Sparring tips or advice?

i take krav maga. just got my green belt. we spar on weds and thurs after class. i live an hour away from where i train so I usually don't get much practice. the moves we are allowed to do are straight punches high and low, hooks, uppercuts, frontkicks, and roundkicks. can anyone give me any tips? im horrible at defending. i think i have a pretty good roundkick.





help!Sparring tips or advice?
First if you only practice at the school you will never get better than mediocre.You must practice at home at least an additional 3 or 4 hours a week. Incorporate practice into everyday tasks such as cleaning up the house walking the dog or any other chores you may have. This is very old school but it works wonders.


Sparring tips:


Always counter with an attack.


Always proceed with combinations, never do one thing and stop.


When the opponent rushes in use a front kick to push them back and counter attack immediately.


Move up and to the blind side (that is the side away from their weapons aka hands).


Ki up loudly during the attack, it sets you free and startles the opponent.


Never be flat footed.


Keep moving. Stay loose don't tense up it will slow you down and waste energy.


Many fighters drop their guard when the kick especially side kicks; don't be one of them.Sparring tips or advice?
Well just being horrible at defending is not very specific. Is your foot work and positioning bad? What about your timing and ability to block or parry something? Are your reactions to slow to do that or are you to jumpy and over reacting and getting into trouble that way? Is your eyesight poor and you can't see things? If you can but you just don't recognize what your opponent is going to do is different than not being able to see or hear at all much like a student that sits to far back in the class room and needs glasses or a hearing aid.





Consider all these things and isolate where the problems lie and work on your defense for starters-offense is easy but a good defense with a good offense will make you much tougher and better. Start doing some foot work and distancing drills if that is the problem. If it is hand-eye coordination start working on that aspect or if it is your ability to see and recognize what your opponent is going to do have them slow it down to half speed and watch how they set it up, lead into it, and what they do when they execute it. Also work on your speed and reactions and then don't let them get to that point. If you are over reacting once again slow things down and you go defense only while they go offense only but also ask them not to be a machine gun and just overwhelm you. Anyone can do that when you only being defense but it will allow you to practice your defensive skills at a speed you can manage and eventually get better. Some students avoid things that they are not good at and so it never changes. Take that negative and make it into a positive!





Also talk to your instructor. Perhaps you are missing some key things even though he has explained them or shown them to you. Sometimes students don't grasp things and start to put it all together until that connection takes place between them and their instructor again. Watch some of the other students that are good and see what they do and how they use their skills and employ things. Also watch the bad ones and see if you are doing some of the same things and if so STOP doing them. I can go on for a couple of pages I will close with one last thing.





Sparring for beginners is 80% physical and 20% mental since they lack good skills, and experience; they literally have nothing else to rely on. As your skills develop though and you gain experience and practice that should start to change to where sparring is eventually 80% mental and 20% physical. Do some of what I recommend here and see if it does not help you to improve and then take the same approach with your offensive skills and techniques as well.
I just had to chime in because of what Jacky Chen said.. Krav Maga is not a wimpy martial art. Watch Fight Quest on instant Netflix (or the clips I posted below) and check out the Krav Maga episode. It was designed for warfare and is brutal and ruthless. In the episode, Doug is training with a female instructor and while standing in line she says, ';today i am going to teach you about the elbow..'; and WHAM she nails him in the face with an elbow.. This is in Israel where they have to be ready for any kind of attack at any moment. I don't practice Krav Maga, I'm into kung fu and tai chi chuan, but have respect for all the arts because they all have something good to offer.
i dont know if u left this out but back kicks are really good counter attacks when someones coming at you so if u can do that it will definitely help ur defense





and if u have a strong friend if ur martial arts use chest protectors have a friend ur size wear it to just practice ur kicks and u could also buy one of those kick things shaped like a human those things with the sand in the bottom to practice at home
i would say for a good guard you would want the elbows in tight and make sure it covers half the body and half the head (i found this to be good advise myself) to get the full extent of your round house you should try and get he best opportunity for it like having to punching before you use it. Try and regally change your direction to keep them on there toes, being to close to them could be a good defence if they are on the attack. Hope that helps :)
Always keep a good stance, hands up, elbows down, chin tucked, fight on the balls of your feet so it is easier to check kicks. If you have a good round kick, set it up with a 1-2 combination. The jab is almost always underutilized, and will set up good boxing combinations as well as kicks. Keep practicing and don't be afraid to get hit.
One tip is to watch your distance and don't flinch when someone tries to hit you. Keep your eyes open. Say to yourself that you will get hit but it's okay if I do.
Watch their torso, it will turn when they are about to hit, then kick straight into them with a push. Forget that watch their eyes crap - no one hits with their eyes.
krav manga are for pussys try muay thai