Strategy

Sparring is one of the hardest parts of studying a martial art. Here you will attempt to recreate some of the techniques that you've learned in the classes in a free form situation. Beginners have no need to worry their will be no sparring at your leve. Once you've got a good base then you can go on to very structured sparring situations and then into sparring itself. The majority of the sparring at The Academy is organised so that it's not too hard, but still rigorous. There is occasional hard sparring mainly only for those going into competition. A hard sparring focus was a format we used for a long time and our sparring and competition performance was not as good as now. The method we use today will build your confidence and technique by doing lots of light sparring. We believe this is the way to build successful fighting skill.

Timing and distance are the two most important aspects of sparring, as is having a forwards focus. Technique comes after this. Often in the classes you will be asked to do various forms of isolation sparring where you use only one or two tools e.g. the jab or lead kick. In this way you start to individualise the use of hand and foot weapons and understand how timing and distance make a world of difference.

Take care of your opponent: If you don't have a wide pool of training partners your own width of experience suffers. If you are finding it easy to land hits on an opponent then work on building your defence or work on more sophisticated attacks. Trust is important here. Adapt your level to the person you are sparring with. Most people have to work the next day so they don't want to get injured for your moment of glory.

Academy members can get copies of our leaflets on sparring and other themes. Here is an excerpt from one of our leaflets:

Here are just some ideas to use when sparring. Divorce yourself from the idea of winning NOW. This is training not competition! Here you are working on skill development, placement and intent. Only judge your mistakes on the theme you are working not on how often you are being hit.

Measure / evasion games

1. Concentrate on snapback to make your opponent miss
2. Morse code your jab with snapback to understand the reach of your jab
3. Pressurize with a hunting / forward leaning, bob and weave sort of style until your opponent responds, then disappear whilst he punches, then return to pressurize.
4. Spar using parries only or body evasion only or footwork evasion only. Isolation sparring like this builds real skill which can be recombined later.

Five ways of attack

Combat principles are as old as man's study of how to beat his opponent. Many of the principles were known and used by swordsmen throughout the centuries and it's in fencing that we get the best analysis of combat in terms of time and distance. In empty hand combat in modern times, though there was a body of knowledge in most schools there was no common theory on how to use differing strategies. Bruce Lee changed all that with his five ways of attack. Bruce had a fencing background, as his brother was a good fencer, so he integrated his knowledge of both areas. The five ways of attack give you a tool of analysis so that you can see new ways to address a combative problem. You rarely use them when you are fighting, though you may use techniques derived from or using all the principles. Rather I find I can look at my sparring and realise that I'm only approaching a problem one way and the five ways of attack give me a reference for other ways to address the problem.

The five ways of attack

SDA: Single direct attack. This is doing a single attack well and is often the approach used in arts like Karate. Make your blow unstoppable.

ABC: Attack by combination. Any combination of blows from hands and legs will do. Combinations are hard to stop but make sure that each part of the combination is done well.

ABD: Attack by drawing. This is where you lure your opponent so that he exposes himself to your counter attack. Getting him to over-stretch, or strike into a hole you have exposed on purpose, are common gambits.

HIA/FIA/ABT: Hand immobilisation and foot immobilisation were the terms used by the late Bruce Lee and Attack by Trapping is the term used by Dan Inosanto. This is a great technique in that it restricts your opponent's ability to move and thus increases your percentages. There are various forms from simple to complex. Work on the simple ones first as they still work at the highest level and realise that for others to work you have to have a degree of sensitivity which takes time and patience. Don't worry if you can't feel all the things that you're told you should be feeling. It just takes time. Concentrate on getting simple hand grabs and foot traps and wait for the sensitivity to come. Drills like Hubud if done well speed this process.

PIA:Progressive indirect attack. This means that you fake to cover distance. Like attack by combination in many ways but you use some of the strikes to cover your move thus it is progressive, and indirect, in that what appears to be your intention isn't really - it's just part of your game plan. This is often seen in Jun Fan techniques like the Hi Lo Hi entrance to trapping and the three count entry in stick fighting. However it can be used in almost every area. Feinting and faking are a core part of every good fighter's armoury.

The five ways of attack overlap and interact. Don't worry if you can't see how they work straight away. Work on techniques in the classes and the instructor will show you how common techniques can be transformed by applying a different mind set to them. Remember in the end it's just fighting and that your body will tell you best what technique to use. The five ways of attack are reference tools to help you on your way. Internalise them and relax and do what is instinctive. The ultimate aim is to achieve a naturalness, to have no-form. This isn't led by the head but by the heart.