A Few Thoughts on Fighting Strategy

Or More Particularly Advice on Sparring for Beginners

Sammy has recently taken up sparring, and as a beginner I was watching her whilst we were sparring at home. You should first understand Sammy loves her Muay Thai and wants to be the best there is, so she will get me up when Im tired and ask if it is OK for her to kick seven bells out of me. So there we were and I was watching her, bearing in mind I have done a fair bit of sparring at different levels over the years and the odd real encounter or two. What I saw in her eyes was complete confusion. She knew the basic techniques that she had been taught and had drilled them to a fairly comfortable level with her partners during the class. But sparring is completely different, no set fighting strategy or pattern, no guaranteed response to a particular move. I have seen this many times over the years and is most certainly the reason why I always encourage sparring at all levels, as it familiarises you with the vagaries of fights. Even to the point that you need to understand that anything can happen.

So, I thought about how best I could describe to Sammy or beginners what they need to do, aside from wear a gum shield and all necessary safety equipment.

1/ I saw her eyes darting frantically about my body to see where the next attack was coming from. This is too slow and not necessary. The shoulders are the best gauge of a person’s movements or intent, height shifting for kicks and rotations for punches. Her query was what about looking into the eyes, and whilst I agree the eyes are the window to the soul, they don’t help you protect against being attacked, because some people can slam on a game face and hide true intent, just for a minute consider poker players.

2/ She was clearly confusing herself trying to decide what combination or attack to use and how on earth she could best implement it. This is the same the world over, experience simply allows you to stop thinking about a sequence of movements, but to feel the space and attack with whatever will work. As a beginner, you should get into the habit of attacking and then deconstructing why it worked or didn’t, modern video methods of your sparring will really help with this. If you see a space, then think about how to attack it, the fluidity of fighting means that by the time you have worked out how to hit the space, it will have been lost. Masters of this kind of fluid fighting are brazilian jujitsu fighters, in particular Rickson Gracie is a great example of attacking the gaps.

3/ Sammy was bothered by the shear numbers of possible attacks. I tried to show her in reality your choices are limited, consider a boxer, who has a jab, a cross, an uppercut and hook. Four basic moves, but they work them well and they make them happen when a space appears. Fighting or sparring isn’t fancy, it is cold and clinical and that is simplicity. In my art Wing Chun, it is a very simple art with finite principles, making the basics work. The chi sau training allows us to feel where combinations might work and try them in a safe environment.

4/ Sammy got into the habit of backing up in a straight line as a response to any attack. Straight line movements is always bad, but backing up gives the opponent advantage and edge in continuing to attack. Try to respond by fighting or defending by moving forward. This can put the advantage back into your hands, and a semblance of feeling back in control.

5/ You have been taught the basic stance and footwork, never forget the importance of this, everything you do in sparring is guided by your footwork. If you are off balance, your kicks will not work, if you are too far forward you can be pulled over, if you lean back you can be pressed. Stay upright in guard and get the legs back into position. Use the front leg to protect kicks to the legs and ribs or midriff. Front leg moves you back, rear leg moves you forward. Try not to drop the hands to deal with kicks at mid level, elbows yes, but stay in guard and protect your head.

English: High kick in muay thai. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

6/ Stay relaxed, the more you tense, the more you will struggle to breathe, let the punches and kicks flow, and get used to practicing with a mouth guard as it will help your aerobic ability. Nothing like sparring to show you how tiring three minutes can be.

7/ Enjoy the training and try to work at slow speed at first to avoid the panic of getting hit.

If you have further thoughts on fighting strategy or tips for beginners, or want to agree or disagree with anything I say, then feel free to comment below, maybe you are a beginner and have a question to be answered, then comment below, an