Improving my sparring to the way I used to be

Question

I'm getting into competitions now after training for many many years. Problem is, I am a contact fighter, comps I'm doing are non-contact. That is one part of it. The other, I practically haven't fought in 18 months. So, to put it simply, I'm quite S**t at the moment.

I used to be a really agressive fighter, now because I haven't faught properly in ages, my style has become weak and "nice". Plus because doing non-contact now, I'm scared I'm going to really hurt someone if they're not used to taking a punch.

How can I work on becoming an agressive fighter again, and now train myself for non-contact comps?

And to make it even harder, how can I do it practically alone? The new style I'm doing now (so could get into comps), I'm the highest ranked there by 7 kyu ranks (apart from the sensei).

Answer 1

First thing you cant train your self it is imposable. Secondly find a guy where they spar live every day this will get you where you were before the lay off

Answer 2

If you are talking about point fighting or sport karate then yes you have to change some aspects of your fighting a little.  The distance for that is a little longer for that since you don't have to make hard contact.  I would practice throwing techniques at the bag and just hitting the bag but not being quite close enough to actually make hard contact and being able to project all your power into it.  This will help get you used to the difference in distance.  I would also practice throwing some of my techniques and combinations with speed and power but pulling them so as not to make hard contact.  The strategy is a little different in that in hard, contact type fighting as you close with your opponent you may be willing to either try and slip a punch or kick or take it partially on the arm, shoulder, or head while not letting it hit you flush and then hitting or kicking them and making harder, more direct contact on them and hopefully landing more than they did on you.  In point or sport fighting you can not employ that as much since the action stops when someone has a call to make and so scoring afterwards and more is not as effective as being the first to score.  Footwork and positioning become more critical because of this and the fact that a match is only two minutes running time and there is no second or third round and a match ends when someone reaches five points makes it doubally difficult.  So you can not literally wait till the other fighter tires to get them in subsequent rounds or to try and win the fight in the later rounds-there aren't any.  When sparring with the other lower ranking students work on your defense and offensively pick a particular technique or combination and work only that for that particular night.  That way you will get better defensively as well as get some offensive practice in but not dominate them due to your experience with harder contact type fighting especially if you also can have a little control.  When sparring your instructor you can turn it up some and be more offensive minded but once again try to execute things using the longer distance and control.  Also avoid hitting, striking, and kicking at non target areas like the face since for most of the divisions that is not allowed except in adult brown-belt and higher divisions.  I myself for instance don't generally target the front of the face directly as it is too easy to cut someone or knock them out and then I would be disqualified.  Techniques like hooks, uppercuts, elbows, and knees while great for self-defense and close in fighting and also allowed in some types of fighting are not allowed in sport karate or point fighting so avoid relying on them or using them when sparring in preparation for a tournament.  Also get familiar with the rules so that you have a better understanding of whats allowed and what is not.  Good luck and practice!

Answer 3

Find different competitions and a more intense gym.  You aren't going to get any better if you are the best in your gym, so challenge yourself.

Answer 4

They still have non-contact comps?  Do you mean light contact or no-contact?

Answer 5

in my opinion, non contact competitions are bull****. Focus on the contact competitions since REAL martial artists can handle contact. What is a martial artist that can't take a hit??? Dont be scared of hurting them, its not your fault, its their lousy training.

18 months is 18 months, in about 3 months, you'll get your rhythm back, just practice and master what you're good at