Our latest sparring day brought some rapid improvements to those who participated. Here's a quick debrief on some of the areas we made progress in, and hope to continue making progress in with future sparring days:-
Ranging
Good ranging is essential in both landing your attacks, and evading the attacks of your opponent. To keep the opponent at "optimum" range however, you must be prepared to use your footwork. Equally, sluggish footwork will ultimately lead to more hits being landed on you. Knowledge of your own effective range, as well as that of your opponent, is also essential. Finally, be aware of the space you are operating in, lest you find yourself backed into a corner.
Counterattacks
Develop a feel for your opponent's approach to fighting and attempt to counter. Everything you do will be met with a reaction from your opponent, and this can be used to anticipate their counter, and counter it in return. This works both ways, however, so fight using intelligent strategies (making your opponent react in a way that is predictable), rather than simply going one-for-one with your counters. Whilst it is nice to have a large technical library, smart tactics will always prevail when it comes to effective counterattacking.
Attacking combinations
Vary the verticality of your combinations – don't just stick to headshots. Whilst these are certainly the more "satisfying" ones, good shots to the legs, arms, and torso of your opponent can degrade their performance. The head is the most obvious target, and this will be reflected in how your opponent defends themselves. You might steal a clean hit with a sudden hit'n'run attack, but a barrage of strikes to targets both high and low will leave your opponent reeling and on the back foot. Be careful not to exhaust yourself though…
Fitness
Fighting is both mentally and physically tiring. Mental conditioning can come with knowledge, experience and confidence. Physical conditioning can only come with regular exercise and a balanced diet. It is also worth noting that both areas are linked – mental stress will affect your physical performance, and physical fatigue will affect your ability to think. You don't have to go overboard on the weights, be able to run a marathon, or have some kind of special diet plan to be considered "healthy." However, if you find yourself totally knackered after 3 minutes of fighting, then definite improvements can be made. Good fitness will benefit every area of your fighting ability, as well as your life in general. Don't procrastinate on it.
Stance
Your "home position" must give you the ability to attack, defend, and evade quickly and with relatively little effort. Also, the height of your stance will also affect your options, stability, and maneouvreability. Work off solid principals and adopt a fluid stance, allowing you to quickly adapt to the situation at hand. Light footwork, good stickwork, and an accurate perception of your opponent's movements will allow you to adapt quickly and appropriately. A lazy stance is when you begin to lose focus (often through tiredness, or lack of fitness). Your guard drops, your ranging becomes poor, and your movements sluggish. Immerse yourself in the fight, but always keep your focus.
In future sessions, we will be looking at good exercises and drills to improve your sparring ability. Remember though, that there is no substitute for testing yourself against a live opponent, and your knowledge only exists in theory until you yourself prove its worth.
