Sparring Techniques

This is just a short list of things to do when you're sparring. This will concentrate mainly on competition sparring. Of course, some of the hints will be pretty handy for practice sparring too.

I feel the most important for beginners-intermediate to know is that TKD sparring is not a competition of number of kicks you can perform in a minute. It's not the quantity, it's the quality of the kicks that counts. You win by points, not by the number of kicks. The main difference in beginner and blackbelt sparring is the number of kicks. Beginners can kick 100 times in a single match and not score a point, whereas the a blackbelt can kick twice and get two points. Why? Because blackbelts are much more effective using their kicks, they perform kicks with power, speed, and great timing.

Timing is very important when attacking and especially counter-attacking. This is can be 'learned' by sparring or doing reaction paddle drills.

Concentrate on few kicks. There are countless kicks and combinations in TKD but you only need few of them to be successful in tournaments. Most important kicks are: 45 degree roundhouse, axe kick, and back kick. If you can do these kicks with power and speed, you should be able to challenge your most formidable opponent. Reason being those are the most effective and simple kicks. They do not require too much power (or skill) but they are more efficient than other more 'aesthetic' kicks (spin kick, 540 spin kick...).

One word: Power. If you don't have power in your kicks, then you can forget about scoring. You have to kick your opponent with enough force to 'move' them back and without power, you can't score even with clean kicks. So it is recommended to conserve your energy (don't do a kick-a-thon) and save them for kicks you want to score with.

More power can be gained by twisting your hip. Example: instead of doing a pure 45 degree roundhouse, you should twist your hip into your opponent and turn the 45 into a roundhouse kick just before your kick reaches your opponent.

One problem that people have is that they stop their kicks at the chest protector. This will probably make a pretty loud sound but will not score a point. You won't be able to knock your opponent backwards. Simple solution: imagine that you're kicking at the center of your opponent. When your foot touches your opponent's chest protector, you should continue the kick for about 3-5 more inches, to fully extend your kick. Kick through your opponent.

Try to conserve your energy for later rounds or matches. Most beginners are so tense and do so many 'air' kicks that after one round they're out of steam. So if you can conserve your energy, this is the time to use them. Endurance is important but management of energy is more.

Distance - When sparring, it's a lot less painful and tiring if, instead of blocking your opponent's kicks, you simply move out of range. This serves 2 purposes : you don't get bruises from blocking the kicks of somebody who may be quite a bit bigger than you and you frustrate your opponent, who looks like he doesn't know what he/she is doing since he/she/it [in the case of 'Animal'] keeps kicking air.

The flip side of this is when -you- are the person doing the kicking - a fair number of people at various belt levels have bad distance judgment, so that their opponent doesn't even have to move in order not to get hit [watch a white belt sparring and you'll see what I mean]. All this is "sound and fury signifying nothing" - you waste your own energy, you get nothing in return and your opponent will likely just set himself up for the counter and hit you like you've never been hit before.

The key to all of this is DISTANCE - you need to learn 3 things :

i) how to judge -your- distance from your opponent - is he in your kicking range ?

ii) how to judge -her- distance from you - are you in her kicking range ?

iii) how to close and open distance as needed - realize that your opponent will not voluntarily stand at just the right distance for you to do your magical 5-hit combo Fatality from Mortal Kombat. You need to close or open the gap as needed - e.g. after you slide away from their kick, close for just the right distance and score with a counter; after you attack, move out of their range.

Also, note that "out of range" doesn't necessarily mean "too far away" -it means "at a distance where your opponent can't kick you without having to adjust their distance from you in some fashion"; you could be too close or too far from her.

Blocks - if you can't avoid the kick, block it. Seems obvious, but there are 2 points that need to be stressed :

1) It's usually more desirable to avoid the kick than to have to block it, since, if you have to block it you're definitely in your opponent's kicking range.

2) If you block a kick, make sure it stays blocked. No half-hearted attempts along the lines of "I'll just put an arm out and hope that's good enough". Your opponent should -feel- that he's been blocked [if you get really good at it, you can use your elbows to block =)]. This means that you need to know what kick you're blocking -and- what block you're using ... blocking a roundhouse kick with a high block is sure to be bad for your karma. The key to this is partly experience and partly knowing what each block is designed for. Experience : after a while, you can generally predict what kick your opponent will throw as a second or third kick - there really aren't that many ways to follow a spinning hook without tearing a few ligaments. Thus, you know what you're looking for and can usually just concentrate on the nastiest way to block the kick and what you're going to do after the block [yes, there -is- life after blocks..].

Blocking well has the additional bonus that it makes life very frustrating to your opponent - she's thrown all she can at you and hasn't scored a single point so she starts doing stupid things, which is when you start cleaning up. And, of course, there's the survival incentive : it's the third round, your feet are messed up beyond belief, you can't kick to save your life and your opponent is one of those [for guys] 130-lbwhippersnappers that just keeps going and going and going ... - what do you do? Block.

Follow-up : The 5-second idea is "Don't stop after you score a point." Most people, after they score a point, step back and wait to see whether their opponent will crumple to the ground screaming "Uncle!" Fact of the matter is, it's not very likely to happen. Consider now your opponent's reaction, which is usually of the form "Don't! He just hit me!" Put these two together and you have the fact that you should exploit their momentary confusion and hit them a few more times [unless, of course, the referee, spoil-sport that she is, asks you in that polite way that referees do, to stop.]. Again, this can be extended to the other side : if you get hit, don't stop to check for gaping flesh wounds - your opponent is currently probably doing the TKD touchdown dance in her head and doesn't expect you to counter, so you get the point back with a quick counter-attack.

This is all very well, but aren't -you- guys supposed to teach us all this? Yes, we are, and, yes, we -do- teach it to you. However, learning is greatly speeded up if the pupil knows what to look for and has a general idea of how things are -supposed- to work. Given that we only have a limited time each class to spar and that we can't run through all the points all the time, it helps a lot if you yourself start noticing these things and putting them into practice.

Head shots: Since you have to 'move' your opponent to score a point, axe kick or spin kick to the head are the easiest way to score and are the most effective. It is also more noticeable to the corner judges. However, your kicks has to be controlled and the contact has to be light or you might be penalized, especially if you're a color belt.
Only kick when you see an opening: Never trade kicks in a tournament, you will waste your energy and tend to make yourself vulnerable. Only kick when you see an opening, an opportunity. Never kick just for the hell of it because you never know what your opponent's counter move will be.
Combinations: Have 2-3 kick combinations in mind. Don't kick once and back up because that'll give your opponent a chance to recover and attack you. The first kicks should always be light and mostly fake, you're concentrating on landing the second or the third kick. You will lose your balance if you use too much force for the first couple of kicks.
Use fakes: Fake often and keep your opponent guessing.

Things not to do:

Walk into a kick: I know this sounds stupid but I've seen so many people do this. Never move towards your opponent without a planned attack.
Show that you're frustrated: If you do this, not only will your opponent gain confidence but most of the time the judges will give him/her the 'superiority' point.
Cheer yourself: Never show disrespect towards your opponent.

Things to do:

Use your range: Sidekicks and push kicks are useful. Keep your opponent away from you so there's no chance for them to score.
Use your height: Since headshots are easier, use axe kicks or high 45 degree roundhouse.

Punches: Punches aren't recommended since there's a great possibility that you might punch your opponent in the face. You won't be able to punch your opponent 'legally' unless you punch down and that requires practice.

Things to do:

Close range fighting: Like I said before, if you can get close enough to your opponent, he/she won't be able to kick you with full force since they cannot fully extend their kicks.
Spin: You should be more mobile than your taller opponent so try to use spin moves, these are harder to predict and harder to counter-attack.

Trade kicks: You don't want to trade kicks with your opponent since there will be times that he/she is out of your range but you are in his/hers.
Walk into kicks: When moving towards your opponent, always have an attack plan ready, don't just blindly walk into axe kicks.