Learn On One-Step Sparring Techniques in Kempo Karate

Video Transcript

"Alright so we learn all these techniques but what good is it if you can't use it. I am going to use Shawn here to show just some basic sparring. From wipe out level until you get really good at it you start with one step sparring. Basically you have got your hands up, now I'm not going to get super traditional karate style because you can apply this to any fighting. You just have your hands up and one step is that you have one attack and you have a block and a counter. An attack is always prearranged. So for now we want to demonstrate distancing or my I as they say in Japanese which how close do you have to be to your opponent to hit him. I know if I stand back this far I'm not going to hit him. I know I have to get at least this close before I can actually penetrate in order to score. He can actually be this far away because he is taller and he has a longer reach, bam he'll take me out. This is important that you learn this. This is what one step sparring teaches. For instance if he punches and I stay way back far this is not going to reach him. This might but since we've predetermined that it is going to be a block and then a reverse punch, then that is when we're going to do it. Alright as he is punching you're going to block and then punch. You could probably stay in the same line, block/punch. You could probably tell that there is a major problem with this. If we position Shawn here now you can see him coming straight at me. If you notice, I'm not moving out of the way. If he goes past my block, I'm going to get hit. What I like to do is teach what I call Tiseba. I always say get out of the way of the freight train, why stand there and go toe to toe with the guy? If he throws a punch, you go to the side and then you counter. This block is just merely to check it. You don't even have to have your hand up there. This is just for safety. Just in case he is fast and he catches you, a split second before they have time to react. You want to go to the side and hit him in the rib. This is also the right side of the body and the liver is down there. This is an effective shot. That is what we do with one step sparring. The next step is three step sparring which I will talk about in the next segment."