Sparring Tips...

TKDKrazy

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Hello, I am new to these forums. I am a red belt in Tae Kwon Do and I have been having abit of problems regarding sparring lately.

The main problem I have is kicking with my right leg, when my opponent is WIDE open and I have to throw a kick with a right kick my leg does not respond, Of corse with my left kick I am quite a fast kicker. So i'm wondering if there are any excersizes that I can do at home to help me fix this problem.

Also I usally go defensive when I spar and sometimes offence when my opponent is on defence. But the problem is I cannot do either that good. I'm not good at gaining distance when I am doing offensive... When I try feint then attack he always attacks me on my feint...

Overall I am just looking for some sparring tips so I can spar up to my belt expectancy.

Thank you,
 

exile

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TKDK... this seems very strange. What do you mean, exactly, when you say that your right leg 'does not respond' when you try to use it to kick with? Is this something recent, or is it something that you've always had problems with in other situations where you needed to do something with that leg? I have to say, it sounds very odd.
 

granfire

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well, we all have our weak side. I am pretty ineffective with my left.

Here are a couple of pointers: Practice hop kicks on a heavy bag. Lift the front leg up hop towards the bag and kick. That is very effective in closing distance. It also strengthens legs for sparring.

Another thing, it's not so much a matter of right or left, but front and back. See with which leg you lead more, use it to gain ground. back leg kicks are more powerful, but they are easily spotted and avoided.

Don't fake too much, pick a target. You can create openings by using combinations.
 
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TKDKrazy

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Well yeah thats a good way to put it. It doesn't respond when I want to kick a opening which is why I miss opotunitys like that.
 

Marchfly

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Hello, I am new to these forums. I am a red belt in Tae Kwon Do and I have been having abit of problems regarding sparring lately.


Also I usally go defensive when I spar and sometimes offence when my opponent is on defence. But the problem is I cannot do either that good. I'm not good at gaining distance when I am doing offensive... When I try feint then attack he always attacks me on my feint...

Overall I am just looking for some sparring tips so I can spar up to my belt expectancy.

Thank you,

I'm sure you must have practiced defensive/defensive and counter?

Remember, if you can anticipate a roundhouse from your opponent, try teach yourself to block and immediately counter with a back kick before your opponent winds back from the roundhouse. And don't forget sideways movements. Sparring can't be just 2 dimentional.
 

jim777

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There are some awesome sparring DVDs on the marklet as well. One of my brothers has a ton of them, and I personally love watching them. But as Exile said, I find it odd that one of your legs doesn't respond "as quickly" as the other. Less power I could undersatand, but much slower response time? Is there a medical reason for that?
 

igillman

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I am bigger and slower than a lot of the people at our do-jang and I have difficulty advancing quickly as well. What I have found works well is to let them advance and initiate an attack and for me to counter the attack. I practice a few block/kick combinations so that if someone throws a roundhouse I can twist, block with both arms and go straight into a back kick (spinning or regular). In fact, the block is part of the turning motion for the kick. During the sparring session I will slowly advance and make them either retreat or come in for an attack.

Your issue might be like mine which is the two halves of the brain try to take control of the muscles at the same time. Do you have a stutter? I do and it is for that reason (or so I have been told).

Do not be afraid to go toe-toe and punch. Most people are not used to that and will back away immediately leaving themselves wide open for a front or side kick. If you practice punching something and then the moment one of your fists no longer connects throw a front kick then you will find that you can do that without timing problems because you are no longer thinking about it.
 

Kacey

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The only way to get better at sparring is to spar more.

If you are trying to improve a certain technique or set of techniques, find someone in your class who would also like to improve. Start working at a slow speed (1/4 to 1/2 of the speed you would normally use) with light contact, so that you can both work on things that don't work at speed; talk to each other, and leave openings for your partner so that s/he can work on the things that don't work as well as you'd like. Once you can do it slowly, gradually increase the speed, until you can perform the desired movements at speed; then reduce the intentional openings until you don't need assistance to use the techniques you want to use.
 

terryl965

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Slow reaction time means you need more work on that side, If this has always been a problem than your instruvtor should put you on a regiment that will help improve this. Since I have never see you sparr your instructor is your best bet on this. Best of luck to you.
 

granfire

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Slow reaction time means you need more work on that side, If this has always been a problem than your instructor should put you on a regiment that will help improve this. Since I have never see you spar your instructor is your best bet on this. Best of luck to you.

Exactly.

Also, a lot of things come with time and experience. It used to take me forever to set up for something other then a back leg round kick, you know how that goes, seems like a small eternity before everything is just right to throw that spin. But it's getting better. More sparring, more often.

Have a plan of what you want to work on. Like in a form, pick a few moves and link them together, and do them. Does not really matter if they land or not. That's what practice matches are for.

Maybe even have somebody tape you. it gives you a different angle and maybe it's not as bad as you think it is.

(BTW saying that you are a red belt does not tell a whole lot about how long you have been doing this)
 

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