So I attended my first tournament this weekend, there was only one other person in my Division and weight class. I did put up a decent performance but probably not my best. A little back ground... the rules for this tournament were advertised online as full contact to the body and very light contact to the head. I didn't find out till after the match started that they changed the rules to NO contact to the head. Constructive criticism is appreciated! I'm in the Red hogu and red helmet. Any how enjoy the video: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=626EW0JqbPI"]Tae Kwon Do Sparring NY OPEN 2008 - YouTube[/ame] I lost the match, and got silver.
that looks good for a first fight i would just say work a lot on your footwork thats what made a huge differance in this fight, i found a good couple of videos on youtube for drills and stuff so i would def give that a try, keep your stance low and once your footwork is sorted out i think you will really improve
TBH I was surprised you lost that one. You kept side-on well and your movement was good. Fair play for throwing punches (are they WTF recommended now?). There were some rather uncommitted techniques thrown with no expectation for them to work. Don't throw moves for the sake of it. The main critique I would say is how you seemed to lose your "fire" after the first discipline, though your comeback at the start of round 2 made up for that. That and allowing the camerawoman to talk all over the show
also non wtf'er here... throughout the whole video my sidekick senses were ringing in my ears! I don't know if I have simply fought too much semi contact but there were few times when that guy jumped up and down or performed half-hearted kicks. These are the moments to throw in a sidekick from hell and since the rules were full contact no holding back needed! Btw why was that dude whining around? Did you hit too hard?
Hey Unhfireboy! Not bad for your first tournament! Actually, it was pretty impressive. Couple of thing. When you have an opponent who likes to kick so much, learn to move away and block hit kicks and basically, let the guy tire himself out. You can practice block and counter punch of most of the kicks that he performed which scores you points. This is especially good in these types of continuous sparring matches. You kept dropping your hands every time you kicked - bad habit. Learn to keep your hands up, and since this is MA type sparring, you need to learn to keep them more away from your body (less of the boxing stand which is good for close coaters fighting and not MA). This also forcers to have your opponent to be more at bay and will give you better combinations for counter attacks. Remember to use more combinations. You used a lot of front leg kicks, which is good as they are much faster then the back leg kicks. A good and quick front leg kick would be good for you to practice as you have a long front leg, and I have a feeling you would be very quick with it. That helps to keep the opponent at bay and it’s a REALLY good tactics to use as a counter attack when they are coming at you. Also, learn to switch your stands from traditional to South Pole. This is one of the best counter moves, because it’s very quick and you are automatically in a ready position and with one step you are out of reach for the guy. Listen, for your first tournament, you should be VERY proud! You did real good. If you keep practicing, you will get quick and like I said, you have a long reach, you need to learn to use it.
Ok, I am a WTF'er so I am aware of light, no contact to the head rules especially at small local tournaments. Ok, so you tagged his face twice, that is probably the difference in the fight right there. Live and learn from the experience. About the video tape. KEEP YOUR HANDS UP! I don't care what type of tournament you go to, keep your hands up to protect your face. You may as well get into the practice of protecting your head if you are going to be in tournaments that DO include headshots. The guy you were sparring learned what happens when you don't keep your hands up and he bitched about it. You got warned, he whinned! Call it a draw! Any way, as has been stated work on your footwork. Something I still work very hard to improve. Bring your feet a bit closer and when you bounce (which I personally don't) only raise your heel just off the floor. No need to go so high. Never through a one kick shot. Throw double and triple kick combinations. I liked how you were using your hands to set up some techniques in the 2nd round. This is something I wish more competitors would start to do. It gives your opponent one more thing to think about. I like to strike, kick, kick, strike. This keeps you pressing the action and if your opponent isn't ring savvy, they will step out. An "impression" judges remember. Try dictating what your opponent does by switching your stance from rt foot lead to left foot lead. I may be wrong but it looked to me like you were the one changing when your opponent changed. All in all, a very good first outing I must say. Nothing you can't be proud of and your basics are sound. The video will give a nice view of somethings to work on as will the input from members here. Work on a few things at a time and make them habit. Don't try to add everything at one time. Keep the videos coming and you will see improvement.
Being that I am not familiar with how you are taught to spar, the only comment I am going to make is don't drop your hands.
alright i fight usat/wtf 1st. BEND YOUR KNEES, your roundhouse looks like a sideways rising kick, even with good contact it doesn't score, sad fact of life 2nd. Learn to kick while backing up, as he's coming in at you your not fireing a counter as you back up, its kinda a waste of energy to just back up and not answer him back 3rd. learn to use push kicks and side kicks to keep him at your kicking distance, as he's coming in with those goofy knee hop things of his, use a front leg side kick to stop him and immediatly throw a double butterly round at him What rank are you and what weight class is this? looks like heavyweights if i'm not mistaken (i'm 6'4 and 195 lbs so i fight heavyweight) okay now this is how i'd beat you..... I'd stay in really close to you, litteraly standing on your front leg to take that off the equation and that'd throw your game off considerably. I'd stay chest to chest with your and slide in and out at 45 degree angles to you scoreing one or two quick roundhouses and then moving right back in on you. For two reasons, 1.) your a front leg fighter (its not a bad thing its what i am as well) 2.) you don't seem to be as good at close as you are at a longer kicking range. So work on angles, push kicks, front leg sides, bending you knees more when you roundhouse, and drill fights where you stand toe to toe with people to get more used to it. hope all this helps for what its worth edit.... hands down are okay when your both outside of kicking range but the closer you get you need to bring em up understand?
HwaRang... All comments are appreciated regardless of affiliation! red-TKD.... I felt the same way when I reviewed the video, I definitely missed some chances to score. I accidentally hit him in the face after my shots glanced off his hogu, he was a good actor. CatWise.... I noticed I dropped my hands a couple of times, I'm usually pretty good about keeping them up but being my first tournament I guess I just got excited... On a side note.. do you train in the Queensbury area? If so with who? Narcsarge.... Thanks for your input I did notice I was bouncing pretty high and my coach mentioned it during the break. I have been working on throwing combinations, its a bad habit I have even during class so I really need to work on it. I started working on double rounds about a week before the tournament and wasn't really comfortable with them also my physical conditioning needs work. estranged13.... it is yellow belt division heavy weights (I'm 200 lbs 5'11") I know there are some techniques I need to hone and refine and practice so they become second nature. There are some sparring counters I've learned but haven't internalized so they don't come natural. a big Thank you to everyone who gave me input, my next tournament isn't till February I plan on training hard the next few months. I know some drills I can work on with out a partner but there are some I do need a partner..
Hey Unhfireboy, You also drop your hands when kicking, which also telegraphs your kicks. No, at the moment I live in Florida and Train in Tampa area. I am part of Hapkido International, FCS and Modern Arnis. I will be in the Glens Falls area for Christmas and hope to visit your school. I will need a new place to train when I move back to New York (ones a New Yorker, always a New Yorker - know what I mean?) Florida is too hot for me. Keep at it, you did really good in your first tournament.
Catwise, I used to live/train in Tampa/St.Pete's couple years back. You ever been to Paul Acklin's Superkicks in St. Pete's? Unhfireboy2007, doesn't help that the tournament officials changed the rules right at the last second. I could give you the token "Well, keep training hard and you'll do great next time", but really I want to tell you that if the rules change again without notice and you get penalised for head shots, drop the oppo with a spinning hook kick to the face. At least you can get some satisfaction from scoring your first KO in a tourny
I think your opponent should have been far too embarrassed to accept the win. He went from prancing pony to wounded duck. You missed opportunities, yes. But you kept up the pressure and controlled the fight. Stuart
Unhfireboy, Like I said I will be in the New York area again (Hopefully) from Dec. 22 till Jan. 4. Christmas just isn’t' Christmas without the cold and snow. It will be a family holiday/vacation trip. I don't know how much time I am going to have, but I definitely plan on visiting your dojo. Eventually I plan on returning to New York and one of the things that keep me from that is the fact that my school is really good and I have one of the best instructors you could ever hope for. He has a unique way of making sure that your style can adapt from hard to soft, and that is not that easy. I will see if we can get together for a little sparring. If I'm driving, I will bring my gear, if flying - well it’s another bag to carry, but we will see. I am warning you though; I am MUCH older now, and definitely not as quick as I was back in my 20'ies. (Plus having kids does take a toll on your body). My sparring days in tournaments are over, but I still practice for fun. I can make good observations and stuff, but not quite the same when it comes to doing it as I was when I was your age. But I will be happy to give you some pointers and it would be fun to spar with someone different that the same guys in the gym. Superfoot, I heard about Superkick's in St. Pete's but not much. I am actually training in Clearwater/Largo area. Top Martial Arts is the name of the school. It’s a small school, nothing fancy, but the instructions are superb! The instructor is VERY good and has been doing this all his life. He is also well rounded in many techniques, and has a lot of experience in Tournaments. He trained with world champions in kickboxing, so his sparring training is very good. We also have another 5th Degree Black Belt that comes to class and works with us, so it’s a double bonus! Superfoot where do you train now?
I know Clearwater quite well. Been there a few times when I was living in Tampa. Lovely place and great people. Haven't heard of Top Martial Arts but it sounds great. Last time I went I spent most of my time tanning my pasty complexion on Clearwater Beach I train in England near Manchester now, though I'm planning to take a trip to the Clearwater/St. Pete's/Tampa area next year for training.
