Sparring drills for people that are way to tense

[KempoGuy06]

ok so there is this orange belt at my dojo who i spar with every week. He is pretty good at spotting the opening and such but his main problem is he is to tense and loses energy quickly. Also because he is to tense it is cause him to put more power behind his punches and kicks (while its not bothering me not everybody enjoys pain like i do ) Ive tried to work with him and so has our sparring instructor but its not helping or is helping to slowly and im not noticing it.

Anyway does anyone have any tips for me so that I can work with him. He could be really good but just needs to relax. Also like I said about putting in to much power, he might pop a higher rank who he doesnt spar that often and they thing he wants to amp it up and it all goes down hill from there.

Thanks in advance

B

 

[Sukerkin]

I think it's fundamental to try and discover where the 'tension' you speak of is coming from.

Is it that he is overly-hyped with the 'fight-like' nature of sparring?

I don't know the Kempo rank system so I don't have an appreciation of where 'orange belt' sits but if it's only one of the earlier ranks then maybe all he needs is time to leech the fight-or-flight out of him?

It could also be (and I think most of us have been there) that he can't shake the 'Western' mindset of muscling a technique rather than letting the accuracy of the technique speak for itself. We have a chap in our dojo who has had a hard time letting go of that - the past year has seen some marked improvement tho' and it's simply come from repetition, correction and example.

 

[KempoGuy06]

I think it's fundamental to try and discover where the 'tension' you speak of is coming from.

Is it that he is overly-hyped with the 'fight-like' nature of sparring?

I don't know the Kempo rank system so I don't have an appreciation of where 'orange belt' sits but if it's only one of the earlier ranks then maybe all he needs is time to leech the fight-or-flight out of him?

It could also be (and I think most of us have been there) that he can't shake the 'Western' mindset of muscling a technique rather than letting the accuracy of the technique speak for itself. We have a chap in our dojo who has had a hard time letting go of that - the past year has seen some marked improvement tho' and it's simply come from repetition, correction and example.

the rank is only the 3rd one in our system. He has been at the dojo a while, not advancing as fast as some people do to time restraints.

What Im thinking is the main problem is that he is to overly concerned about not getting hit and hitting the other person rather than using good technique. This is cause him to try and force the punch or kick. Also like you said the western mindset of muscling everything may also be a factor. At 6'4" 245lbs thats what I did at first now I know different. Ive brought this to his attention before as well.

Thanks for the input

B

 

[geezer]

ok so there is this orange belt at my dojo who i spar with every week. He is pretty good at spotting the opening and such but his main problem is he is to tense and loses energy quickly. Also because he is to tense it is cause him to put more power behind his punches and kicks (while its not bothering me not everybody enjoys pain like i do ) Ive tried to work with him and so has our sparring instructor but its not helping or is helping to slowly and im not noticing it.
B

Talk to your instructor and other high ranking assistants. They can work with your tense friend and show him how he can be faster, more powerful, and more effective if he can loosen up. And, like you said, he will also have more stamina. My guess is that he already knows this, but may be nervous during sparring, or just naturally tense physically. I have the same problem, and I constantly have to work to stay loose and relaxed. But little by little, I've made progress. Good luck to you and your sparring partner.

 

[MattJ]

Kempoguy06 -

Beginning students are often overwhelmed by the prospect of free-sparring. Too much overloading their senses. I would suggest trying limited sparring drills to get him used to the chaos, without totally over-loading him.

Start with him working defense only. Don't use kicks, just your hands. Work a few rounds of that, then switch. He is offense only (just hands). and you just defend.

After a few rounds of that, then have him defend only, but this time you add kicks back in. Then switch so he can try, etc.

You can also put him in a corner (defense only), to work head/upper-body movement, while limiting footwork.

You can also work similar drills for grappling/MMA, like having one guy attemp only takedowns, and the other guy defends. Or simple mount or guard -escape drills. Use your imagination! The key is to make the drills VERY SIMPLE, but with resistance.

I have found these to be effective in removing fear/tenseness in beginner's sparring. Good luck.

 

[thardey]

Kempoguy06 -

Beginning students are often overwhelmed by the prospect of free-sparring. Too much overloading their senses. I would suggest trying limited sparring drills to get him used to the chaos, without totally over-loading him.

Start with him working defense only. Don't use kicks, just your hands. Work a few rounds of that, then switch. He is offense only (just hands). and you just defend.

After a few rounds of that, then have him defend only, but this time you add kicks back in. Then switch so he can try, etc.

You can also put him in a corner (defense only), to work head/upper-body movement, while limiting footwork.

You can also work similar drills for grappling/MMA, like having one guy attemp only takedowns, and the other guy defends. Or simple mount or guard -escape drills. Use your imagination! The key is to make the drills VERY SIMPLE, but with resistance.

I have found these to be effective in removing fear/tenseness in beginner's sparring. Good luck.

Echo all that! I could be that he hasn't realized that you can't "Lose" at this type of practice sparring. That it's another drill. Many people look at the "challenge" of sparring as a test of their skill, not a practice session -- that's when the tension, and the pressure of performing kicks in.

Break it down, even in free sparring, get him to think of it as another drill, not a test.

Make him laugh, surprise him, make him jump. Sing a silly song to distract him while your sparring, try unorthodox moves on him. Stuff like that also helps break the tension. It might get him out of the mindset of doing the "wrong" thing and being hit, or worse, being judged!

 

[KempoGuy06]

Thanks for all the help. Ive tried most of this stuff to help him out. Its not like he is new to sparring he has been in it for the better part of a year.

Ill give it some more go and see what happens.

He is a lot smaller than me I hope he is not intimidated by me and thinks Im just gonna wail all over him

B

 

[MJS]

ok so there is this orange belt at my dojo who i spar with every week. He is pretty good at spotting the opening and such but his main problem is he is to tense and loses energy quickly. Also because he is to tense it is cause him to put more power behind his punches and kicks (while its not bothering me not everybody enjoys pain like i do ) Ive tried to work with him and so has our sparring instructor but its not helping or is helping to slowly and im not noticing it.

Anyway does anyone have any tips for me so that I can work with him. He could be really good but just needs to relax. Also like I said about putting in to much power, he might pop a higher rank who he doesnt spar that often and they thing he wants to amp it up and it all goes down hill from there.

Thanks in advance

B

Perhaps isolate each area he needs to work on first. Example: If his footwork is too stiff and rigid, isolate that by having him work on drills that focus on movement. One drill that you can have him do is the mirror drill. Face him and begin moving. He has to mirror your movement. Circular movement, angles, side to side, front to back and all be included. If he expects to keep up with you, he'll need to be more fluid.

Focus mitt/bag work can be done for the hands. Working various combos should help with the stiffness.

Mike

 

[Kacey]

I use a drill periodically that I learned as "sticky hands" - and I use it to help people understand the need to relax when sparring.

Two people face each other in a closed stance (L-stance, fighting stance, whatever you call it - 1 leg forward, 1 leg back, half facing) so they both have the same foot forward (right to right or left to left) wit the outside edges of the front foot touching. Then they touch their lead hands back to back and put their other hand behind their back (this is initially done only with the lead hand, but it can be expanded later). One person is the attacker; the other is the defender. The attacker tries to strike (open hand slap - to touch, not to injure) the defender, but MUST start from the hands back to back position and then return to it - people who are tense will telegraph their upcoming movement through the hand contact, and it can easily show students the importance (and difficulty) of relaxing under stress. Once you have the basic exercise down, you can modify it however you want to suit the needs of your students.

 

[KempoGuy06]

I use a drill periodically that I learned as "sticky hands" - and I use it to help people understand the need to relax when sparring.

Two people face each other in a closed stance (L-stance, fighting stance, whatever you call it - 1 leg forward, 1 leg back, half facing) so they both have the same foot forward (right to right or left to left) wit the outside edges of the front foot touching. Then they touch their lead hands back to back and put their other hand behind their back (this is initially done only with the lead hand, but it can be expanded later). One person is the attacker; the other is the defender. The attacker tries to strike (open hand slap - to touch, not to injure) the defender, but MUST start from the hands back to back position and then return to it - people who are tense will telegraph their upcoming movement through the hand contact, and it can easily show students the importance (and difficulty) of relaxing under stress. Once you have the basic exercise down, you can modify it however you want to suit the needs of your students.

this has been tried and it helps that day but it is like he forgets what he learned from the previous class

B

 

[Nomad]

Without meeting him, this is a guess, but I suspect he's either too concerned with the winning/losing aspects of sparring, or is worried about hurting his opponent/getting hurt himself. "Too many mind" as the kid from The Last Samurai would say.

All of the above drills are great ideas, and it's probably time that will make the biggest changes.

 

[rabbit]

Not to be mean but I think you are expecting too much from an orange belt. What is that? The second belt? It takes time to get used to the techniques to do them easily and takes time to improve the function of the heart and lungs.

 

[KempoGuy06]

Not to be mean but I think you are expecting too much from an orange belt. What is that? The second belt? It takes time to get used to the techniques to do them easily and takes time to improve the function of the heart and lungs.

Orange is the third belt (second one you actually test for). Maybe I am expecting to much, but he asked me for help and I expect no more from him than I do from myself. The only reason I want to help him is so that he can become better. Also like I mentioned before when he is tense he puts to much power behind himself, i want to help him avoind this so he doesnt hurt anyone and then be left with no one to spar

B

 

[Shotochem]

Orange is the third belt (second one you actually test for). Maybe I am expecting to much, but he asked me for help and I expect no more from him than I do from myself. The only reason I want to help him is so that he can become better. Also like I mentioned before when he is tense he puts to much power behind himself, i want to help him avoind this so he doesnt hurt anyone and then be left with no one to spar

B

He's still a newbie.

A excellent way to get a newer and even experienced person more fluid and help them relax and think more clearly is to do slow-motion sparring.

As in SLOW Motion attacks and counters. When you slow things down you can see the potential openings of your opponent and the weaknesses in yourself. It really is more of a mental drill than physical. It really helps one become more comfortable with the concepts of sparring without having to worry about being hit. Then you build from there.

-Marc-

 

[TheOriginalName]

I'm a MMA student, been training for about a year now and have to admit that i have a tension problem. The style i train in also incorperates a lot of traditional karate stuff as well and i usually find that this for some reason causes me to tense up.....

If this guy is having the "i don't want to get hit" type of reaction can i suggest that you slow down the sparring and do a defensive techniques only. That way he is only allowed to block - at half speed he'll be able to see the shots coming and if he is loose then he will be able to avoid the shot rather than block it. I know this one helps me.

I noticed in one post you mentioned that some of the drills suggested improve him for at least that lesson and then he falls back into old habits - i think we all know what that feels like. Perhaps with this guy you need to go through a few of these drills before doing any real sparring each time. Make it a sort of "warm up" drill for him - that way he will condition himself to loosen up.

I would also suggest that you point him in the direction of some good combat sport videos - tell him to watch them and study how they move. I recently watched Randy Couture in UFC-68, he was absolutely relaxed and loose. Whilst this may not be your style it might show him how he should feel whilst sparring.

Anyway, just a few idea. But my last thought, be patient. He obviously enjoys the training, as he keeps turning up, and whilst this may take him a while to pick up try and be supportive as you possibly can be. Everyone's journey to black belt takes a different route and a different amount of time.

Good luck - and let us know how you and he is going with this challenge.

 

[rabbit]

I am sorry Kenpoguy06. I wasn't trying to be mean or a tough guy. Here is a link to some drills that have helped me improve. They are simple and effective

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1778726