Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Controlling your opponent

Another good technique to use in Taekwondo tournaments is to control the opponent. Most fighters who are of little experience will mirror your stances and moves. For example if you switch your stance to left foot back, they may copy, or if you slide back they will slide forward, if you slide forward they will slide backward. This is a great technique as you can lure your opponent into certain distances to allow you to score. Example:
When sparring and you notice your opponent is copying your stances/movement, slide back and then quickly forward again, your opponent will slide toward you as you slide toward them, use the side kick to catch them out and score.

Another technique is to sidekick your opponent everytime they attempt to attack you, knock them off balance and set up the opportunity to double up your counter attack, for example after the first side kick, fire machine gun style sidekicks to score numerous time.

Also always be aware of your distance, you dont want to be caught with an easy hit just because you misjudged how long the opponents legs were.
Always be aware of the ring, dont get pushed toward the edge of the ring because this would give you disadvantage. Try and keep your opponent under pressure and train your reflexes so that you can dominate, remember that fitness is essential because you will become exhausted in the ring and that is when you are most likely to get caught.

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