HELP:Sparring situation

[hazhardy]

so i sparred today. with my sei hing from wing chun, and..well i got my arse kicked.
i need help... my SH was saying that i was throwing too many ''1 2 3'' combination punches, then stepping out. He said that won't win fights. He was saying once i'm in (range) i need to punch punch punch,, (and god that's nacaring!).......but, i had one problem. He has a much longer reach adv. than me, and we weren't doing legs at all, some clinch work, but basically all fists and stand up sparring....so what do i do? usually people in this situation would leg kick to stay out of range but still do damage...however, without us using legs right now in our sparring (because most of us are not familiar with low and body leg kicks), how can i use just fists to get in range, then stay there?
i know it's a bit of an odd question, but you can imagine, i go in with a jab, then a right, (and at this point i might just be in range) but then either get clobbered back, or i become the one getting chain punched continuosly because i'm in his range....does that make sense?
are there effective punch combo's that i can do in range, because right now all i know is jab with left, then in on right straight then a left hook, and then i seem to run out of options......??
cool, well make you what you can of the questions and any help would be much appreciated..
cheers
hza

[stubbs]

Look up 'crazy monkey' - its one option. Its a method of covering.

You don't have to throw just one jab you can throw a few quick ones then following through with a cross, hook etc. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, hammerfist, high, medium, low - think about all these things and put them into combinations. There's plenty more you can add to the combinations but these should keep you busy for a while. Pick a few punches and a couple of heights - any combination and practice loose and fast on the bag. Don't worry about power to begin with. Keep practising until the combinations flow so you don't have to think Jab, Cross, Hook, you just keep hitting. When you spar, adapt your combos to how your opponent moves. Mix in the combos with the crazy monkey covering (the crazy monkey might not work for you but it does for me because of my build).

You're going to get hit - accept it. It's just sparring so play around and learn from getting hit.

Use your footwork. Think about the union jack...or the directions on a compass and use all of these - North, South, East, West, NE, SE, SW, NW. Sometimes when someone chain punches, they comit to one directions to move off in an angle - say they're coming south, you going north east and attack them from that angle. Make sure you cover all the time - hands high!

Add in throws, pushes, shoots and other takedowns.


Just keep playing around.
________
Clear Trichomes

[Merryprankster]

Slip. Head movement is key. Keep coming forward, use your footwork to close the gap AS you slip and move forward.

When I say keep coming forward, I don't mean rush in like a bull. I mean that you have to penetrate his range. You're looking to get inside his punches.

My old sparring partner was 6'4 or so. My formula was slip slip, move forward, throwing hooks and crosses to the body, occasional uppercut.

He still beat my ass (I only boxed for 6 months, and he had 3 years under his belt), but I got inside, and made HIM move and adjust. Consequently, I think I only got hit solid about 8 or 9 times ever, where I went "oh crap, that sucked."

[Willow Palm]

Everything, even boxing, moves in circles. Get your timing down and find a good rythem. When your sparring partner commits to his attack, step aside then lunge. Bau Gua has strong roots in circling your opponent. Perhaps some research in that can help.

Warren

[Chief Fox]

I'm sure you've heard the term, "work the jab". The jab is a great tool that can help you close the gap so you can throw your combinations. Then use the jab back on the way out so you don't end up getting clobbered. It keeps yur opponent on the deffensive. So my advice is "Work the jab".

[FooFighter]

hazhardy,

I highly encourage you to get some personal one to one coaching/mentoring from your wing chun instructor or someone who has the wing chun knowledge and fighting experience to personal assess your weaknesses and strength. This way you will have a clearer idea. Moreover, in my opinion, coaching someone over the internet is difficult and perhaps having a live coach is better and more effective than reading different opinions? So with this in mind, please take everything here with a grain of salt.

First, my hat off to you for actually have the mental toughness and courage to actually try to apply your wing chun skills. I believe this dynamic experience (win or loss, good or bad) alone will aid you toward self mastery. Here is my opinion and please take whatever works for you. I would personally try to record my sparring sessions so that I can see myself and get a clearer picture of my own abilities and then try to figure out with my coach what I need to do to enhance my performance. There are there things to look for 1. Form/techical mastery, 2. Attritudes, and 3 mental toughness. Do you need to improve your technical performance? Is your form correct? Do you have the tools to get the task done right? How is your breathing, movement, structure? Do you have any technical/physical limitations? How are my attritubes? Do I need to develop more endurance, strength, speed, relaxation; etc? How is my mental stability, self awareness, or fear management? These are some of the questions that you may want to ask yourself or your coach.

Just because your lost to your hi shing doesn't mean you got your arse kicked and doesnt mean you cannot transcend his level. Think and be more clever than your peers. I do not know your actually level or your abilities, but if you are throwing the classical ''1 2 3'' combination punches, then stepping out when you are sparring then perhaps you need to know when and how to do it properly instead of just doing it for its own sake. Maybe you need to learn more footwork and proper coverage skills? If your si hing has a reach advantage, then you must learn to cover his attacks, draw him for an offensive attack, and/or move around his lines of attack and getinside and manage your time and space. Again please seek out your coach advice on this manner. Maybe you should try the wing chun forum here for more technical advice? I would highly recommend Wing Chun Sifu Duncan Leung's educational series which might be of some use for you? Please check out Sifu's Allan Lee website for some wing chun technical fighting ideas www.wingchunnyc.com. I wish you much success and please keep us inform with your latest discoveries and progress.

Your friend,
Bao

[IronFist]

You jab and follow with a right in Wing Chun?

But yes, Crazy Monkey is awesome. In the three months I trained at an MMA school that taught Crazy Monkey (Straightblast Gym), I gained more ability than in my entire previous study of martial arts. I'm not too sure how much your Wing Chun instructor would like it, as it is fundamentally different from WC (Crazy Monkey has you standing with your palms on your forehead, chin tucked down, shoulders hunched forward, and back rounded, and WC is pretty much the opposite of that on all counts), but if he's cool he may be cool with the "absorb what is useful" philosophy.

[SevenStar]

MP hit the nail on the head. When you are at a reach disadvantage, you HAVE to move. Slip in order to get to his inside, then work angles while punching. Tyson in his prime was a master of getting inside on taller guys. Check out some of his old fights.

[IronFist]

Tyson's peek-a-boo boxing style was similar to Crazy Monkey.

Just thought I'd throw that out since it's relavent.

I'm not really sure what peek-a-boo boxing style is, altho I could guess. I've just heard that quote up there before.

[Samurai Jack]

I read an article sometime in the early nineties where William Cheung and Cus D'Amato broke down the peek-a-boo style, and showed how it was related to Wing Chun. D'Amato said that he borrowed Wing Chun's centerline theory and adopted the V-shaped footwork to help Tyson get behind his opponent and land the knockout. It's a technique he used in every fight he won.

[hazhardy]

You jab and follow with a right in Wing Chun?

yes squire. the kamon system i fight is wing chun, with the ol' rights 'n' lefts in it, as well as take down defence etc....where wing chun met MMA and street fighting all in two classes a week, lol.


Foo Fighter, you are a legend, thanks for that bit you wrote. And yeah, i think there are some questions i need to ask myself....but as far as sparring goes, i've only done it twice full on, but am learning loads, and really enjoying it,,and always up for the challenge...

yeah, as i said before, crazy monkey does work a treat....are there any of these tyson old skool fights online do you know? would like to watch them...

alot of boxer's/people with boxing backgrounds join our wing chun class, and it's great to spar with them to see how they adapt to your WC style ,and to see how your adapt to their combo punches, because hands down theyre fcuking good at it, and that's why crazy monkey technique saves my arse some of the time!! Because they're throwing these combos really fast, some you're not able to see, but covering and weaving/slipping in crazy monkey-mode is great, because i have also found that it is quite simple to throw a left jab/left straight out of the position, whilst remaining covered.....good sh!t.

er. another couple of Questions...
my friend who i spar with, teaches me a lot of **** with sparring, regarding kick-covering etc...but one thing i need to learn pretty much for myself is combo punching..... Now, because i don't have access to a punchbag at my house and have no room to get one etc.. he suggested to bang a couple of nails into the wall/picture rail and hang a towel down, over the door way,, and lightly/air pucnh that..... he said he got it from a book or website called something like ''The Cheap man's way to train martial arts'' or something... would this training method work as a next best thing to creating combos, not on a punch bag?

thanks for all your time

hza