Hi
i just recently joined a TKD club in my school. They do WTF style TKD and yesterday i was introduced to their sparring. i've been doing TKD for about a year and a half almost 2 years but this is the first time i had to spar with equipment on. On top of that they had me spar with the best guy they had. Before i go into my story i'd like to state that i've done one-step sparring before and no contact sparring. Anyway we're both tecnically at the same belt level so they pitted me against him. This guy was pretty tall an on top of that he has pretty fast axe kicks. When the match started it seemed pretty easy. I blocked all of his roundhouse kicks with ease and i parried his sidekicks so that he'd lose his balance.. no problem right? well he had the advantage of being tall so it was hard to move in with a roundhouse or any kick for that matter because he'd step back at a rather quick speed and try to counter, he was very good at backing off. So much that i backed him into a corner. He has many flaws but it was really hard to get in there and score some points. i did score but the first time i sort of flicked a jab at his face without hitting him, i took that moment of hesitation and threw a roundhouse at his midsection. other times when i did get inside and his legs no longer worked all i managed were punches to his midsection. He got me 3 times i believe one was a counter and the other two were axe kicks to the head. He hesitated a lot because maybe he didn't know how i fight but whenever he tried to do the double roundhouse thing(roundhouse with the left then skip and roundhouse with the right) i just stood there and blocked and managed to make him lose his balance. However it bothers me that i can't score soundly with my kicks. Any tips on how i can psyche him out? I have a suspision though that i'm afraid of committing my kicks whenever i make him lose his balance, in fear that he will recover quick and he'll send a kick out before i do. Ok so now that i've confused everyone i'll restate my question. How do you beat a person who's tall and fast enough to get out of the way of your kicks?

When I fight people taller than me I try to stay in very close. The idea being that it takes away their reach. But you said that this guy was very good at retreating and countering with rounds. Have you ever heard about "monkeying up"? It's what we do at my school to block fluttering kicks. You square your shoulders facing your opponent and you hold your arms, elbows slightly bent, in front of you. In this stance your sides are completely protected. Time it right to change your stance right as he begins his multiple roundhouses and you can lunge in with a quick push kick. This will throw him off and you can usually follow up with a round hous of your own. Faster and taller is hard to fight against. I hope this will help you out a bit.

I agree totally, keep in close, move off centre and counter and make sure you keep you guard up. He hesitated because he was waiting for you to make the first move. It sounds like you were doing a pretty good a tiring him out, this is when you can start to score points. Its all good experience and the more you do it, the more you will be able to read what the person is about to do.

I guess you guys are right it is a matter of reading your opponents moves. i guess i'm afraid of getting nailed by his axe kicks whenever i try to get in close. Well i'll try what you guys suggested, hopefully i'll do better next time. Well how about blocking axe kicks? i mean you can dodge them but this guys can redirect his kicks pretty well too. i was thinking an x block and turn it into a parry where he loses his balance and delivering a counter kick from there. Any suggestions on that?