Sparring>Tactics>Range

↩ Back

Range

Intro

Range is one of the most important aspects of controlling an opponent. If you are in range to attack the opponent, the opponent is probably in range to attack you. Therefore, unless you are in control of the opponent, either physically or psychologically, you should never be in striking range of the opponent.

To gain physical control of an opponent, you must decrease the range while simultaneously blocking, checking, jamming, or attacking. Control comes when the opponent cannot gain the movement, balance, or leverage needed to attack or when he or she has lost control of an extremity, such as an arm. If the opponent is skilled, control may only be maintained momentarily, so you must either immediately immobilize the opponent or retreat to a safe range.

A skilled defender may gain control of an opponent by psychological means but psychological control is harder to assess than physical control. Psychological control may be accomplished by allowing the opponent to attack you (baiting) and then countering the attack. This manipulation allows you to gain physical control. A skilled opponent may not take the bait and may fake an attack so he or she may counter your counterattack.

Combat is a game like chess. Each opponent is trying to outfox the other. You must correctly access your control of an opponent so you may adjust your range accordingly.

Safe range

Safe range is the range at which you are relatively safe from attacks from an opponent. Since sparring is usually done using empty hands, the safe range is usually just out the range of an opponent’s kicks that don’t involve body movement toward you, such as take a step before kicking. The exact safe range is difficult to define since it depends on several changing variables, such as the reach, quickness, and velocity of your opponent's attacks. Safe range also depends on your reaction time, reach, and quickness, which may vary from day-to-day. Finding the proper distance for a given combat situation requires awareness of yourself and your opponent. This kind of awareness comes from experience.

Defensive sphere 

The defensive sphere is the invisible barrier one erects around their body. It has two aspects, the physical and the mental, that combine to protect one from harm. The physical aspect is dictated by the distance one may reach with the arms or legs to defend oneself. The mental aspect is the area around oneself where one believes defense is possible. This area changes with the circumstances and one’s capabilities. The physical aspect is limited and obvious to others; they can see the distance they are from you. However, the mental aspect may change due to the circumstances. Speech, posture, and body language project the range of the mental aspect to others; they detect the level of confidence displayed and are hesitant to attack.

Controlling range

As in other close-quarter sports, such as fencing and boxing, range is also important in taekwondo. Depending on the opponent, your fighting range will change. The best range for you is the range at which it is easiest for you to both block and attack, your comfort range. Range will constantly change during a fight. Increasing range when attacked may be considered a retreat or it may be a shrewd move to draw the opponent off balance. Strong opponents will follow you no matter how much you retreat, so sometimes it is best to stay within you comfort range and fight to your fullest. Use range changes to draw your opponent into your attack.
Controlling range while sparring helps you avoid being hit and avoid injuries from blocking. It allows you to strike the opponent and it may be used to frustrate your opponent. Controlling the range also helps you conserve your energy.

Types of range

Long-range

• You are outside the easy reach of hand attacks and kicks.
• It’s used when you are fighting an unknown fighter, or when you need a short rest.
• The defender has the advantage at long range since the attacker has to close the range in an attack.

Middle-range

• It is used once you have a "feel" of the opponent's style and are ready to engage. 
• Hand attacks and kicks are possible by both fighters but there is still some leeway for the avoidance of the attack.

Close-range

• This is the most dangerous range if you are not confident in your abilities to fight in close. It is difficult to defend at close range, but it’s easier to attack.
• It allows the use of punches, knee attacks, and some kicks and it also allows the use of throws, chokes, grabs, sweeps, and pins.
• When in close, you may immobilize the opponent's lead leg by staying inside it

Special ranges

• Sweet spot. This is the range where you may reach the opponent, but the opponent may not reach you due to differences in your body structures.
• Dead spot. This is the range where the opponent may reach you, but you may not reach the opponent. At this sport, the action slows done or even stops for a moment. Where the spot is located depends on the body structure of the two competitors.
• Kill spot. This is the range where the opponent is least capable of attack and is most vulnerable to attack. It is usually just outside the opponent's leading shoulder.

Attack ranges

At these ranges, you may strike your opponent, but the opponent cannot easily reach you.

• Close-range. At this range, an attacker may grab, throw, use chokes, or use arm/wrist locks. Elbow, knee, and head attacks may also be used in this range.
• Middle-range. Punches and hand strikes are effective at this range. Lunging close-range techniques may also be used.
• Long-range. Kicks and lunging mid-range techniques are effective at this range

Defensive ranges

• Close-range. At this range, effective blocks are grabs and close in arm blocks.
• Middle-range. Effective blocks are all the standard arm blocks.
• Long-range. Leg blocks are effective

Combat range

Range may also be expressed as a combat range. Combat ranges are the ranges at which different combat strategies must be employed due to the distance, timing, reach, and rhythm of the opponents. The distance must be enough to allow you to counter your opponent's moves and launch your attacks. Timing involves who can close that distance first and strike before the other may successfully block. Reach is determined by each opponent's height and limb length. With rhythm, the distance may be correct for an attack, but if the start of the attack is late, the timing will be off. There are 8 ranges of combat:

• Safety range. At this range, both opponents can just touch each other's fingers. To launch an effective attack, an opponent must make a small step. This range changes if one of the opponents is armed.
• Kicking range. At this range, both opponents may kick each other. Low kicks are effective at this range.
• Punching range. At this range, both opponents can deliver punches. Knee attacks and low kicks or ax kicks are still a danger.
• Blindspot range. At this range, one of the opponents has managed to get behind the other so that, for a moment, he or she has an advantage.
• Trapping range. At this range, the opponents may tie up or trap the arms of the other.
• Wrestling range. At this range, the opponents can grapple while standing.
• Ground fighting range. At this range, the opponents are grappling on the ground.
• One up - One down. At this range, 0ne opponent is standing and the other is lying on the ground.

The optimum range for power

For every punch or kick, there is an optimum range that will allow for the generation of maximum power. This range is a couple of inches short of the natural reach of the arm or leg during the punch or kick.

If the range is too close, the hand or foot will not have enough distance to reach its maximum velocity. Thus, the striking force will be reduced and will be converted into more of a push.
It the range is too long, the maximum velocity will have already been reached and the hand or foot will be decelerating when it or if it makes contact with the target. Once the optimum range is exceeded, the puncher or kicker tries to compensate for the loss of power by reaching or pushing the technique. While the technique may strike the target, instead of damaging the target, it merely pushes it.

Closing the range

Closing the range (gap) between you and your opponent is possibly the toughest part of sparring but is one of the most important parts. If you are not in range, you cannot score. The more time you are in range, the greater your chances of scoring.

Most people try to close the gap with a great burst of speed or they let the opponent close and then try to counter the attack. However, charging requires explosive power in the legs, and counter fighting gives the initiative to the other fighter. Another way to close the gap is to use inertia to your advantage and to recognize when it is being used against you. Inertia, as you may recall from science class, is the tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion and an object at rest to remain at rest.

As discussed above, sparring opponents try to maintain a comfort zone between themselves. This is the distance at which they think they may safely detect and defend any attack. The width of this gap depends on the physical reach of the opponent and his or her preferred method of fighting. For instance, taller fighters and kickers tend to stay further away so they can use their reach. Shorter fighters and punchers like to fight in close to compensate for their lack of reach. If you close at a specific speed, your opponent will back away at an equal speed to maintain his or her comfort zone. To use inertia to close the gap, you need to take advantage of this tendency to maintain a comfort zone.

Ways to close range

• Speed trap. A speed trap causes your opponent to move at a specific rate of speed. To use it, you start to close at a moderate speed, allow your opponent to match that speed, and then suddenly attack at full speed. Your opponent will be trapped using a slower speed and will not be able to change speed quickly enough. For example, take a step or two toward your opponent and then execute a jump kick at a speed greater than your stepping speed. If your initial movement is too slow, the opponent may counter you as you close. If it is too fast, the opponent will retreat at the same speed and be out of range. Use a moderate speed that forces the opponent to retreat in a controlled manner. 
• False start. A false start is when you start to attack, back off a little, and attack then again at a high speed.  As you back off, your opponent will move back toward you to maintain his or her comfort zone.  However, once the opponent begins to move in, inertia locks him or her into a forward motion, so there is not enough time for the opponent to stop forward momentum and evade your attack.
• Freeze. In this attack, you attack your opponent, but at some point, you pause, just for a second.  Your opponent will probably stop when you stop. As soon as the opponent stops, attack again while he or she is frozen by inertia. Remember, an object at rest tends to stay at rest.
• Continuous motion. Many fighters get hit because they do not move; they just stand there, an object at rest. To attack or defend quickly, you must stay in constant motion. One cannot go from a dead stop to full speed very easily, but, if you are already in motion you can increase your speed and direction more easily. Boxers do this by bobbing and weaving, a mostly upper body motion with little footwork involved. The upper body motion disguises your initial attack, does not give the opponent a stationary target, keeps the opponent thinking defensively, and lets you close the gap more easily.
  
  Your footwork may get opponent so caught up in what you are doing that he or she forgets about attacking. For example, bounce in place two times and then execute a jump side kick on a third bounce. On the first bounce, your opponent will jump away slightly and simultaneously realize you are just jumping up and down. By the second bounce, the opponent will have moved back into position and may even be matching your up and down motion. Then, when you attack on the third bounce, the opponent trapped. 

• Disconnection. Disconnection is moving so the opponent loses the ability to use one of his or her arms or legs. In general, a fighter should try to close upon the opponent in such a way as to disconnect the opponent's weapons while keeping all his or her weapons free. For example, if you move rapidly to the side, your opponent becomes uncomfortable and must turn to keep properly guarded. This disconnects the opponent's pivot foot. Grabbing the opponent's arm disconnects it, and, if you have moved correctly, all your weapons will be free.

Tips on using range

Remember range and don’t waste energy on a useless technique. For example, you attack with a lead leg side kick/spin side kick combination. If the opponent backs out of range of the side kick, then he or she will also be out of range of the spin side kick. Thus, the spin side kick will be a waste of energy unless you are aware of the range problem and leap forward with the lead leg after the side kick to close the range before using the spin side kick.

Defending against kicking attacks is easier than defending against punching attacks because the distance between each opponent is greater. The increased distance means that a kick will take longer to reach the target than a punch would. The further you are from your opponent the safer you will be; however, counterattacking will be more difficult.

If you are closer to your opponent, you will be in a more dangerous position to be kicked but your counter to the kick will be more efficient. By moving slightly out from the safety range, your opponent's blows will fail to land at all. Don’t step too much, but judge your opponent's reach and stay in close enough for you to be able to move swiftly to attack. 

Controlling range while sparring helps you avoid being hit and avoid incurring injuries from blocking. Range also determines whether you score or not. To score, you must be within range, but this also usually means you are in range to be scored upon. The following are some tips on using range:

• Avoid training to fight at the wrong range (pre-conditioning). 
• Using the correct range will force the opponent to commit him or herself to reach you but it does not deny you the opportunity to attack. 
• Stopping short of the target will not score a point and being too close increases the chance of excessive contact through bad control, which may injure the opponent and result in your disqualification. 
• Range cannot be improved through practicing basics. With step-sparring, the distance between opponents is kept large for safety reasons. During floor and pattern training, techniques are usually locked out and held on the target. Therefore, range must be practiced while free-sparring at the true range of actual combat.
• Vary distance by moving within a stance or changing stances. Use the hips, stance, and body rotation to increase reach and find the exact distance needed to extend a technique fully.
• Develop a sensitivity to gauging the reach of opponents and then adjust the range to allow them to miss just barely. This will help you not to flinch because things are flying at your face, and it will give you the posture and positioning needed to score with little adjustment on your part.
• Do not always try to stay out of the opponent's reach or you will find the opponent is always out of your reach. Train to slip and bob to stay in range and make a punch miss so you will still be in range to attack. However, do not weave too much.
• The power of a punch or kick is at the very end of the reach of an arm or leg, so for maximum power, you must have the proper range. The real art comes in catching the opponent at the right time and place when your range is perfect for your chosen attack. It is like catching a train. To get on the train, you must coordinate things so that both you AND the train are at the station at the same time. When sparring, both of you are on the move, so achieving the right range at the right time takes timing and finesse.

↩ Back