Sparring taller, more skilled opponents

[Akuma]

As my first dan testing is approaching, I am increasingly spendinging more time sparring the higher ranked black belts. What I have found is that, as a shorter guy, while I can spar with lower ranks of greater height...sparring the higher ranks with greater height is proving difficult. I can't use the same tactics,i.e, overpowering, crowding or being more aggressive. Because their skill level is greater, I often find myself getting nailed if I try to do anything but be defensive on the taller guys. I know that alot of it is just learning and improving my own skill level...but I'm also hoping to avoid as many bruises as possible :) Any suggestions? peace

[Bugeisha]

I feel your pain. At 5'6", most people I spar are taller than me. I tried for a long while to get inside their reach, spar close-up. I finally realized why it wasn't working that well. In taekwondo, you're trained to fight at a relatively long range. Not only was I fighting in a range that I wasn't that-well trained for, but part of the deal is that my opponents were trained to strike opponents before they reach close range. What I'm doing now is staying just outside of my opponent's reach. I try to make it look like I'm in reach while I'm actually not. When they strike, they fall short, and I counter while they're off balance. So far, it's working much better.
So in short, try counter-fighting. Evade and strike.
I'm no expert, but this is what's worked for me :)
Good luck!

[tkdcanada]

I second that. I am always shorter than anyone I fight. I am only 5 foot three so........ I have found that doing the above works sometimes but I experience all the same problems as Len too. Still working on solutions :o

[nythius]

I don'tknow how much taller you guys are talking but i'm only 5'9" and so i'm shorter than a fairnumber of my opponents. While i find that in fighting most of my larger opponents i can make up for my lack of size with speed, there comes a point when being on hte short end of a height differential can be advantageous.

You see, in my dojang I often spar this one student who is much taller and stronger than i am(6'7" and about 260lbs of muscle). Ya scary...but oen thing i fidn is that eventho he has long arms and legs, i can take away his arms by assuming a slighty lower stance. So effectively i force him to use his kicks, which are formidably powerful but not ridiculously fast. Anyone without half their weapons is going to be a reduced threat.


Another idea: So they're taller...don't attack their head. My favorite way is visualizing a 3-4-5 triangle...if they have to attack down and you attack straight (at their abdomen) it makes up forhte reach they have. So in short...don't go out of your wayto attack high. Don't force things.

But of course as you mentioned it's more a mater of practice than anything and different tactics work at different times so all you can do is keep giving it your all. WHen the time comes you'll be ready

[Estrella]

What annoys me about sparring many taller opponents( I do karate, not Tae Kwon Do, by the way, but when it comes to sparring,you run into similar problems) is the fact that I can't get in close. I'm not short or anything(I'm nearly 5'3.5" and if that's not average, I don't know what is!!), but everytime I try and hit them, they use a kick with a ridiculously long leg and I can't get in range. What usually happens is that they kick and because those legs are so damn big(and strong) I end up backing off, then, of course, they see my weak point. From then on it's usually lots of fake kicks from my opponent, because they know I'll back off. When I don't back off, Sod's law kicks in and they do a real kick, which I'm sometimes not quick enough to block because I've been expecting them to just chamber to throw me off guard. It's incredibly annoying, but I've been reading this thread and I'm sure I can only get better...I hope. :D

[DragonMind]

If I may interject; long legs only make a difference if you stay in front of them. TKD and Karate fighters seem to like going back and forth in straight lines. Try getting your opponent to throw that kick out and then step forward on a 45 degree angle. You'll be inside the kick and lots of targets to choose from. Plus, their weight and balance will be temporarily occupied with recovering the kick.

[De_Franza]

I second Barry's advice, to move laterally instead of forward-and-back. If you get close and too the side of someone, the other side of them is out of the equation, which is sweet!

Fighting taller folks is tough, I've had a shred of sucess with lurking at the edge of their range and trying to catch their kicks or punches and pull them off balance. Once you have an opening, work it with combos, not just one punch, you've got to capitalize on the openings because of the reach disadvantage.

If your school allows sweeps... the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

and once in a while jump up and bonk them on the top of their head, this totally freaks out tall people. :eek:

[Estrella]

Sounds good, especially the bonking on the head bit. ;)

You've just pointed out to me that we tend to move in straight lines-I realised you're right, thinking back on how both me and the majority of the class move. Now why do we all do that? They don't exactly teach us to move that way... :confused:

I do like the idea of stepping forward on an angle though. Keeps the element of surprise on my side... :D

[Adam]

I'm one of the tallest guys in my class (which isn't saying much as at least 80% is made up of kids) but I'm not the tallest. We have a red belt that has to be around a foot taller than I am and he's a nightmare to fight. He's too tall for me to go for the head and he has this uncanny ability to block any available targets with those tree trunks he calls legs. As a tall person I would say that your best bet is to either stay just out of range and catch them when they're off balance or (preferably) get really good at moving laterally. You might be surprised to dicover they're not used to having to defend this new direction. If you are quick enough you could always try a double punch followed by a front kick. Be careful in tournaments and such as it may cause a judge to think you pushed them. Just remember to keep your hands closed and lock your elbows before you pull back. But like I said if you are quick enough and you catch them right as they start to lift their leg for a kick you should be able to plant them on the ground. If nothing else they'll think twice before they use that kick again.

[SRK85]

If your short like me you have to make sure to stay closer to your oppoent so they cant hit you. I always get my *** kicked when I spar my instructor but thats always going to happen until I achieve the same skill my instructor has.

[tkdcanada]

As a short person, I agree. Stay in close and learn to kick at a short distance. Staying out of their range doesn't benefit at all because you have too far to go to get in close enough to do anything offensive.

[DragonMind]

Sounds good, especially the bonking on the head bit. ;)

You've just pointed out to me that we tend to move in straight lines-I realised you're right, thinking back on how both me and the majority of the class move. Now why do we all do that? They don't exactly teach us to move that way... :confused:

I do like the idea of stepping forward on an angle though. Keeps the element of surprise on my side... :D
The key is to not fight their fight. You dictate the distance, the angles, and the tempo so that your opponent is always off his/her game. If you can find a copy, check out Danny Anderson's books on sparring (http://www.danandersonkarate.com/). Danny is one of the masters at sparring.