Sparring question...

[MonkeySlap Too]

Tajiquan Ninja said:
okay your size doesnt matter except for intimidation.


This is the second biggest lie in martial arts. If size and strength did not matter, there would be flyweights as heavyweight champions of the world. The only time size does not matter is when you are slow, stupid, and unsophisticated.

A trained big man will almost always beat a smaller man of equal or lesser skill - because he has the superior mass to compensate for errors.

Forget about blocking. Think about overwhelming your opponents thought process with multiple levels of attack. CMA is very good for this. Develop your timing - if you do this, your attacks become your defense and vice versa.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Taijiquan ninja
okay your size doesnt matter except for intimidation. im 6'2" 145 lbs.

Man, you must be one skinny dude!

MonkeySlap Too - great post.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by MonkeySlap Too
Tajiquan Ninja said:
okay your size doesnt matter except for intimidation.

This is the second biggest lie in martial arts.

What's the first?

[Black Jack]

Serpent,

Do you cry yourself to sleep at night knowing that the best things to ever come out of the land of oz were the band Men at Work?

Huh....huh....huh?????

That is a skinny dude. I am starting to get either water weight or am putting on mass somewhere that I am not directly seeing. Just yesterday at the gym I found the scale touching 190lbs. 190lbs at a wide neck 5'7. I normally am a stocky 175-180.

Weird?

[Shaolin-Do]

Im stuck at 165-170. Bah. Goin for 190. Im 6' and a half inch.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Black Jack
Serpent,

Do you cry yourself to sleep at night knowing that the best things to ever come out of the land of oz were the band Men at Work?

Huh....huh....huh?????

That is a skinny dude. I am starting to get either water weight or am putting on mass somewhere that I am not directly seeing. Just yesterday at the gym I found the scale touching 190lbs. 190lbs at a wide neck 5'7. I normally am a stocky 175-180.

Weird?

What about Crocodile Dundee?

Yahoo Serious?

errr..... OK, Maybe Men At Work were the best thing!

Actually, I'm pulling your leg. You seem to be forgetting the rockinest blues monsters that ever hit the planet. How can you think Men At Work are it when there's AC/DC in the world?

To the corner with a dunce hat , you dullard!

Sorry, you FAT dullard!

I'm about 180lbs at 6'1" and I thought I was skinny!

[SevenStar]

Originally posted by Taijiquan ninja
okay your size doesnt matter except for intimidation.

Sorry, but that's pure BS.

if this isnt to your taste then when they hit high you block and try to hit low before they get their next attack out if that works then mix it up and if they block low hit high a chain of well practiced moves in a sequence of six (ex. high,low,low,high,low,high) should throw most opponets off and make it easier for you.

How do you know what will throw MOST opponents off? Have you sparred most of them? Why a sequence of six?

[UK MONK]

hi

In my class we sparr semy contact with boxing gloves but every one goes full contact. All my kung fu brothers are 6 foot or taller and i am only 5,11' and they are all adults and i am only 16 so they have bigger muscles than i do. And when we sparr they always punch full contact to the head and run forwards so all I can do is go backwareds and blocking at the same time. So what i do is when they hit to my face and as im blocking and walking backwards i side step and kick there front foot as hard as i can and they fall down and hit the matt very hard. If that dosnt work i give them a front push kick to there stomack and they fall over and they are scared to hit back.

good luck with the sparring

[Ikken Hisatsu]

been said before but i will say it again- COMBINATIONS. If you follow K-1 watch people like McDonald, he obviously works those combinations which is why hes one of the best. also, don't go above your means. no point throwing a spinning back kick if the other guy is a metre away when you finally get round. mix it up- a favourite of mine (in light sparring especially) is a quick roundhouse to the leg followed by one to the head off the same leg, all in one move. dont expect your first punch in a sequence to land, use it to distract your opponents guard and then hit elsewhere. look at the opponent at around their chest height so you can see all their arms and legs and what they're doing with them. go sideways instead of backwards if possible- going back just moves the fight a bit, going to the side opens them up.

your combinations dont have to be fancy 6 hit chains. develop some quick ones that do the job and just work them until you have it down pat, then introduce new ones. like someone else said- when you block, block like you mean it. if you hurt their arm they are going to be a LOT more cautious and give you more opportunities to attack them.

one last thing- dont try to block kicks. a good solid kick will hurt whether you block or not, instead try and get out of the way, or for leg kicks raise your front leg and ride it out if they are too quick for you to dodge.

[apoweyn]

Taijiquan ninja,

Size definitely matters. Even if it only dictates the types of tactics available to you. Sakko is big. You're tall. There's a profound difference.

I'm 6'1", 220 lbs.; used to be the same height at 150 lbs. Trust me. The difference matters. My tactics as a beanpole were very different from my tactics now. They were much closer to what you describe. But Sakko could be a freaking bulldozer if he chose to. And that possibility shouldn't be overlooked.


Stuart B.

[Ray Pina]

The problem with many MA is that they block side to side or up and down. This is like a windshield wiper. The window still gets wet. Also, you keep reacting to the other guy, dancing to his beat.

Instead, why not cover up, elbows down, hands doubled up in front of your face. When they attack, come in with this shield and jam them! Let them get one shot, two the most. This is like sticking a stick in a bike's spoke. If they throw wide, keep your hands in the center and pick up your elbows.

It's a matter of mindset. Don't spar or box the guy. Come in and jam up the works right away. Either he takes you out or you take him out ... this is fighting.

You train the other way you'll run into problems later. The last thing you want to do is spend 2 to 3 minutes dancing around with one guy outside a bar ... friends, police, room for slipping, bad luck, ect.

[Water Dragon]

Originally posted by EvolutionFist


Instead, why not cover up, elbows down, hands doubled up in front of your face. When they attack, come in with this shield and jam them! Let them get one shot, two the most. This is like sticking a stick in a bike's spoke. If they throw wide, keep your hands in the center and pick up your elbows.
.

Wow! Just like Boxing!

[Ray Pina]

If it has two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth is it a man or is it a dog?

Lots of things look the same. And over the internet, to keep it simple, are described the same. I play with boxers and what they do is similiar but .... actually, I give up.

Everybody do what the hell they want to do. Good luck.

[Becca]

Originally posted by MonkeySlap Too
Forget about blocking. Think about overwhelming your opponents thought process with multiple levels of attack. CMA is very good for this. Develop your timing - if you do this, your attacks become your defense and vice versa.

Agree with everything but the part about not blocking... Very hard to hit what you's aiming at if your eyes are watering from a strike to the nose. Just be pickier what you block. In other words, just block the vitals like face, groin, ribs, and abdomin. I never knee block- it hurts more than just taking the d@mn kick! And work your blocks so that they become offensive.

the catching an arm idea is a good one. if you have a strong upperbody and arent afraid to do so you could grab their arm and flip them over your back.

Why make it hard?!? Done right, an outside block automaticlly traps the offending arm. Then do an exchange block, making sure to palm strike the side of their head. Slip behind them pulling their arm with, and vuala! an arm bar.

[Taijiquan ninja]

sweet baby jesus do you all have to critisize what i say... okay here it goes.. yeah i am a tall skinny dude.

Do you cry yourself to sleep at night knowing that the best things to ever come out of the land of oz were the band Men at Work?

i belive that was someones comment...men at work was a great eightys band i liked the song who can it be now..

next topic bigger opponet=bigger target.

next one no i havent spared against most people its just the ones i have its worked most of the time so i figured it would apply the average person as well.

why a sequence of six because i like the number six the way i do it is sequence of six(1) block or counter some of their moves sequence of six(2)

i meant by size not mattering that most big guys unless they train for speed are sluggish i know for a fact that i am. just the other day at school there was a fight. one guy 6'1" 250 lbs the other 5'6" about 160. the big guy lost and badly unless you can effectivly through your weight around to counteract an opponets speed then your size is worth nothing but....intimidation. example being if you had no idea who Jackie Chan or Shaquille O'Neil where you just saw them in the middle of the street preparing to throw down one day on your way to the store who you put your money on?