SPARRING The Martial Arts Instructor's Manual Sparring Shadow Boxing Fast Point Drill Ear Slap Drill Block \ Counter Slow Sparring Leg Sparring Bob & Weave Drill Jab Speed Introducing Sparring Three Person Sparring Circular Movement Drill SPARRING Shadow Boxing. Shadow boxing has been used as a training method by boxers for decades. The reason for it's universal acceptance is, quite simply, it works! Shadow boxing has proven to be a training technique that provides fighters with a variety of benefits. Martial artists can also benefit from using shadow boxing. Many of the component parts of good sparing technique can be improved with the use of shadow boxing drills. The following drills were developed to teach shadow boxing skills to inexperienced students as well as to improve the skills of more the advanced student. 1. The first aspect of sparring to drill is footwork. This is a common weakness in many students. The students should become comfortable with moving in all directions, forward, backward, side to side, circular, and angular. These movements must be accomplished while maintaining proper balance and form. The first drill for students to begin working on their footwork consists of the instructor calling out the direction of movement while the class responds by moving in unison, always staying relaxed and aware. The commands must be given with only short pauses between so that continuous movement is maintained. 2. The next step in developing good shadow boxing skills is to combine the footwork with well executed strikes. While moving around, a good fighter must always be prepared to take advantage of openings by being able to fire the appropriate hand or leg technique. This can be drilled by calling out techniques while the students moving at random. The students will develop the ability to keep proper balance and body position to allow for successful execution of almost any technique at any time. 3. The use of combinations can be drilled next. The students should be drilled until they become accustom to throwing various combinations using their hand and foot strikes. These drills can be performed with either pre-arranged combinations or with random combinations put together by the students. The combinations are executed while continually moving, using random footwork. 4. The next step is to introduce visual stimulus. Up to this point the various movement were being called out. Learning to respond quickly to visual, rather than audio stimulus, is a more useful skill in sparring. The first three drills can be repeated working with a partner. To work on footwork, one partner is deemed the leader, the other the follower. The footwork of the follower is dependent on the movements of the leader. In other words, the follower attempt to maintain a constant distance between himself and his partner. If the leader moves forward, the follower must move back. If the leader moves back, the follower must move forward. Side to side and angular movements should also be used. To add strikes, the leader simply opens a target area for his partner to strike. This works best if the targets are made obvious by exaggerated movements of the leader. The strikes can be prearranged or mixed up at random. 5. Some of the beneficial by-products of shadow boxing include improved speed and accuracy. Students must continually strive to increase the speed and accuracy of their techniques while performing these drills. An improvement in coordination will be felt by the students after just a few rounds of these shadow boxing drills. Another benefit is the cardio vascular workout that is provided by extended rounds of shadow boxing. Finally, the greatest advantage that shadow boxing has over other types of sparring drills is that it can be performed solo. This permits the student to improve their sparring skills without having to find a training partner and without even having to leave their own home. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Fast Point Drill. Whether a fight is taking place in a tournament or on the street, the importance of scoring the first point is paramount. In a 2-point tournament, if your opponent scores the first point, he's half way to victory. The longer you wait to score the more likely you are to make a defensive mistake that will cost you the fight. In a street fight, it may cost you your life. This drill is designed to emphasize the importance of getting a fast first point. The class lines up in two lines facing each other. Each student will fight the opponent he is now facing. Not much room is needed since the fights will only last about 5 seconds. After each fight one line can move down one spot so that each person has a new opponent. The command to begin fighting is given and the fight stopped in no more than 5 seconds. Quick, explosive techniques must be emphasized. The idea is to score a decisive point on your opponent within a very short period of time. These points can be from launching an attack (offensive move), or from reacting to an attack (defensive counter). After each round have the students reflect for a moment whether they were successful and what improvements they can make for the next fight. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Ear Slap Exercise. An important factor in achieving sparring success is improving reaction time. This exercise helps shorten the time delay between seeing an opponent's movement and reacting to it. Have partners face each other at an arms length apart. Both partners should be relaxed with their arms resting at their sides. They should lock their gaze at each others eyes and not look anywhere else. This allows for maximum use of peripheral vision which is what should be exercised in a sparring reaction drill. One person is the attacker and the other is the defender. The attacker attempts to strike the defender on the ear with his palm, keeping his arm straight, elbows locked at all times. The defender attempts to block the strike, raising the appropriate arm by bending it at the elbow. The attacker strikes using one arm or the other, using a broken rhythm and mixing up which arm will be doing the strike. All strikes should begin with both partners arms fully down at their sides. Both partners must touch their thighs between each strike or block. The speed of the strikes and the time between strikes should be adjusted to suit each individual defender. Care should be taken to stop strikes before making contact with the ear to avoid inner ear damage. The strikes can also be directed at the temple to avoid possible ear damage. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Block / Counter Combination. One of the more difficult concepts to teach students in sparring is the block and counter. Most students attempt to block the incoming strikes until the strikes stop coming. They will then attack with a combination of their own. This training technique will drill the students on the concept of shifting, blocking, and countering almost simultaneously. This type of counter will often stop an attack before it can fully develop. Students will face each other in a fighting stance at close range, toe to toe. For this example we will use a reverse punch to the body. When the punch is delivered, the opponent will shift slightly to the inside, use a scoop or low block, and counter with a reverse punch to the body. The first fighter will then do the same shift, block, and counter movement. The action will be continuous and should be started slow so that the students can get the movements coordinated. The body shifting should be kept to a minimum so that the students can remain in a toe to toe position. This drill will not only train the specific movements that are involved, but through repetition, it will instill the block / counter combination as an instinctive reaction rather than a planned maneuver. A variety of shift, block, and counter combinations can be used. For example, a left jab to the face can be countered with a high or face block with the right arm and followed with a left jab. Again, start slow so that a rhythm can be set up and the speed can be gradually increased. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Slow Sparring. Teaching sparring to beginners can often be a frustrating experience. The common method of instruction is usually to begin by teaching the proper ways to deliver strikes such as reverse punches, front kicks, etc... This is followed by teaching the proper ways to block. Now, having the basics of offense and defense covered, the students are introduced into sparring with some drills on how to perform combinations. When the students finally end up in a totally "free sparring" situation, more often than not, they seem to forget what they were taught and resort back to fighting on instinct. The problem with a beginner fighting on instinct is that people's natural fighting instincts are very poor. By studying the martial arts we hope to develop our instincts to the point where fighting on instinct will become an advantage instead of a disadvantage. The problem with introducing students too quickly into a free sparring situation is that bad habits can quickly develop that can become very hard to break. A training exercise is needed to permit a smoother transition from prearranged one or two step sparring, to the high stress situation of free fighting. One such exercise that offers a multitude of benefits in spite of its' simplicity is slow sparring. For slow sparring to be successful, it is important that the rules be well explained and enforced. One partner begins by attacking his partner with a 3 to 5 step combination while continually advancing. The defender uses his defensive skills to block the strikes while moving backwards. At the end of the attack, the person who was defending now attacks, again with an advancing combination of techniques. The students will move back and forth across the mat through the exercise. The most important aspect of the drill is that the students must perform all movements slowly, at about 25% normal speed. This rule holds for both the attacker and the defender. It must be stressed that this is not a competition. When working at 25% speed it is easy to block all incoming strikes. Students must resist the urge to speed up and try to score points. The fact that this is not a competition is the key to its' success as a learning tool. The students are not under the stress caused by a win / loss situation. They also are not concerned about possible injury. This relaxed, clear state of mind is very conducive to quick learning. Six important aspects of sparring can be addressed using this drill. First is the use of combinations. Getting students to move from one step attacks to fluid combinations is a major accomplishment. This drill promotes the use of random combinations, combinations that flow from the student's mind rather than the pre-arranged, memorized combinations that are present in most 3 step sparring drills. The slow pace gives the beginning student the time to put together combinations of strikes that he feels comfortable with. Form is another aspect that benefits from slow sparring. In fast paced free sparring, form is often poor if present at all. Again, the slow pace is the key that permits the students to maintain proper form while performing both offensive and defensive movements. Distancing is an important part of successful sparring. The advancing types of attacks allows the students to work on adjusting their distancing as they move from one technique to the next. Balance is also improved. Performing combinations of kicks at a slow pace can be more demanding on a student's balance than performing at full speed. Footwork is another aspect that is worked using this drill. Being able to move both forward and backwards while maintaining a proper, well balanced fighting stance is often difficult for beginning students. Finally, timing can be improved by allowing the students to see and feel the timing of their movements. Some aspects of sparring that are not addressed with slow sparring are lateral movements, counters, and of course, speed. If the students perform approximately one strike every second, which is a nice, relaxed pace, in five minutes they will have performed 150 offensive strikes and 150 defensive blocks each. Each movement will have been done at a pace that permits the student or the instructor to analyze the choice of combinations, the form, the distancing the balance, the footwork, and the timing. All of this is performed without prearrangement which results in a much easier transition to real "free sparring". back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Leg Sparring. The ability to use your legs effectively while sparring is always more difficult to develop than the ability to use your hands. Learning to strike fast and accurately with your feet is a slow process. To reduce student's reliance on hand techniques and to promote speed , accuracy, and balance while kicking, leg sparring was developed. Leg sparring can be conducted as a drill or as a competition. As a drill, each student will face a partner. The attacker will attempt to score on the defender using only kicks from the raised leg. The attackers should be instructed to use their full arsenal of kicks. Close attention should be paid to balance, form, and accuracy. The defender should be instructed to limit his movement so that the kicker will not have to chase him across the floor. Minimal force should be used on all blocks so as to not knock the kicker off balance. A slightly competitive variation to this drill is to not permit the kicker's foot to touch the ground between kicks. If it touches the ground he may then lift his other leg and continue until that foot touches the ground. When both feet have been used, the defender then becomes the attacker. The competitive aspect comes from the fact that the longer a student can keep his leg up, the longer he is on the offensive and therefore, the more chance he has of benefiting from the drill. Again, the defenders must limit their movement and the power of their blocks. Proper form must be maintained by the kicker. A more competitive version of leg sparring is simply having sparring matches where both partners have one leg lifted and hand strikes are not allowed. The fighters are allowed to change legs once but if the second leg goes down before the time is up, that fighter is disqualified. Leg sparring has an obvious beneficial affect on developing proper balance. It also forces the students to use their legs as primary weapons instead of as poor secondary ones. They will start to put together combinations of double or triple kicks which will greatly improve their fighting skills when combined with their hand techniques. This drill is also an excellent method of strengthening the specific muscle groups which are used to perform the various kicks. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Bob and Weave Drill. Bobbing and weaving are very effective maneuvers against the jab. Using these movements to slip a punch is a difficult skill that is only perfected after many hours of training. After the basic movements have been taught, I use this drill to improve the skill. Students face each other in their fighting stance, wearing protective hand gear. The attacker will prepare to throw a jab at his opponent's chin. The defender will use his rear hand as a target. It will be held at his chin level with the palm out. The padding of his hand protection will be touching the side of his chin to help absorb the shock of the jab. The padding must stay in contact with his chin at all times. His lead hand will be held low so that the chin is open for the jab. Both partners will move around and the attacker will attempt to hit the open palm target with the jab. Full power is not required. The defender will attempt to slip (avoid) the jab by using his bobbing and weaving skills. This drill is beneficial to the attacker because it presents a realistic, dynamic target to train both the accuracy and speed of his jab. The defender can work all aspects of proper body movements to slip the punch while being able to see just how successful he is. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Jab Speed. The art most often borrowed from by martial artists to improve their sparring skills is boxing. Due to the fact that boxing is a competitive sport, is full contact, and is practiced throughout the world, it is considered by many to be the foremost authority when it comes to effective punching techniques. The technique most used by boxers is the jab. Experienced boxers develop lightening fast jabs with incredible power. Powerful jabs are developed through proper body mechanics and lots of heavy bag work. Speed, on the other hand, is more difficult to develop. The following drill is useful in developing jab speed. Two students face each other. One takes a fighting stance and prepares to throw a jab at his opponents face. His opponent is facing him straight on with his hands raised in front of his face, about 60 cm (2') apart The fighter will now throw a fast jab towards his opponent's face while making sure to stop short of contact. The defender will close his hands together in an attempt to slap the jab between his hands. If the jab is fast enough, and is not telegraphed, it will be fully extended and withdrawn before the slap is completed. The details to remember with this drill are that the jab must be fully extended before being drawn back. Care must be taken not to hit the opponent's face. The person slapping must keep his hands at a constant distance apart. This distance can be adjusted to suit the relative speed of the individuals. The person slapping must not reach out while slapping in an attempt to catch the jab on its recoil. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Introducing Sparring. Introducing the art of sparring to new students is a challenge that is taken too lightly by most instructors. Many instructors believe in the adage that the best way to learn to spar is to just get in there and spar. But to introduce students to sparring using this method can be a mistake. The primary problem in having students spar without a thorough introduction is that they often feel uncomfortable and inadequate. This can quickly lead to a dislike of sparring, or even dropout. The other problem with this "sink or swim" approach is that without a sound foundation in sparring basics, bad habits can develop that can be very hard to break down the road. So what's involved in a thorough introduction to sparring basics? I break it down into 8 lessons with each taking 15 - 30 minutes. This means that new students will have worked on developing their free sparring skills for 2 - 4 hours before attempting free sparring for the first time. These 8 lessons will be reused many times to improve the skills that they introduce. I will describe the logical breakdown of sparring skills that I use when introducing new students to the fast and furious world of free sparring. 1. The first thing I teach is the fighting stance. Where the feet go, where the hands go, and where to look is covered. I also introduce basic movements forward and backward, stressing proper balance and weight distribution. 2. Next comes one-step sparring. This is the use of the basic strikes against a cooperative opponent. The basic punches and kicks are covered with emphasis on accuracy and balance. They must learn to deliver effective techniques while advancing into their opponent. Needless to say, the basic forms of all punches and kicks should have been covered before the introduction to sparring. 3. Defense is covered next. This involves learning how to step back and block the various incoming techniques. Emphasis is on maintaining proper balance and form so that the defender is in a position to counter attack. Countering the one-step attacks is not attempted yet. 4. Next is two-step sparring. This is the introduction to combinations. A two-technique combination is combined with moving into the opponent. Emphasis is on trying to create an opening on the opponent while not creating openings on yourself. 5. Three-step sparring is the next logical step. Combinations of 3 techniques that flow together well and create openings in the opponent's defense are stressed. Speed and fluid movements are important. Balance, form, and distancing become more difficult. The defenders develop their defensive skills by blocking the incoming attacks. Again, only linear movement is used. 6. Lateral movement is taught next. How to move left, right, and how to circle, as well as angular movements are covered. This is for both offensive and defensive applications. Again, form is important as well as keeping your guard up while moving. 7. Counter strikes is the last skill covered in the introduction to basics. I find that being able to effectively shift, block and counter with an effective strike is a relatively advanced skill and is best taught after the students have practiced the other skills. 8. Finally, we try some free sparring. Though the students are far from mastering the skills and techniques that they've been shown, they have had the opportunity to try them in a controlled, non-threatening environment. They understand what is expected of them though they may not yet be capable of using the skills effectively. Close supervision is required for the first few matches so that mistakes can be explained and bad habits can be caught early. The first few matches are kept to half speed with an emphasis on doing what was taught, and not necessarily what comes naturally. With a thorough and logical introduction, students will have the knowledge and skills to draw on during those difficult first forays into free sparring. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Three Person Sparring Drill. A fighter must be able to adjust to the changing positions of his opponent without having to waste time taking small, shuffling steps. If his opponent angles away from a strike, he must be able to pivot and change the angle of his attack without missing a beat. These 3 man drills are designed to improve a fighter's ability to quickly change his angle of attack. Specifically, they train agility, balance, and technique. They are easily modified to emphasize any specific technique, combination, or movement. I will go through four different combinations, each emphasizing different skills. These drills are used by Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. Students form groups of three. One is the attacker while the others are simply targets which I will refer to as A and B. The three will face each other in a triangle at about 6' (2m ) apart. 1. This first drill is a basic one. The attacker faces A. - he steps in with a left side kick to the midsection of A - pivots and delivers a right front kick to the midsection of B - follows with a right reverse punch to the face of B - looks over his left shoulder and delivers a left backfist to the face of A - follows with a right reverse punch to the midsection of A - steps out to the starting position to end. 2. This drill will work on a spin. The attacker faces A. - he steps in and delivers a left hook kick to the head of A - spins to the left and delivers a back kick to the midsection of B - follows with a right reverse punch to the head of B - pivots and steps into a backfist to the face of A - follows with a reverse punch to the midsection of A - steps out to starting position to end. 3. This drill will work a combination kick. The attacker faces A. - he steps in and delivers a left side kick to the head of A - pivots and delivers a right front kick to the midsection of B - spins left and back kicks the midsection of B - follows with a reverse punch to the face of B - looks, pivots left, and steps into a left reverse punch to the midsection of A - leans back and delivers a left roundhouse kick to the head of A - steps out to end. 4. This drill will work balance. Attacker faces B. - he steps in and delivers a left roundhouse kick to the head of B - keeping the leg up , pivots, and delivers a left side kick to A - follows with a right reverse punch to the midsection of A - pivots and steps into a left reverse punch to the midsection of B - steps out to end. You can see how these drills can be easily put together to emphasize specific movements or combinations. Accuracy, form, and balance should be maintained throughout. Arts that are limited to just hand techniques or just low kicks can also be used. The drills can even be modified to suit weapons. back to Sparring index back to Main index SPARRING Circular Movement Drill. Most sparring matches are not limited to lateral, straight in and out types of movements. Many fighters will circle their opponent in an attempt to create an opening. Openings are often created when the defender is not able to effectively use their footwork and body positioning to follow the circular movements of the attacker. The ability to maintain proper body alignment while circling is an important skill that is often overlooked. We use a two-part drill to develop this skill. First we pair off the students. They take a fighting stance facing their partner with very little distance between them. The partner who is deemed the aggressor will circle the defender at a realistic pace, changing direction at random. The defender will attempt to follow, always keeping their body alignment such that effective blocks and counters are possible. Both partners are limited to stepping only with their rear leg, while pivoting on their lead foot. This simplified footwork means that the defender can concentrate on proper upper body alignment, making sure that the aggressor does not succeed in getting slightly too far behind or in front. If at any time the aggressor feels that they have created an opening, they should attempt to strike it. This will serve to reinforce the need to maintain proper positioning. When the students feel comfortable with this drill they can move on to the second part. The students are now permitted to circle freely with both feet. They must now incorporate proper footwork to maintain correct upper body alignment. This two step approach will result in students that feel comfortable with circular movements and will illustrate the importance of proper body positioning while sparring. back to Sparring index back to Main index Accessed since 5Jan96.