Kuk Sool Won of St Paul | Twin Cities Martial Arts with Classes for Kids, Adults, Families, and Workouts

There are so many Sparring Drills flying around the world it is hard to find good ones that work and are fun for everyone. So I thought I would make a comprehensive list of all the drills I know and enjoy. If you have any other sparring drills you would like me to include in this list please add the name and description of the drill in the comments below. Feel free to print them out and give them to your instructor as well.

Quick Terminology:

Jam: Defender “Jams” the motion of the attacker by moving in at the same time and attacking an open target.

Counter: Defender steps back and throws one or more strikes IMMEDIATELY after a wave of attack is over

* If you have a good drill I have not included please add the name and description of the drill in the comments section below

When you compete in sparring at a tournament a lot of newbies don’t think about the clock. Sparring matches at a tournament are only 2:00 (that’s 2 minutes). So what does this mean for you? You have to remember Point Sparring is not the real deal fighting match you would encounter while you are out-and-about. Point Sparring is a game to see who can score the most points in 2 minutes or less. Here are some tips when dealing with time in a Point Sparring match and how to use it to your advantage.

1. Efficiency

You only have 2 minutes to either win by a 5 point margin or score the most points. How do you do this the fastest? Head kicks. Kicks to head are worth 2 points compared to a kick to the body or any hand strike (1 point). The fastest way to get your five point margin or the most points is to mix in a couple head kicks with your other moves.

2. Signifier

Use the time you have left as a signifier. While you are sparring you can sort of gauge how much time is left in the match, or better yet, if you have a friend or family member timing it you will know exactly how much time is left. If you are down in points with time running out you know you will have to step it up and maybe use some riskier moves. If you are down by a lot you know you will have to start landing points fast or with a bunch of head kicks.

On the other hand, if you are up in points with time running out you want to slow the match down. You want to keep your adversary at a distance and hesitant to come in. Don’t move in straight lines, move around in a circle making you harder to catch.

3. Time Tactics

Some people swear by what I call “Time Tactics.” You will always come across a fighter who will do the exact same thing every time. As soon as your judge says “Go” they have jumped across the line as fast as they can to try and surprise you from the get-go. A lot of people will do this every time in a “sudden death”, “tie breaker”, or “next point wins” scenario. If you have a “Time Tactic” like this I would suggest dropping it. One reason is, if you win the first round, the person you fight in the second round knows exactly what you are doing and you will get destroyed it they have enough skill to stop you. This is especially true once you reach black belt level.

Bonus: Patience

Two minutes does not seem like a long time but it really can be. Don’t be in such a rush where you leave yourself open and make stupid mistakes. Be patient and keep your hands up. Good Luck.

One might argue that the front Handspring is the first advanced Falling Technique in our Martial Art. Handsprings always seem tough till you break your own mental barrier and figure out how to properly do a Handspring. Make sure you have proper padding , equipment, and spotting when first learning how to do Handsprings. A lot of people talk about how easy a handspring is. Remember this, it will only be easy through practice.

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Poll: What Rank Are You?

- Our first poll here on our Kuk Sool Blog so please vote and if you know anyone else online please send them an email or IM to vote too.

How Much Kuk Sool Do you Know?

- We break every rank down by techniques and forms to give you raw numbers on how many techniques there are, how many you know, and how close you are to knowing it all.

Lose 10 Pounds or More with Martial Arts

- I always get the questions “How do I lose weight when working out?” This post answers how to lose that weight you want with Kuk Sool

Video: Master Gary Evarts Breaking Demo

- Video I released from my personal stash from Troy 2006 of Master Evarts doing some pretty awesome breaking

Dissecting Your Rank

- Stuart Jo Kyo Nim from Texas Tech asked what we are all supposed to concentrate on at each rank. Ask and you shall receive.

Martial Arts is a surprisingly good way to lose a significant amount of weight if you are looking for that magical method. As with any other form of workout it will take hard work and a good work ethic to make it work. Here I list a couple things to think about to help shed those pounds while taking Martial Arts.



Go to the Workout Class

If your studio offers a specific workout class you should go. These types of classes are specifically structured to help you stay in shape, burn some calories, and do it in a fun way using all the Martial Arts you have been learning.

Push-Ups and Sit-Ups every time you practice

I recommend that after every practice you do three sets of a given number of Push-Ups and a given number of Sit-Ups. Maybe start at 20 (higher if you are in good shape) each and work your way up by ten each week. Make sure you do quality Push-Ups only dropping to your knees after your arms are shaking and you have maxed out on your feet. For Sit-Ups, cross your arms over your chest and touch your elbows to your knees each time.

Quality Practice

During your regular Martial Arts class, try your hardest and work it. Classes are usually only for about an hour and happen 3–4 times a week. Working hard should be a standard to get better at Martial Arts as well as get a good workout to burn those calories.

Run or Bike to and from Practice

I actually lost a lot of weight when I was younger just running the 2 miles two and from practice. Given, this becomes difficult when you live farther away (maybe you can use your bike). If you think your bag may get in the way, just strap it on and get joggin’. I advise a good walk when you have to carry your weapons. Same concept as not running with scissors.

Bonus

Eat Right

How do you expect to lose weight eating donuts every morning? Eat healthy needs to go along with losing weight. It is okay to branch out sometimes because we are human but always try to keep a healthy diet as much as possible.

Lift Weights

Find a fitness club and lift weights. Lifting weights actually burns a lot of calories at the gym and at home. When you build muscle it burns more calories to keep that muscle. Plus, lifting weights help fight Osteoporosis (especially in Women) when you age. If you do slow-controlled repetitions with the full range of motion you will experience faster gains and greater flexibility.

Get your game face on and spread the word it was another great week on this Kuk Sool Blog.  I am also coming home to Minnesota today, so if you are a Minnesota Kuk Sooler I will see you on Saturday.

Video: The Master Harmon’s (Never before seen video)

- Two Videos. Two Masters Harmon. Same Technique Set. Different Days.

Quick Tip on How to Win at Sparring

- Believe it or not. Small things can help you win at sparring and this is how.

Wrap Your Hands the Muay Thai Way

- Purdue KSW just got hand wraps for our Kickboxing, Pad-Striking Workout and this is how we wrap.

Sa Bum Nim Mike Nebgen and Meyerland Kuk Sool

- Arguably the best Kuk Sool School in the U.S.

Where is this Kuk Sool Boat Going?

- Preview of what is coming up in the coming weeks on this blog. Keep reading and spread the word.

Video: Kuk Sool Sparring Set - Gun Dae Ryun

- Fresh this week from the UK. A demonstration of the Kuk Sool set Gun Dae Ryun

As many of you know I am one of the Instructors here at Kuk Sool Won of St Paul in Minnesota. But when College is in session I am Head Instructor for Kuk Sool Won at Purdue University. Fortunately for you, our club just ordered a bunch of hand wraps for the kickboxing / pad-strike workouts I like to run. Below is a video describing how we wrap our hands to keep our knuckles from getting cut up and raw when we do our Kickboxing style workouts. Maybe another time I will get to describing what the workout consists of.

There are 2 ways to spar in my mind. The first is what we do at tournaments which is Point Sparring and the second is what I call Free Sparring. Point Sparring is a game to get points in 2 minutes at a tournament. You receive 2 points for a kick to the head and one point for kicks to the body and hand strikes to both targets. Free Sparring is open to interpretation. The people sparring decide on whether to have full head contact, take downs, etc… The tip I will give you about sparring in this post relates to both ways of sparring.

Establish Control

To win at a sparring match will need you to establish control. You need to set the pace, mood, and movement of the fight. Don’t kid yourself and think that you will do this at the next tournament. You need to practice and you need to do it on a bunch of different opponents. The biggest hurdle you will come across is the different types of people you will spar and how to control them. Here are the three cookie-cutter examples of sparring opponents:

Overly Agressive Attacker

Good Sparring Techinques to Use:

• Side Kicks
• Spin Kicks
• Retreating Kicks
• Punches
• Circular Movement

How to Establish Control: When someone is Overly Agressive they will constantly be making the first move and coming in you zone. Don’t curl up in fear! Establish control by stopping them every time they start making a move in by side kicking them in the stomach. Even if they stomach is not open you leg is very strong and will stop them in their tracks. You could also try a quick spin side kick or spin kick while they are on their way in. If you land a spin side kick to the gut it is very easy to take someone’s breadth away.

Overly Defensive Partner

Good Sparring Techniques to Use:

• Round Kicks
• Hook Kicks
• Jabs
• Back Fist
• Side Kick
• Axe Kick

How to Establish Control: When someone is overly defensive they may sit and wait for you to make the first move every time either trying to jam you on your way in or move/back up and counter attack. I would say sparring these people gives you a lot more flexibility to experiment and gain control of the match. Try doing kick combos to open up targets and to vary the timing they expect to counter attack. For example, use a combo (do not set you leg down) like Hook Kick at head level, then Round Kick at head level, then Round kick at body level (set your leg down) and then jab and punch. Sequences like the one I just described are hard to block, jam, and counter because the defensive person has no idea how to block so many different level strikes and it is hard to judge when they can counter. This often times will lead to the person trying to counter to literally run in to a strike you are throwing.

The Hybrid

Good Techniques to Use:

• Round Kicks
• Side Kicks
• Axe Kicks
• Double Kicks
• Jabs
• Backfist

How to Establish Control: Hybrids are smart enough to use the situation to become either an offensive or defensive sparrer. You should want to be in this category most of the time. This is the most dangerous type of person to spar because they will switch from one tactic to another mid-fight. Use techniques that you recognize would work when the person is behaving defensively and differ you techniques when the person is behaving offensively. Double Kicks work very well in this situation because it will blur the line to whether you are attacking defensively or offensively making it harder for your adversary to decide which tactic to use against you. Also, try to move “across the line” into and out of their zone either trying to score or trying to make an opening.

Great stuff this week, especially the videos, make sure to check it all out. * This Blog is updated Daily and you can subscribe on the right via Email or RSS

Video: Kuk Sool Won at West Point Military Academy

- Just released Fresh on YouTube this week. Kuk Sa Nim, Master Sims, and Sa bum Nim Tim Challans make appearances.

How to Increase Your Flexibility

- Quick Tips and Tricks you can do to Increase Your Flexibility

Form Practice: The Purdue KSW Way

- Great way to practice your forms to focus on getting better.

Video: Kuk Sool Sa Bum Nim Kickin’ It

- If you think you are good at Kuk Sool you may want to watch this video. Prepare to be Humbled.

The Best Kuk Sool Websites on the Internet

- My List of the best Kuk Sool Websites on the net from the US, UK, and everywhere else.

More often than not you will want to become more flexible when doing Martial Arts. I would say most people start Martial Arts with very little flexibility and they become significantly more flexible over time. As a student you probably often wonder how do I get more flexible for Martial Arts? Here are some easy ways to get more flexible.

1. Stretch before and AFTER class

Martial Arts classes always start with some sort of stretching routine so people usually don’t have a problem stretching before. But the problem is your body, muscles, and tendons are not warmed up and you are not even stretching for your full range of motion. After class you are all warm and you can get your maximum full range of motion and push your boundaries with stretching.

Quick Tip: If there is a class after yours, stay and do the stretching routine on the side or in the back. This is an easy way to get your stretching routine done after class.

2. Practice High Kicks on the Wall

Doing kicks with one hand on the wall is usually used for perfecting your kicking technique. However, you can add to that. When you are doing wall kicks do an extra set where you are trying to kick as high as you can with the proper form. For example, do 20 Round Kicks then do 20 more as high as you can. Eventually, you will become much more flexible when kicking.

3. Practice Low Stances during Form Practice

I run by the Mantra that if you practice you will get better. So if you practice during your form even once a day with proper, low stances you will become more flexible just through regular practice. It is unrealistic for me to think that you will do low stances 100% of the time because it is so tiring. Make sure you try proper stances as many times as you can without sacrificing the quality of your form.

Quick Tip: Here is a good way to practice Good Quality Forms.