Has your regular one-on-one sparring drills reach a point of diminishing returns? Have you lost interest in sparring? Perhaps you need to make your sparring training a little more objective oriented and match real world needs? The following are ideas I’ve come up with for a scenario sparring program which forces defender to think on his feet whilst dealing with a dynamic environment. This post was inspired by recent post How to Improve Your Taekwondo.
Spare me another plain vanilla sparring session
- Taking It for the Team: Defender covers and blocks and takes it, while opponent is free to engage
- Brother-in-Law: Defender cannot engage with opponent, but needs to safely stop the opponent from engaging with him
- Gassed: Defender does burpees until exhaustion, wears strikes from heavy gloves and kick shields for one minute, and then engages with opponent.
- Elevator: Defender and opponent in a tight space, defender needs to light up all elevators buttons while engaging with opponent. (Needs prop to represent buttons)
- Carjacker: Defender in driver’s seat, opponent comes in with knife. Defender needs to exit car.
- Panicked Friend: Defender engages opponent but has friend who is distracting (touching/shouting) and standing still. Move friend to exit whilst engaging with opponent.
- Rescuer: Defender faces off opponent who has taken a hostage and using hostage as shield, rescue the shield and engage the opponent
- Wet and Wild: Defender faces off opponent in a swimming pool and needs to exit.
- In a Plane: Defender sits down and is engaged by opponent, both can only engage up and down a narrow corridor.
- Photobomb: Defender is standing in front of neutral party, can only see reflection behind him through large mirror, and must answer questions neutral party is posing. Opponent from a random line up engages defender.
- In the John: Defender is standing face to a wall and has to engage opponent approaching from diagonal back, returns to starting point after initial engagement.
- Lights Out: Defender is blindfolded and has to engage with opponent by touch. (Needs blindfold)
- Getting out of the Car: Defender exits the car while preventing door from slamming into him before he gets clear, and engages opponent.
- Bringing Nothing to a Knife Fight: Defender engages opponent. Opponent draws a weapon (knife or gun). Defender must stop attack, take weapon and exit.
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- Mediator between Love Birds: Defender interposes between two opponents. Opponent A is ‘Taking It for the Team’ while Opponent B is attacking. Once Defender engages with Opponent B, Opponent A also engages Defender.
- Mediator between Lost Love: Defender interposes between two opponents. Opponent A is ‘Taking It for the Team’ while Opponent B is attacking. Once Defender engages with Opponent B, Opponent A also engages Opponent B. Defender must take down Opponent B, and then take down Opponent A.
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- Multiple person circle: Defender is surrounded by 4 opponents, engages two simultaneously, and puts on ‘helmet’ to get out of the circle
- Multiple person face off: Defender faces off 2 opponents and seeks to engage with each one at a time
- Multiple person scrum: Defender is on the floor and has to get up and retreat whilst opponents are trying to hold him down
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