The sparring seminar was a great success and well done to all those that attended. The first part of the seminar focused on different ways to attack. This is an important started point because the majority of martial artists tend to revert to type by attacking only. Certainly most of the well ranked fighters tend to be “hunters”. First we practised the 5 ways of attack from Jeet Kune Do:

1. Single Direct Attack (SDA) – A single, direct and unexpected attack to opening
2. Attack by Combination (ABC) – Multiple, rapid attacks to overcome an opponent
3. Attack by Trapping (ABT) – Immobilising a hand or foot to gain entry
4. Attack by Drawing (ABD) – Baiting an attack and then intercepting and countering
5. Progressive Indirect Attack (PIA) – Feigning an attack to an area to create an opening

Most people use SDA and often revert to this by natural instinct. It is important to try and move away from this and consciously practise different ones to improve your sparring ability.

Secondly we focused on tactics to defend and counter using distance and timing. For distance (ma-ai) we used the different ranges: close, mid and far. These are useful ways to neutralise your opponent’s attacks. For example using close range punches to counter kicks, or far distance to pick off a puncher. For timing we practised 3 variations: late (go no sen), neutral (tai no sen) and early (sen no sen). This is probably the most important element to being an effective fighter. It involves blocking an attack before it starts, countering at the same time or letting the attack finish and then countering. All useful ways to break up your attacker’s momentum and destroy their flow.

Thirdly we practised using different levels of contact: non, semi and full. Using various types of kit, such as boxing gloves and head protectors allow you to learn how to react if you get hit. Plus you can discover your weaknesses, particularly not protecting your head enough. If you think you are holding your hands high enough you are probably holding them too low.

Finally we practised a mix of continuous and point sparring. The latter being with full protective gear and judged in a competition format. This is an extremely important in learning to perform under pressure, as close as possible to a real live fight.

Lots to learn and lots to practise. The main thing is to pick one thing at a time and work it in to your normal sparring. Don’t be lazy or panic and revert to type. Keep trying new methods and work to improve your weaknesses. At the end of the day it’s all about practise. The more you do the better you get. Work hard and work to win. Until next time…