How to Deal With A Good Counter-Fighter

I once heard, and used to believe, that an aggressive style of sparring, where you are consistently on the offense and going forward is the most effective way to spar and that these types of fighters are the most dangerous. But as I have learned to adjust to many different types of fighters over the years, I no longer think that way, at least for me. In my experience, the most dangerous type of stand-up fighters is the one who is an effective counter-striker. This type of fighter typically has excellent timing and waits for his opponent to make an offensive mistake (often via telegraphing) before counter-striking.

Counter fighters don’t waste a lot of energy chasing their opponents around the ring, but to think that they don’t at least occasionally go on an offensive blitz, perhaps leading to a knockout is untrue. If fighting full contact, a good counter striker that hits his opponent with a hard counterstrike will often go “all-out” to finish the fight if he senses that his opponent is in trouble.

So how should one deal with a good counter-fighter? First, we have to remember to change things up. If we are consistently throwing the same combination together that typically works for us against lesser skilled opponents, the counter fighter is going to read that and be all over us. Note, however, that that doesn’t mean we need to try movements that we don’t typically use. Muhammad Ali basically only used his left jab and right cross when he fought but his opponents rarely knew when he was going to throw them. Second, I recommend the use of feints. A feint is a false lead used to deceive an opponent into thinking a particular attack is coming, when in reality, you are planning something different. The goal of a fake is to get your opponent to commit himself (which is a good thing when fighting a counter fighter) so that his timing is off. If you can make his counterstrike ineffective, you should be able to land some big blows as you go on the offense.

Good luck, and again, let me know how it works!

How to spar against someone who always runs away!

This type of fighter can be really frustrating at times to spar against. You want to hit them, maybe even show them your punching and kicking power, but it seems that every time you put a nice combination together the opponent retreats really fast to avoid getting hit. It kind of reminds me of one of boxing’s classic fights: the rematch between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran in November of 1980. During this fight, Duran wanted to go “toe-to-toe” with Leonard, confident that if he did so, he could take Leonard out. Then something that will be long remembered happened. In round 8, after having received considerable taunting by Leonard, and a lot of footwork to avoid a slugfest, Duran quit by walking back to his corner because he was apparently so frustrated.

Let’s get back to sparring strategy. You want to hit your opponent but he keeps moving away. Instead of wasting so much of your energy by hitting nothing but the air because your opponent keeps retreating, you need to do something to trick your opponent so that he doesn’t run away. I recommend slowly inching your way in to the opponent until you are close to “within range control” (the second of four zones in Kenpo sparring). Recall that “within range control” is where we are close enough to at least be able to touch the opponent. If we can inch our way in without the opponent quickly running away, which can be done with consistent practice, we can then deceptively explode with our offense and hit the opponent before he is able to take off retreating. Try it out, and let me know how it works.

How to Spar an Aggressive Opponent

You know the type. I am discussing those people in sparring who are constantly trying to take your head off and that are almost always on the attack. Here is what NOT to do: what most people do! Most individuals back up to try to avoid getting hit from aggressive sparring partners, and then to try to counter-attack. This is not a good fighting strategy. Backing up is NOT the answer. Action is faster than reaction and it won't be long before you get "clipped" with a nasty shot.

Here is what has worked for me (and many other fighters) that have had to spar these types of opponents:

You need to stop the opponent's aggressive offense before he is able to build his momentum. One way to do this is to try to hit him as soon as he starts his offensive sequence. This involves good timing and perception on your part, but with enough practice and consistency in sparring, you will discover its advantage as a method of defeating this type of fighter.

Try it out and let me know how it works.

Great Sparring Drill

Watch most beginners spar and you'll notice the desperation in their faces, as well as in their offense and defense. Most punches are attempted "home runs" as the fighter tries everything to ward off the oncoming attack and land the "big punch". The fighters, especially in the early stages of training, are often timid about being hit, and are way too tense, resulting in slower reflexes on defense and the tendency to get tired really quick. The same occurs among intermediate and advanced ranked students, particularly those who spar very infrequently. You will also notice a natural tendency for beginners to close their eyes, both when being struck at, as well as when on the offense. This is a bad habit to develop and one that must be overcome.

One of my favorite sparring drills that I developed several years ago is as follows. Two people partner up. One person removes his belt, while the other wraps his belt around the waist of himself and his partner. The end of the belt is then tied together so that both partners are literally within breathing distance of one another. The two partners are wearing their handgear and begin throwing punches at one another. Obviously being that close together, it is imperative to (1) keep your hands up at all times (2) keep your elbows in to avoid shots to the kidney, ribs, and midsection (3) keep your eyes open at all times. This drill is extremely tiring and forces one to learn to put hand combinations together, to pick targets appropiately, to avoid dropping one's hands as is so characteristic in point fighters, and to gain confidence in fighting in-close or what we in Kenpo call the control manipulation range.

This drill can be practiced with a partner for any length of time, but for a good workout, I recommend 3, two or three minute rounds. Once loosed from being tied up with your partner, and you return to your regular continuous sparring routine, you will find your hand speed is lightning fast, that you will be able to hit with awesome power, and that your combinations will flow with excellent continuity.

Try it today, and let me know how it works for you.

Sparring - Are you getting the real deal?

Too often martial artists spend the vast majority of their time working on kata or weapons-based kata. Parents, especially at McDojos, view their child’s success and skill based on how many trophies little Johnnie can win while doing everything in the air. Even worse, martial art studio owners can boast of how many “world champions” he has produced in point-sparring, a type of fighting which is highly conducive for kids of all ages. Why? Because it is very possible that little Johnnie could outpoint an adult 5-3, but wouldn’t be able to defend himself against the same opponent for more than 30 seconds if there were no stops.

I know what your thinking. I must be one of the guys who have not had much success in kata or point-sparring in tournaments. Not true. I too have “played the game” with a considerable amount of success, but this whole sport karate thing is really starting to get carried away. Kids as young as age 7 or 8 are obtaining their black belts. By the time these students are 16, some of them are as high as 4th degree black belt!

In a real street encounter, there are no stops every time a punch or kick makes contact. There are no warnings or disqualifications if someone kicks below the waist, or for punches too hard to the body or the head. There are no “time-outs” so that your instructor can give you a few pointers of how to land a quick reverse punch or lead leg side kick for the final point. No, I am not recommending that full-contact sparring is a necessity for everyone, but I do advocate continuous fighting with a certain degree of heavy contact.

Kenpo Karate (and many other arts for that matter) is known for its practical and lethal street self-defense techniques. But there is a big difference from being able to move fast, and hit with considerable accuracy when the attack is choreographed and your uki moves exactly as planned. It is a whole different ball game trying to make it all work in continuous sparring when nothing is choreographed and the guy staring back at you is trying to take your head off.
We need to spar, and we need to spar often. We need to make our fights more “real” so that we are better prepared for an actual street encounter. Through continuous fighting, we build up endurance, learn to put our combinations together more effectively, and truly learn what it is like to have to take a few hits and then come back. If the vast majority of our sparring sessions are point-fighting, we aren’t getting the real deal.

Martial arts is about many things, but the last I checked, self-defense is one of its top priorities. Is it not?

Why Sparring Must Be Linked With Consistent Practice of Self-Defense Techniques

In American Kenpo Karate, there are four key zones that we must always be aware when sparring.

The first is what we call "out of range control". Simply put, out of range control is when we are sparring with an opponent but he is far enough away where we cannot reach him with either our hands or feet. There is still is an element of control, however, since a quick and deceptive feint could very well get the opponent to move and be caught off guard for a possible set-up maneuver. The second zone is what we call "within range control" and this occurs when we are close enough to be able to touch the opponent. The third zone is "penetration control" which is where we have passed the opponent's defense (particularly his lead hand and leg) and are now able to effectively reach the opponent with strong punches and or kicks to the body, legs, and/or head. Finally, the fourth zone is called "manipulation control", and as the name states, here we (or our opponent if he has penetrated our range to this last zone) are close enough to be able to apply various joint locks, chokes, and so forth.

It is the last zone, manipulation control, that so many of our self-defense techniques in Kenpo are taught against. Martial artists who have little to no knowledge of manipulation control, and how to effectively defend against attacks once an opponent has entered this last zone, are missing this key component to their training. One merely needs to watch one night of UFC fighting to know that good fighters are often able to get close enough to us to be able to apply these chokes and/or locks.

While I am a firm believer in sparring, if all that is done at a particular martial arts school is kata (forms) and/or sparring, I truly believe you need to seek knowledge of practical self-defense techniques designed where the opponent is close enough to us to have applied a lock or choke. Additionally, knowledge of "bonkai" as they call it in traditional styles is not enough. One must consistently work with a resistant partner, and change partners frequently to ensure that you can make your techniques work on people of all sizes and shapes.

With enough practice and skill level, one can also learn to apply self-defense techniques directly into sparring practice.

Sparring Tips for Beginners

I have been training in Karate for about six months now, and my forms are coming along fine. However, I am having a very difficult time with sparring. Do you have any suggestions for a beginner to improve sparring?


If you fight often, you are going to get really good at sparring, especially when you are fighting people that are better than you. It won't be long when you can dominate fights against other beginners because of your experience in fighting good fighters.

Here are a few tips:
(1) the weakest area of Kenpoists (generally speaking) is their kicks. So work on delivering fast and effective kicks when putting your combinations together.
(2) commit to hitting; don't be hesitant when you strike - go for it!
(3) don't just use your lead leg and lead hand like so many do (e.g. use your reverse punch)
(4) take a zone of sanctuary when your opponent attacks
(5) don't look at the target you are trying to hit
(6) shadow-box
(7) be patient and you WILL see results!