First sparring training!

[KAT]

Hey guys!

I just came home from my first sparring training, and it was great! I felt I managed pretty well, but i feel that sometimes i "freeze" and i become unable to counter and react properly, i also got some jucy hits and kicks from a blackbelt. What should i do to "harden" my stomach besides take lots of sit-ups?

Osu!

[nzproud]

Mostly doing situps won't help strengthening your stomach. What I normally do is to let someone punch my stomach after trainings for conditioning. You need to get used to getting hit.

Same goes to your thighs and shins etc..

[blackdog]

Great that you enjoyed your first run!

I must admit it took a while for me to feel more comfortable fighting, i felt so awkward and slow.

I'm still awkward and slow , but i feel much more comfortable fighting now, and therefore enjoying it.

Good on you, perhaps ask your instructor about conditioning and what they recomend.

Bren

[smoothsake]

The only way to "harden" your stomach is to do sit-ups and maybe reverse sit-ups... but the only way to get comfortable with getting hit in the gut is to get hit in the gut more often. There are a number of drills where you and a partner can take turns hitting each other in the liver, chest, etc. I would start there.

[BCook]

Originally Posted by KAT

Hey guys!

I just came home from my first sparring training, and it was great! I felt I managed pretty well, but i feel that sometimes i "freeze" and i become unable to counter and react properly, i also got some jucy hits and kicks from a blackbelt. What should i do to "harden" my stomach besides take lots of sit-ups?

Osu!

Freezing when you are just starting out is perfectly natural... the way to learn to be free and fluid is to relax. As you progress and get more experienced in kumite you will find that you will relax more and think less and it becomes natural reaction to counter or attack when the opportunity arises...

and aside from sit ups to strengthen your guts? more sit ups, then some more sit ups followed by a round of sit ups

its not unusual for fighters that are training for big tournaments to do hundreds of a sit ups a day, the theory is if your stomach is hard enough to endure shots you can focus less on needing to protect it and more on attacking the other person.... getting used to being hit is entirely different as mentioned above conditioning training is great for that!

[helenosch]

I agree with sit-ups and lots of conditioning your stomach. I remember a seminar with Mustafar (2x Europeanchampion I think in shinkyokushin) and he told us that it's all about the condition and the best way to "eat it away" is punch the opponent there the whole time, and then he advised us to do a LOT of sit-ups and condtioning...never had such sore muscles in my life ever before. it really helps a lot, because after a month of so, of about every second day getting punched for a minuted into the gut, I'm able to withstand now most blows the guys throw at me...
As for the awkward and slow, I have to wholy hearted (hope that's the right expression) with blackdog

[Azimuth]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnLpV...elated&search=

[KAT]

Thanks guys for all the useful tips!

[L.K]

Doing excersises to strenghten the body is important but more important than anything is to spar alot and learn to take punishment and of course avoid getting hit (or at least make sure you wont get hit too hard)