Timing
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Timing in Attacking
Against an experienced fighter, your attack timing is crucial if you expect to get an attack through his or her defenses.
- If your timing is off, your attacks will be blocked or avoided and you may leave yourself open to a counterattack.
- Mistiming means you will make many non-scoring attacks that quickly exhaust your energy reserves.
- If you precede your attack with a feint or fake, mistiming may make the actual attack ineffective.
- Timing in Sparring
- Timing in sparring takes the above blocking and attacking points into consideration, but also involves other timing issues.
- Adjust your tempo to fit your level of physical fitness to insure you are able to move, block, and attack continuously throughout the allotted time.
- Change the rhythm of your movements and attacks so you never become predictable.
- Try to time your attacks to your, and your opponent's, breathing. You should attack on your exhale and try to catch your opponent on the inhale.
- Time your counterattack to the first movement of an incoming attack. At this moment, your opponent only thinking about attacking, not blocking.
- Time your attack to move as opponent is regrouping after his or her attack.
- Increase your tempo near end of a round, this will influence the judge's opinion of who was the winner of a round.