How do you get over your fear of sparring someone you have no prior experience with?

Question

When I go into a match with someone I've never seen spar before, I don't know wether to feel them out or just go all in - It seems like both could easily cost you the fight. What's your strategy? P.S. This is applicable for any style, but I do TKD 5-point sparring.

Answer 1

I do TKD 5 point too.  When I go to a tournament I usually wait for them to attack once or twice.  Wait see what they throw, and how they move.  Learn their rhythm.  See what they leave open.  Then I attack.

Answer 2

Here is what you do (I do TKD tourneys too) if you are nervous. Right off the line, go at them hard, and yell loud with each of your kicks. This will do one thing for sure, and possibly another. First off, it will show them that you are not afraid, and it will possibly intimidate them. Just watch out for the back kick, or the head shot as you come at them.

This is a matter of personal preference, and what i said above is what i normally do unless my coaches tell me otherwise. If you want to lay back and see what he does, do two things. 1. Move around your opponent, dont back up. 2. kepp your hands up so you can block the head shot, and also so that you can drop an elbow into his foot if throws a body shot (you could possibly injure his foot this way, which helps alot).

But, like i said, it is all a matter of personal preference, do whatever you feel comfotable doing, or whichever helps you get through the fight.

Answer 3

drink about 3 cans of monster, 2 cans of redbull, and eat about 3 energy bars. then u'll own.

or

i'm not sure what 5 point sparring is but i'm pretty sure there are more than 1 round per fight. What i do is be defensive for the first round. Fake, defensive roundhouses, and analyize what your opponent likes to do. mess around with him/her. Test him/her and see what he/she does if u do this, or if i do this, check what he/she will do. It's all about analysis and strategy. But of course, to react to the movements your opponents make, you will need speed,fast reflexes, power, all that jazz.

but don't let him/her get points during the first round.

or you just go all out on the first round and win it right there and then. When the ref says "shijak", go for an axe kick and knock them out. Or you can try countinuous rounhouses. Use different combinations for this. Although i wouldn't recommend it if you want to look like a good fighter. ^.^

good luck!

(hint: jump roping will increase your speed ( i would say about 2000 a day will do the trick. It may take a few days or weeks depending on how u jump rope), repeated roundhouse on the kicking bag will slowly increase your power in kicks(use ankle weights to build speed at same time, and use more hip action to produce more power) and repeated counter attacks such as box step (when the opponent kicks, you slide out of reach diagonally and return a roundhouse to the side.)

Answer 4

I do karate point sparring. Its the most points when the fight ends or the first to get 8 points clear. When Im fighting someone new, I can usually tell how good they are from the way they move. If they bounce stiffly in one place really quickly with their guard stiff, this is usually a sign that they are nervous and arent going to try and come at you hard. If they are loose and move their guard, Im in trouble! I go all out on nervous people (Yeah I know its kinda evil), but Im more cautious with confident people, because 9/10 will try take downs. I dont know about others but this is my approach to people Ive never fought. I sadly dont know about TKD but from what I can see, it has a lot more kicks, but the guards and movement is the same.

Just dont go straight out with fancy jump kicks on a person you dont know.

Answer 5

You need:

1. experiences and abilities to analysis

2. fastest foot work, or one of the fastest

3. a really good fighter.

Act as if you are going to attack but be ready to retreat. When you put pressure on him, he will eventually attack you. When he make his first move, retreat out of the way. From that first move, you can analysis his technique (good or bad), speed, power, balance. Once you have those info and compare them to your skills and speed, you have an idea of whether or not you need to be cautious.  If he is no good, just move in to kill him, or do what you do in training. If he is fast and powerful, move around let him waste his energy of attacking you, or do counter when you see an opening, after the counter, stay in really close so he can't kick you. When you attack, always good to mix your fakes and really, to confuse him. If he is faster than you, attacking him is extremely risky, because his counter attack would most likely to get you.

This strategy only work if you have fast foot work and a fast kicker yourself. Faster foot work means, you can decide the time of engagement. If you are not ready, you just move around and there is nothing your opponent can do about it, because you are faster. Learn to be deceptive fighter, this way you can beat people who have the same speed and skill as you, or even more skillful than yourself.

3 factors of being a good fighter in order of importance:

1. intelligence and cunning

2. power/speed

3. martial art skills

There is also another factor, which is mental aggressiveness. The will to win and beat your opponent.