Alright guys, I need your help. Here's the backstory to my problem. Free sparring. Ever since I started doing it in the dojang as a whitebelt, I've enjoyed it, whether it be contact or non-contact. I've learnt techniques, tactics, combos... I've beaten people lower than me, been beaten by those higher than me, and been evenly matched against those the same grade... but win, lose, or draw, I've always felt like I've really learnt something and enjoyed the process. My difficulty comes from the following. In the past month, doing sparring hasn't felt the same as it used to. I'm not sure how to describe it, but something has definitely changed. Firstly, I'm having inordinate difficulty reading my opponent. I used to expect this with the belts higher than me, but with those grades lower than me, I used to be able to read them like open books, and now I just can't and I don't know why. Also, I can't seem to see any openings any more, in any of my opponents. I find that I'm looking at the person I'm sparring with, and I don't know what technique to throw because I can't see any openings. It's not that I don't know plenty of combos, it's that I can't see where any would work. Not only that, but it seems like no matter what techniques I do try, even the tried and tested sneaky feints that have never failed in the past, my opponents always see them coming. They couldn't have gotten wise to the deception from watching me because I really don't use those sly-er techniques that often. I don't know what has changed in these past weeks, but suddenly I can't see any openings in any of my opponents, I don't know what techniques to get past their guard, and anything I do attempt is seen coming by my opponent. I feel really really useless in sparring whenever we do it in class now. I mean, I could always expect to lose to higher grades, but now I'm starting to lose to belts lower than me... this is a desperate situation... What's happened to me? And how do I get back whatever it was I lost?
Hey hey... Your just have an off period. It happens. We're the same grade. Sometimes your reflexes are just slower than normal, or you, even subconsciously aren't putting in the same effort you usually do. Are you particularaly stressed or worried or upset over something that's happening in your everyday life? Can you completely focus towards your TKD? Maybe it's the beginning of an illness. The fact that the first time you have a few losses gets you worried is a sure sign that you are good at sparring. Cheer up!
Everybody gets stuck in ruts, plateaus or downturns every now and then. Just remember what it is that you love about TaekwonDo, and the satisfaction it gives you. Focus on it, write it down somewhere or something Recruit some friends to give you a confidence boost if you need it, or at least a little encouragement. Talk to your instructor, ask him/her if there is something extra that you can do on your own, and to get some inspiration. Don't worry after this you will find that you will begin to improve at a faster rate again! Hope this helps and you get through it.
The exact same thing's been happening to me. But I'm pretty sure that with me, about 70% of it is psycological. In the past several months, I've been sparring and seen openings, and I go in. Some of these guys have no control and hit with everything they've got (even when I ask them to lighten it up), so now part of my brain is holding me back out of fear of getting hit. Plus, I'm not really used to doing sparring. I'm more of a grappling guy, so that holds me back too.
One of the things our Master hammers us on is our emotions. When sparring he wants us relaxed, calm and open to what's happening around us. I find that when I try really hard my sparring goes in the tank. All I need to do is relax, calm down, do a few breathing excercises and it comes back. The other one that's happened to me recently is that I'm cutting weight to get into the middleweight class. Depriving my body of fuel has really thrown off my coordination, concentration and stamina. I made weight and went back to a normal diet and it all came back. I guess this means that a body needs fuel - d'oh.
iv got a story that might be of some use or may not. a guy from my club went to uni and trained at a TAGB club near his uni. he came back saying he had really improved in sparring and couldn't wait to have a bit of fun. he got beaten pretty bad... he thought he got good at sparring, but really, he had just got used to his opponents back at the other club. the moral is, that it's not always being good or bad, but it's also training with the same people have some strange effects. for all you know, those people may have very well learned to read you. or whilst you are at a plateau, they have improved? it's probably just a phase, i wouldn't get too hung up about it. another thing is, you'd be suprised how easy it can be to get stuck in a rut with the techniques you use, try experimenting more. also, never mind if you can't see an opening, make one! throw something they have to dodge, then bang! get them when they were busy with the other one. blitz lots of techniques to get your opening, be a bit more free with your sparring. i think that you seem quite hung up on the whole grade thing. in our club, a certain green belt, could easily beat a certain black tag! and thats cos we all have strengths and weaknesses. you should lose the whole lower belt stuff but thats just my opinion. i also am pretty sure you know that the belt around the waist doesnt automatically mean you're better than a lower grade etc... we're all here in our own battle, so just hang in there, and try your best. one day you'll write a thread saying "I've no idea what's happened to me, but i just keep beating everybody in my club!!" it happens the other way round too!
I would agree with everyone else, I am doing the same my concentration is absoultly rubbish. My working life has effected it so I am taking action as I don't want to loose out. Anouther theroey is when you get to a certain belt you may get a little tired. I think it was said in a book of TKD that once a student gains green belt there can lack of interest, because it is a long way to get to black belt. Sometimes it may happen on black belt you could get frustrated about being a senoir to others (belt wise I mean) and feel pressured to look that good so that they can follow an example. It can be stress, a good idea and this will sound silly is to write down what you think is really getting you down. Look at your everyday life and TKD and your relations with mates or family or lovers it can be something simple using up your grey matter making you tired. Seeing it on paper does help! Don't worry about it, a good teacher will always understand that you are not a robot or Bruce Lee (I'm sure he had his off days). Hope it helps Tans
Take some days off. Relax. Maybe it is like Ragnarok2005 said. Maybe you are too stressed by something not related to TKD. Just relax, it happens to everyone.
Xue Fang, Everyone have given all good advice to you, so maybe I can sum/add it up a little bit. 1. What happen to you happens to mostly all martial artists. There will be times when you feel downed (can I say that? ) and you feel that you're not improving, bored, or just feeling off. Life in martial arts is just like any other parts of life. Sometimes you're up, other times you feel that you are at the bottom of the pit. 2. Like Cavallin said, belt rank may increase your pressure of doing better but instead it make you nervous and thus hampering your sparring. 3. You said that you were able to notice more and more your sparring partners' strategy and type of fighting and adapt, but have you thought that they would also adapt to yours? They also learn about you and able to read your moves. Especially when you already felt comfortable with your style and keep sticking to it. Cheer up and continue your training with more open heart and eyes. It will make a difference.
*ponders what has been said* I think I am in a down phase, at least with my sparring (the rest of my TKD seems to be going well), but I've never been so for quite so long... a month! And partly it is psychological. Like worrying about getting to sleep. The more you worry about it, the harder it is to sleep. And my reflexes have been slower of late. I do feel like I've slowed down. I'm planning to talk to my instructor tomorrow, but I don't know if he'll be able to help me. And yes, he always teaches us to relax during sparring. It's something he's constantly chiding me for - not relaxing. As for the lower belts... I'm not too sure. Of course they could adapt to my style, and as I move up, they move up too, so I realise they're getting better, but I'm not so sure that's the crux of the problem. I've rarely come up against these lower grades before - I've always been the lower grade - and most have only just joined us in armoured sparring and I was sparring against them for the first time last lesson, so unless they could learn to adapt really quickly... Feeling tired of a belt? I suppose that's possible. I haven't recognised anything in me like feeling sick of TKD... but I do feel like I've got into a routine now and that I know the ropes... and also that as a senior grade now, pressure that I should be setting the flawless perfect example to all the beginners. I also get more distressed when I think how, at my grade, I shouldn't be losing to those of lower rank than me, and I think it's probably affecting my concentration. Lastly, off the top of my head, I can't think of any major issues outside of TKD that have been stressing me out, but I think I'll need to go away and have a long think about that one. Thank you for all your help. If anyone has anymore suggestions/advice to give, that would be wlecome.
I've been sick of TKD before and not realized it. It was when our instructor was away for a week [Teaching and training with the Armed Forces.] and we had assistant instructors who just loved to make us do patterns. I was dreading getting outta bed that weekend just to go in and do Do-San over and over again.... It's not unheard of for new sparrers to win. Some people have a natural affinity for it. I'd have to honestly say sparring is not my strong point. But I know a certain green tag who beats half the Academy flawlessly [And anybody who's at the Bracknell MAP meet will get to see him with me. ] Xue, sorry if this is a little bit of a sensitive subject. But I recall reading a thread where you said one of the reasons you looked forwards to TKD so much was because you had so few friends outside of it. Could that be why you're feeling a little down?
I dunno... I don't think I'm sick of this particular belt as such - I just moved up to it! I'm thrilled to be a bluestripe now. Possibly sick of the routine though. Maybe I should suggest to my instructors that they do something slightly different for a class or two, just as a change of pace?... Or, wait, would that be too presumptive of me? It is their club after all... What gets me is that on the couple of occasions I've seen these newcomers spar before, I've been able to pick out things that are wrong with their style and techniques, but when I'm in the heat of a match, I find it very difficult to make the same calculating, tactical observations. In terms of friends, Ragnarok, and no I don't mind you broaching the subject, shouldn't the fact that most of my friends are at TKD make me more keen to go to class? Or did you mean maybe my issue could come from not having any friends outside of class? Trust me, if you knew the people at my college, you wouldn't want to be friends with them. There's seven years of very bitter and bad blood there. I haven't spoken a single word to anyone inside of school, except to my teachers, for two years. And its better that way. Frankly, I like having the freedom to do what I want, when I want, and not having to suffer the petty little trivialities of backstabbing and wanton cruelty, and people like the people I know aren't worth it anyway. Besides, I have work to do. Now, the people I know at TKD? What a difference... amiable, rational adults who don't engage in silly bitterness and with whom I can have an intelligent conversation. I much prefer them, and I've never felt at ease intellectually or in terms of friendship with people my own age. Either way, I'm not sure how you think it could affect my free sparring?
Well, I just know I've seen people go through rough times and it's cut their concentration rapidly. I seen a girl get hit by the punchbag she punched. But it sounds like it doesn't bother you all that much and that's cool. I never went through it at school. I go through it now. Most of my friends spend their lives in and out of pubs. We don't have much in common nowadays. Here's a possibility. And I'm clutching at straws here, you've reached a stage where you're trying to fight mentally rather than physically? I'm not denying there's a great deal of strategy involved in sparring, but sometimes people think TOO hard and their natural instincts don't get their chance.
How many students spar at your gym? Do you typically fight the same people? This is a problem I have with my (lack of) sparring skills. I typically fight the same 6 people. They know me and I know them so it is hard to adapt your style of fighting. This has caused me to feel frustrated with sparring... Also certain times of the year I feel less motivated too. Sometimes like in the middle of a grading period when your material is not new anymore but the test is still a ways off. Sometimes this makes it harder to get motivated.
Xue Fang, I made loads of mates in TKD and found it very useful to talk to them about all aspects. It was good because it made me realise my last teacher was naff, it helped since my mate was Korean and she would say what my teacher told her (he was a Korean grand master and couldn't speak much english) and I found out so much I left! People who train with you are normal (maybe not all ) are the best to ask out for a drink or suggest a meal. Then tell them and you will find you may solve a few issues, like I think I said your human your allowed to feel like this. My other mates are never interested in MA, I am the only one. Most of them just sit at home watch pirate movies and get drunk. Tans
If your not findind opening, create your own. Change the way you think. Instead of trying to find openings for your punches and kicks, use your punches and kicks to create openings. For example, if your opponet is in guard start throwing kicks at him down low. When he blocks low it will create an opening up top where you can strike. I used to bring up my front leg real quick like I was going to throw a front kick and then punch them in the head. You can also try changing it to a high roundhouse instead of throwing a punch. There are many variations to this. Think up some of your own. Also try throwing an outside crescent kick to bring down your opponents hands and create openings. Hope this helps, Matt
Another thought... I consider myself to be a defensive fighter. Most of time when I used to spar I found the easiest time to get a hit in was in the middle of an attack. Let your opponent be the agressor. A lot of fighters make the mistake in thinking that in a sparring match their job is to hit their opponent. In a fight your number one concern should be keeping yourself unharmed, not hurting the one you are fighting. Defense should be a priority. You can use sparring matches to perfect your own defense. The better your defense becomes, the easier it will be to find the flaws in the defense of your opponent.
In response to how many students spar at our club - There are over 200 people at our club and we all spar, young and old, from newbies to Sabum himself, whether we're rubbish at it or great at it, love it or hate it. Yodaofcoolness - *frowns* Low kick? Do you mean to the waist/stomach, or do you mean a genuine low section kick, say to the knees? Because in sparring, our instructors strictly limit us to competition rules - no attacks below the belt, only on the front and side of the body and all round the head - which is severely limiting in the options I have for attacks, let me tell you. Oh, and I tried the defensive posture a while ago. Some people just wouldn't go for it and stood there waiting for me to attack. The other day, I was up against a redstripe lady and I tried to be defensive and dodge attacks to frustrate my opponent, etc... Only to have the woman tell me off very sharply for "running away".
By low kicks I mean to the belt area. Anything that will make them throw a low block. If she was telling you off for "running away" then you accomplished your goal of frustrating her. When she was telling you off I bet there was an opening
Well, I talked to my instructor tonight during training, and whilst his reply was not wholly unexpected, somehow, just hearing him say it from hsi own lips was really good. His advice? - RELAX! Stop worrying because my anxiety is makign it worse. Sit back and take it as it comes. Sure you can train a combo over and over again, and watch other people fight and figure out their little moves, but in the heat of the match, there's very little time for tactical thinking. Keep your mind open, be spontaneous, and if you surprise yourself, you may well surprise your opponent too. I love Sabum! :love: Somehow he always knows exactly what to say to make it all better. Thanks guys for all your help and suggestions. I've certainly picked up a few things from what everyone has said.
