[Tang Soo Do] Sparring advice

Discussion in 'Other Styles' started by kayperTSD, Dec 19, 2005.

  1. kayperTSD

    kayperTSD New Member

    Hi:

    I finally feel like I understand the whole sparring thing and why people like to spar. Being new, and not having a lot of experience, I at first didn't like to spar and really felt I didn't know what the heck I was supposed to be doing. Yay, let me kick the air a little... Or, let me toss a punch in the direction of the person I'm sparring with without making contact... Or, let me try one of those combinations we've been practicing, as the red belt kicks me in the butt...

    After some good opportunities to spar in class, however, I have reached the point that I do like to spar and look forward to doing more in the coming week! I would like to get some advice, though, on how to really prepare for sparring. (Again, I'm new so feel free to tell me if I'm asking my questions the wrong way.)

    - In sparring, I feel like I can't get close enough to execute anything other than a kick or punch. How can I incorporate the one-step sparring stuff to be able to use some of the close-contact moves? (Other than our master forcing the black belts to hold still for me, which isn't really what I'm going for...)

    - A sam dan in our do jang suggested I always do combinations of 4 punches/kicks/attacks before I back off. Is this realistic as a training/practice plan?

    - If I really want to develop an ability to hold my own against higher belts, what should I be "trying out" during our sparring in classes (more of a controlled environment than a tournament)?

    - I'll toss this out there: I am female and would like to be good enough that the guys in class don't take it easy on me or treat me like an intermission. I don't want to be treated like a "girl" but as a martial art student. Know what I mean? I haven't sensed anything like this in my do jang, but wanted to mention it as it is part of my thought process in planning my training.

    - Any general sparring advice for a newbie? I've been given advice on positioning myself and keeping my hands up to block. Again, I'm just starting. What works for you?

    Thank you,

    Kay
    (10th gup, TSD)
     
  2. Student of Life

    Student of Life New Member

    Kay,

    My two cents here; the key is really to relax and become comfortable with executing your techniques and interacting with your partner. Free-sparring requires a lot of practice to develop the timing and rhythm with your partner. A goal is to shorten your reaction time in finding a gap in your partners defenses and instictively know which techinique to throw where it can be most effective or perhaps throw a combination in order to create a gap or set up your partner by opening their defenses.

    In time you will be able to anticipate the opportunity to exchange combinations from offense to defense and vice versa. Some partners develop enough rhythm with each other that there is no delay or lull between exchanging combinations and it can sometimes look almost like choreographed dancing.

    In the short term continue to work on your flexibility and practice proper techniques at your stage. You can really develop bad habits and ineffective techniques otherwise. Practice your strikes, kicks and blocks at different heights and targets as your partners will all be different (sizes, shapes, speed, flexibility, etc.). Practicing on a heavy bag can help you judge distance and in turn moving with the bag will help you develop a rhythm.

    Again, just my two cents.

    TANG SOO!
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2005
  3. bhamtsd

    bhamtsd Valued Member

    I'll second what Student Of Life says and add some.

    Practice consistently. It will take a matter of time for you to become comfortable with it and for it to really start to flow.

    Combinations are very key. You will find it hard to spar a higher rank effectively if you enter, execute a single technique and then exit. I suggest finding a combination that works for you and practice it over and over. Then add another to it. Build a set of combinations that forms your core. As you rise in ranks, these will become second nature and you will be able to improvise.

    A misstep (note I don't say "mistake") that many 10th gups make is to try to execute one-steps while free sparring. The problem (as you suggest) is distance and speed. The beginner one-steps work fine against a static and unaware opponent but don't work as well in a dynamic environment.

    Another misstep is focusing on offense and neglecting defense. Many times I will work with a Gup who is so intent on executing his/her attack that they will take 3 "hits" just trying to get their 1 in.

    The last misstep is to get too fancy. Use the techniques that you have been working on in class. Every once in a while, I'll get a beginner try to use some jumping or spinning kick that they haven't used in class. They end up losing their balance, feeling silly since the kick is awkward or taking up so much time, they are out of position.

    Don't let the "girl" thing get in your way. I started at a dojang where my wife (3rd degree) taught under a Master. She consistently beat the guys (me included) because of technique, experience, speed and flexibility. It didn't matter their size (up to 6'2"), their MA background (one a BB in Shotokan) or their athletic abilities. Contact rules negate strength differences. Keep practicing and you'll show 'em!

    Hope this helps!

    BhamTSD
    Cho Dan
    WTSDA
     
  4. EternalRage

    EternalRage Valued Member

    If you feel like you aren't connecting with any of your techniques, then that is a matter of distance (lot of other factors may play indirect roles, but distance is probably one of the more important ones).

    Best training for this is to do alot of pad work, ie focus mitts, kicking targets, shields, and heavy bags. Forms and movements up and down the line against air are good for technique, improving the art, and general conditioning. However, nothing is as good for distance training as hitting something, whether it be a bag or a person. Doing basic pad work for extended periods of time will get you at least comfortable with the ranges of all your weapons (legs, arms, elbows, knees) and program it into your instinct. Once you do that for a while, you can do combos on pad work and then have moving targets.

    When you are in sparring the best thing for good practice with distance is just more sparring, especially with people of different sizes. Good distance and timing is knowing the range of your opponent's weapons as much as knowing your own. Furthermore, alot of TSD/SBD schools emphasize full hip on your techniques, but during sparring - especially kicking combos, save the full hip for a technique you know you are in range to land. Using short techniques with less hip and less torque on your base foot as well as less leaning to compensate for raised leg will all help you manipulate the distance of your kicks. Mix in feints and footwork and you can really mess with your opponent's view of the distance between you, and create openings for your kicks and punches.

    As for your "close contact" moves, they will be hard to pull off. When I spar in my TSD class, I rarely ever get to clinch or do takedowns unless I'm going against the master. Why? Because you are in a long range based system - everyone will be trying to practice their kicks (which are the backbone of any Korean system). People will be intentionally (because they don't have the necessary crosstraining) or subconsciously (because they love kicking and want to stay in that range) staying out of punching/clinching/takedown range.

    Of course, hopefully your advanced belts are more versatile than that, just mess with the distance and go in and hit em a couple times to let them know that 1.) you are ok with training close quarter combat 2.) you are not a wimpy little girl who can't be hit so they should take you seriously. Alternatively, you can spar people who are NOT Korean martial arts affiliated. I guarantee you will have more opportunities to train your close contact moves against people who aren't dying to kick.

    Good luck
     
  5. gaelicsolus

    gaelicsolus New Member

    Kay,

    What they said, plus:

    Sparring is sparring. It's not life or death real world, but part of a class. Relax, try the techniques and drills you do in class. If the upper belts only spend time beating down on novices without giving them a chance to learn, it's not going to help the novices at all. Look at boxers for a relaxed sparring attitude (I'm not saying you must use their techniques). Sparring does not have to be, "launch attack...attack failed...retract...select next attack."

    Re: combinations, another point is that if you launch five attacks, it's more likely at least one will land than if you just launch one attack.

    Pad work, drills, and practicing at different heights are very good. I'm surprised, however, that no one here has mentioned footwork. Combos won't do much good if you don't have the footwork to support them. If you're having trouble reaching your opponents, don't always try to stride after them. Just let them come to you (i.e. wait for an attack). This will save you a lot of dancing about, and lots of eager green and early red belts are eager to do you the favor.

    I think that human nature is, upon seeing that an attack is coming, either to bob/duck and launch in with an attack at the same time, or to move away (which can even include straight back) and then attempt to counter separately. The hardest thing that I find in countering is to move practically straight in on an attacking opponent with a decent technique (so that you don't jam into one another) or to move in at 45 degrees or so and hit an open side. Try to get your block/parry/evade - counterattack timing to 1-2, instead of 1. 2. That way, by the time someone is done with their attack they're already being hit with a counter.

    How much you can do depends on your dojang's rules. At my dojang only the chest to the waist are game, contact is light-medium, and there are no takedowns of any kind until chodan. I used to find this extremely frustrating because a lot of my main weapons such as kicks to the legs, sweeps, and hands/arms to the head are taken away. But I don't let that worry me any more.

    A lot of intermediate students do things like attack from far away with a straight punch. They're taller than you? So what? Your leg is longer than his arm, so greet them with a front kick to the body as they come in. A lot also have the habit of trying techniques like crescent kicks to the head from way too far away. Sway to their outside and before they step down from their kick, round house kick them to the gut or hook them to the head or ribs. Fights don't happen as calculated scripts like this but these are just examples. Don't be afraid to mess up techniques that you try. Relax and concentrate on one or two counters per match (just like you'd concentrate on one or two corrections per class.)

    Some books that might help you are Ashihara's More Fighting Karate and Ninomiya's The Sabaki Method. Also, Christophe Delph's books on Muay Thai combos. I don't recommend that you read these in detail so that it should replace your normal training but they stand out from other books in that they have clear diagrams and sequential photos of footwork and body movement to give you the right idea. Look for them at your local library. These ideas are not novel to these systems as the books might have you believe but are logical directional tactics used in, I'd venture, most martial arts, including TSD.

    I am not suggesting that you begin learning another style or adopt other styles' techniques in order to be successful, just the principles of footwork and body positioning. Do use your TSD techniques. I am personally just of the opinion that there are only rudimentary or poor TSD resources of this type out there, or I would recommend a TSD book/DVD. Actually, if someone in your dojang has one of the Tang Soo Do Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan books that were put out in the '90s by Hwang Kee and H.C. Kee, they have basic sparring attack/counter drills, although not as detailed. They are out of print and expensive otherwise.

    Because I don't get to spar in my TSD dojang much, I spar with a Kyokushin club on the weekends. I'll tell you, they have some great women fighters with varying tactics. One is average height and a women's light weight. She can take hits no problem but also has great technique, is good at evading & blocking (very hard to land a solid hit on), and stays very relaxed. Another is a women's middle weight who is below average height but takes full advantage when a taller attacker closes the distance and can uproot or run over someone easily. She is very aggressive and counterattacks with many techniques in a row.

    Just try to enjoy yourself and if you think your seniors are being too aggressive or going full throttle all the time ask them to slow down from time to time. You should feel challenged, not overwhelmed. Practice sparring or attack/defense combos slowly with them before or after class. I get thrashed all the time but with no ego and no expectations I improve a lot faster.

    Oh, and use only what advice of ours works for you!
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2006

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