fast, Hed just exploit the extra range to do a full on Power Attack, as oppose to the Neutral Distance Attacks Hes limited to up close [But not Punching close] {That said, as long as you dont hang out there, I recommend staying just out of His Power Arc}), but if You are within His Power Arc for a Kick, for the love of Your Body, keep one hand raised up a bit. Your Forearm may end up taking a beating, but its better than being snapped in the head.

 

[ATC]

Over time you will learn to read your opponent. It is just that simple. The more you spar the more things slow down as you speed up. Training, training, and more training will speed you up.

Have fun

 

[Dirty Dog]

Your headgear may well limit your peripheral vision, so you need to adjust your body position to compensate. Moving back slightly (even an inch or so) makes a big difference in your field of view. Keep moving.
Since I only have one eye, this is something I deal with every time I spar. We have a 4th Dan who is 10-12 years younger than me, and a 1st Dan who is at least 30 years younger than me who both like to attack from my blind side.

Practice, practice, and more practice.

 

[Carol]

You watch for other clues. A slight change in posture? A shift in balance? A shoulder rising? A teacher with strong knowledge of body mechanics can help you with this.

 

[Gnarlie]

You should ask him another question; rather than "what did you get me with?", "What did you distract me with?"

If you were in closed stance left leg forward, and he hit you with a left leg kick, he slid forward and kicked with the front leg to your open front side. This is fast, but is easy to spot. To stop people from spotting it, I try to draw attention to my rear (right) hand or foot prior to making the attack, by doing something as simple as moving it in a strange way, feinting or stepping with it.

Worse still is when the same kick is made in open stance, when it sneaks up behind your shoulder in close quarters - the first thing you know about it is the contact.

Additional: In the closed stance, you might want to examine where your arms are when you guard. If it's high up but not active, it blocks your view of fast kicks approaching your face, but without stopping them. It's something I would look for and take advantage of in an opponent.

This is a contributing factor to 'hands down' sparring in WTF Style Shihap Kyorugi - with the focus on evasion rather than blocking. Personally, I like to compromise with a lowish, loose boxing style guard, so I can see and block when I'm too slow and old to evade.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Ditto on hand placement. From the start I tell people that 95% of the time when they get hit in the head during sparring it's because they let the opponent hit them there. - Had their hands down. Your rear hand fist should be at the ear level with forearm mostly forward and vertical. (Unkless your lead hand is punching and you need to deny the straight line attack to the face) .

See initial photo this article: http://371078645507472465-a-1802744...pOmlC1jnwq4q156YXSv7Gi_OmhUy0=&attredirects=0

Now, that being said, at a seminar with Bill Wallace I was asked to block his lead leg turning kick - didn't happen, but of course I wasn't trying to hit back either. I also notice he keeps his foot pointed at 90 degrees so he gets you with the toe of the boot going around your arm. Most people kcik with the foot pointed and hit with the instep.

 

[miguksaram]

I'm fairly comfortable with my reflexes... but how in the world do you defend against something you can't see coming?

Simple, take up Fantasy Football and call it a day. ha.ha.ha. First of all kudos for still wanting to step into the ring at your age. I'm not saying you are old, I'm 41, but most people in our age range rather just sit it out and watch the youngsters go at it.

As people have already mentioned, addressing the range and reading your opponent is the key. This comes from experience, which means...you will have more scenarios to go through like the one you just wrote about. Do not get discouraged and keep fighting.

 

[Twin Fist]

this

the reason you didnt see it comming is that :
1) your brain isnt tuned to see in that speed range yet, it comes with time

2) you will be able to spot the "tells" with more experience.

3) you will get tired of getting tagged with it and learn to start seeing the signs.....

it comes, trust me

Over time you will learn to read your opponent. It is just that simple. The more you spar the more things slow down as you speed up. Training, training, and more training will speed you up.

Have fun

 

[ATC]

this

the reason you didnt see it comming is that :
1) your brain isnt tuned to see in that speed range yet, it comes with time

2) you will be able to spot the "tells" with more experience.

3) you will get tired of getting tagged with it and learn to start seeing the signs.....

it comes, trust me

Yep, time and consistancy are your best training tools.

 

[Manny]

OK... admittedly, I haven't done a great amount of sparring... yet. But I do love it.

Last sparring class, I was paired up against a 20 year old 3rd Dan. I'm a 46 year old green belt.

We are an ITF school, and punches are a serious part of our arsenal and training. Still, when I spar, I mainly watch the hip/waist area. Would rather get tagged by a punch than a kick.

Never got to land a punch or a kick on the youngster (not because I didn't try real hard) but I was pretty happy with how well I was able to avoid and block for the most part... only got tagged solid once. Of course he was probably going about 1/2 speed and power (or less)... I was going as fast as I possibly could. LOL!

Anyway... we're faced off in a closed stance, left foot forward, and out of nowhere, my head gets spun to the left and I'm looking out the ear hole in my head gear. Didn't hurt at all, but it was just shocking to get tagged like that and not have a clue where it came from. After class was over, I asked him what he got me with, and he said it was a left leg turning kick.

I'm fairly comfortable with my reflexes... but how in the world do you defend against something you can't see coming?

Well.... don't know if I can give you some advice but let me tell you about myself. I am a 44 years old second degree black belt with few stamina, yes I have plenty of power but my speed is limited by my size (110 kilograms) oh yes.... I have some bacon but well, as I wrote I have plenty of power but lack speed and.... I have to sparr with young studs who train more times per week as I do (damn.... been a parent and a working man limitates me a little) and these young budies are in their prime, it's dificult to me to tag them, not impossible but very dificult.

When I discharge my voley of kicks the boys only go backwards triying to dodge or parry so when I get home they are not there!! However this boys always try to beat me no mather what, it seems to me they get proud when they defeat me, so I must cover myself very well cause this boys really kick!!

It doesn't matter to me if they kick in the gut, yes thay can take my breath away but is dificult because: a) I have a nice belly to cushion the kick and b) I always block or step aside, however a hit to the face is a HIT and I've got a broken nose, broken theet and a solid knockout in my youth so I know how it feels to been kicked on the face,for that matter I always protect my face/head with high guard, I really don't like to fight ala WTF where both arms are low.

Even covering my face my friend SH...... some times happens and you must to remember that if you play with fire you can burn yoursel once in a while, in other words if you play TKD you will hit once in a while too.

My advise, don't been a static target, cover your head/face with a high guard and try if you can anticipate the movement of your oponent.

Manny