Complimentary Opposites

By Brian Steward, 4th dan

Famous physicist Niels Bohr’s moto was contraria sunt complementa.  In English this translates to opposites are compliments, meaning that two things that are wildly different will work well when put together.  Niels Bohr never practiced martial arts and was actually describing the nature of light and matter in the universe when he adopted this quote, but the underlying concept is useful when considering many aspects of life including Taekwondo.  Taekwondo has many different opposing pairs of techniques or concepts.  For instance a block is opposite from a strike and a targeting a low area is opposite from targeting an opponent's head.  The concept  of complementary opposites can be particularly constructive when thinking about one steps and sparring in martial arts.

While sparring, it is vital to use techniques that work well together during combinations.  There are many ways to put a combination together but combinations made while thinking about complementary opposites will be especially effective.  A double kick which targets the same area on both kicks may be effective, but a double kick which first targets a low area and then targets the head can mislead the opponent and be much more likely to impact.  Another complementary pair in sparring are kicks and punches. Novice sparrers will often utilize combinations that contain only hand techniques or only kicks.  This leads to combinations that run out of steam more quickly, are more easily defended against and which are not as effective as possible.  Simply adding a kick to the end of a hand combination can surprise and overwhelm the opponent.  By adding a kick to a hand combination the combination gains not only an extra limb to use as a weapon, but also gains new angles from which to attack.  After throwing a single or double kick in sparring it is critical to follow up with hand techniques; those who don’t end up falling prey to their opponents counter attacks.  The concept of complementary opposites is even more developed in one steps, which connect basics and sparring.

In the Colorado Taekwondo Institute Student Manual there is a list of one step sparring rules. Many of these rules contain the idea of complementary opposites.  There is a one step rule which says that there must be a block before a counter strike.  Another rule states that target areas are changed in one step techniques.  There is even a rule about practicing both sides of a technique.  All of these rules, which highlight the concept of complementary opposites, are built into the structure of every one step.  Even outside the written rules one steps display the idea of complementary opposites.  Every one step technique that has a kick as part of the defense follows up that kick with a hand technique.  The only kicks which are not followed up in one step sparring are performed by the attacker, giving the defender the opportunity to use their defense to demonstrate the deficiencies of attacks which are not complementary.

CTI Masters Seminars - Sparring and Staff

89 students and instructors attended our recent CTI Masters Seminars on Saturday, July 23rd, at the Green Mountain Campus.

There were two seminars offered, Staff Technique and Sparring.

The Staff Seminar was for black and red only and covered many of the aspects involved with staff training.  Because of the large turnout, Grandmaster Sautel, Master Merinda Sautel, Master John Sautel, Master Alice Meyung and Master Clayton Garner led everyone on a jog to the local park where everyone could spread out!  The hard work and summer temperatures got the upper belts sweaty and more proficient at their staff techniques.

Later, the Sparring Seminar took place and involved students of all ages and belt levels.  Divided into three main groups, the participants began with a special sparring warm-up led by the master instructors.  After the intense exercise, the basics of good solid sparring were covered as well as well as many great strategies that can be used at anytime!

Look for the next CTI Masters Seminar - Poomse!  Ask your instructor for more information.

Sparring Basics

As we all know by now sparring is one area in our training that can be one of the most stimulating experiences in our martial arts training. Sparring is not only one of the most difficult things we do but it is as close as we can get to a real life situation where we would need to have the proper reflexes to defend ourselves. In order to obtain these specific reflexes we cannot simply hop into the sparring ring and expect them to come to us naturally. Even as upper belts, we still need to practice many different combinations, thousands of times before we can expect them to work in the sparring ring effectively.

It is nearly impossible to be successful in a sparring match by throwing single moves at a time. Combinations are what will always score the points. The idea is to have enough moves in the combinations that you throw to overwhelm your opponent so you can get in and score your point. Predicting a sparring match is much like predicting the future, it is nearly impossible, which is why you never know what the outcome will be. However, if you practice certain combinations that work for you, then you are more likely to use these moves in the match as reflexes as opposed to surprising yourself about what moves you throw.
   
As we have heard many times, sparring is much like a chess game, where we need to stay two steps ahead of our opponent. To do this takes a great deal of practice. Make sure to keep your “wall” in between you and your opponent. Do not let them cross this line unless you have a plan and do not cross this line yourself until you know that they are not expecting it.  Get your opponent to react to you by never stopping and always faking.
   
It is important to remember that each sparring match varies from one opponent to the next. There are many parts of sparring, however, that remain the same throughout each match. Maximum speed with controlled power is needed in order to get in and score the point and get out without being touched. Immediate reactions are always needed because, again, sparring matches are unpredictable. And also remember to always spar your match, have your opponent react to you.

It all comes down to practice! If you practice you sparring exercises then your sparring will improve. These are the basics of sparring.

Taekwondo Black Belts Sparring