by Jules Willis

Created on: January 22, 2008

Martial Arts Sparring Tips

There are many ways to be prepared for sparring. Some of them are technical in nature and some are psychological. In the psychological category, underestimating the opponent is extremely dangerous. Seeing your opponent for the first time and evaluating them based solely on physique is a major mistake. Your sparring partner may look like they are out of shape or slow, and surprise you! It is necessary to determine your psychological strategy beforehand. Reading Sun Tzu's, The Art of War is helpful in preparation for an important tournament, or, for that matter, for any adversarial situation. In the book, Sun Tzu goes over many martial concepts that can be interpreted in ways that will improve sparring techniques both from a psychological standpoint and from a strategic standpoint. Obviously one of the key points is not to underestimate the enemy. If at all possible, it is advisable to watch the opponent prior to the match. See how they fight. What do they do to defend themselves? How do they leave themselves open to attack? Strategizing along with the observation can be of great value. This enables you to evaluate the fighter and their strengths and weaknesses prior to your sparring with them.

In terms of technical points, stance is very important. In sparring it is important to not give the opponent anymore striking surface than is necessary. A stance from side face will usually accomplish this. The areas your opponent can strike are significantly reduced in this position, yet it is still possible to effectively land good offensive techniques. It is especially important that in whatever stance a fighter chooses to use, they keep in mind where the opponent is. Being aware of where the opponent is in relation to the your body is vital. The awareness of the range of motion that you or your opponent has is crucial. It is impossible to judge the positioning to block, parry, strike or kick without the awareness of the position of your opponent in relationship to you. Anytime an offensive technique is attempted and missed it leaves you open to an attack. It also consumes more energy to strike and miss than it does to strike and hit the target. Plainly, anytime an offensive technique is done, it leads to an opening for the opponent. The advantage is in the strike hitting the mark and not allowing the opening to be of sufficient time or space to give the opponent an advantage.

Movement is very important in a sparring match. In the form of Karate

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