My systems are Southern White Crane and Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing) and it's pretty much any follow-up attack that I'm struggling with. For example, my opponent does a roundhouse kick, I block it with my hand and then they follow-up with a jab-punch combo and I can't block it in time because my arm is still in the position where I blocked the kick. From there what usually happens is I back up, turn to try and protect my head which leaves my back exposed and no way to defend. At that point I'm in a completely losing situation with no real way of recovering.
As for my overall strategy, there isn't much of one and the only way I've found of fighting back effectively is to keep my distance and nail my opponent with kicks (my legs are very strong and I'm more comfortable kicking than punching).
Ok there's a lot of things going on here so lets take one piece at a time. The first thing you'll have to accept is that you can't block everything and that you should determine which hits attacks you are willing to take and which ones you need to block. General rule is usually to block the stuff that can hurt you really bad and absorb the stuff that isn't going to hurt you.
Some terms I use that I use.
Full-swing kick. - One that follows completely through and causes the person to have to spin around to recover. We usually this this kick with Muay Thai
Half-swing kick. - One that is more coming with TKD and Karate style kicks. This kicks travel half way where the person quickly pulls their leg back.
For the scenario that you are giving, You'll need to understand the roundhouse kick and its mechanics more. Assuming that the roundhouse kick is being used as a set up. Power roundhouse kicks require a different approach. But for now we I'm going to assume that the roundhouse is a setup kick. There are 3 ways to deal with it.
- Learn how to use a leg check
- Learn how to catch it
- Learn how to be hit by it. (requires conditioning)
All of these are done with the understanding of the power of the round house kick. In general if you can see it coming and if you are in the right position, then you'll be able to do one of these 3 things which will allow you to disrupt the jab-punch combo that follows the kick.
1. Learn how to use a leg check - This takes a bit of time to learn because naturally we try reach and grab stuff with our hands. The technique is easy, it just takes time to break the habit. If you use a leg check then that keeps your hands available for the follow up punch combo that your opponent will try to throw.
2. Learn how to catch it.- This depends on how high the kick is. If the kick is waist high then you can catch it. If it's below the waist like on your thigh or lower then use the leg check.
3. Learn how to be hit by it. - The roundhouse kick has 2 weaknesses. The closer you get to the kicker the weaker the kick will be. The 2nd weakness depends on how far the round house travels. If it's a full swing where your opponent follows all the way through then you'll need to move closer to the opponent. If the round house is a half-swing meaning that the kick doesn't swing all the way through then a quick side step in the same direction that the kick travels will make that kick weak when it hits you. For example, if your opponent kicks you with his or her right leg then you'll will simply just take a quick side or angle step to your right. The angled step will allow you to counter and will make the evasion more effective. A side step will work as well but it will take you out of range to be able to land a really quick counter. The danger with the side step is that if the kick is a full swing then you may end up on the power end of that kick, so only do the side-step technique if the person throws a have swing roundhouse.
All of this depends on how well you can see the kick come before it actually comes. The body's natural instinct is to either freeze and brace for impact or to get out of the way. Most people go backwards when they are trying to get away and that's the most dangerous thing you can do for a round house kick.
There is one more method that you can use which is a little more advance to do. This method is to deny the round house kick. If the person likes to do round house kicks with their right leg then try to stay right of their lead leg (left leg). This makes it more difficult for them to do the half-swing round house kick and forces them to make more movement before kicking with a full swing round house kick. This probably takes the longest to learn as you would be fighting off center at times. I would recommend this for someone who likes to kick as their "go to attack." If the person doesn't use attacks often then fighting off center like this isn't needed.
All of it is scary to do at first and I think that's mainly because we naturally have some habits that go against the logic of the techniques.
The leg check will allow you to use your hands to block punches. Catching the kick will disrupt the punch combo, but requires a follow up. Don't just catch the leg and stand there holding it. Catch it and then counter with something. Learning how to be hit with the kick is probably my favorite because it frees me to counter. Basically I smash the guy in the face while he's doing the the round house kick. He's on one leg so I know he's not going anywhere.
Like I said there's a lot going on. The best advice I can give is to just take some time and try to understand what is happening and why you are getting hit. Try to analyze your opponent's attack, and strategy. Try to understand the basic mechanics of what you are getting hit with in an effort to know if there are weaknesses that you can exploit. Keep in mind that just because there is a weakness doesn't mean you currently have the skill and ability to exploit it.
The biggest thing for your sparring is this: SPAR TO LEARN. Save winning for the streets and competitions. If you are just sparring then you should be like an analytical machine on overload, taking notes, recognizing strategies, and working techniques that you train.
