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Last night we were sparing in full gear. 3 minute rounds, then find a new partner. One of our Kung Fu instructors at the school was training with us. I squared up against him. He is 6’5” I am 5’10\”, he is a black belt in Kung fu and has amazing high kicks and really long legs.
If I have never spared agianst another student, I normally let them connect the first few strikes to see what level of force they are comfortable with and respond in kind. This dude opened up with a nice right left combo, that was preaty hard, so I responded in kind. After about a minute of inside traps, counter punches and leg and body kick, he lands a huge round kick to my head….it hurt….I got my balance back and landed a back kick to his ribs.
Here is the question. My only defence against his range with those kicks was to duck under and throw a few quick shots to his midsection and a lucky upercut. If I blocked with two to or three points, he came around with his left and still rocked me. Am I missing something here?
sounds like he’s got a huge reach advantage. I would recommend getting inside, especially when he throws the round kick. If he throws a high round kick try attacking his base leg, maybe burst in with a few punches and try to sweep the base leg. Also the groin is a great target when your opponent is throwing a high kick. If he’s throwing low kicks to your legs, try to block with your shin and immediately counter with punches, don’t reach down and try to block with your hands, you’ll just open yourself up to his punches. Also if you’re opponent is much larger movement is key, try to work from different angles, move in and out, etc. Just some ideas, hope it helps…
Kurtuan great response!
I might add that it is important that you understand that this is not a \”fight\” it is a ring thing and there is a difference. So for the purposes of this discussion I will stay in \”ring\” mode.
Anytime you are at a disadvantage from a reach standpoint it is imperative that you get inside of the opponent. Think of fighting in a phone booth. You have to be that close to him. You must stay in his pocket. Then, you must make him pay. If you are going to throw body punches, do so with bad intentions. This will accomplish two things. You will take his space away. Guys who love high kicks, or kicks in general, do not like you stepping on their toes. Furthermore it is hard to kick high when your ribs are being ripped apart.
Also learning to throw an overhand right from close quarters is a great weapon as well. Again remember he was banging away at you and you were still in the mix, so understand that you have a better chance in that situation by being close to him, smother him in fact. Look for your opportunity. For instance when you smother him he will try to disengage and many people make the mistake of backing away in a straight line. When he does this you have a golden opportunity to connect with your fists! Keep your guard up and stay busy. Even when your not punching you should be pushing him. Lean on him and take his legs away by dictating the pace via pressure.
I hope this helps.
psyops,
couldn’t agree more. The most important thing in sparring or fighting for that matter is spacing, and balance. By closing his space you are minimizing the reach advantage. It is something most instructors speak about at length. Bang the body and the kicks will come down as well as the arms.Also, when he throws that hi-kick, step in towards and behind his plant foot and take out the plant foot using a punch or elbow to the body. Just mho! 😉Thanks guys. Sounds like my instinct was correct. I survived his onslaught by ducking the leg and moving to his right and landing the right hook to his ear. The simple fact is that he is a lot better than me and has a number of sparing advantages. Elbows and knees are not cool simply because they are not padded. I am faster and stonger, but strength must be controlled while sparing in practice or no one wants to work with you anymore…it also makes you an a-hole is you rock someone during class.
give me time…patience…and I will prevail.
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