
        <div class="field field-name-comment-body field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>It’s a boring answer, but impact training is the way to develop impact. Using the focus pads and the BOB dummy are good for practising forearm strikes. You can test the power, and then refine technique to increase power.</p>

<p>If you are not sparring full contact, then your partner will retain his advantage there. The strikes will have no effect, because you are not smashing your forearm full power into his jaw and neck. Touching the forearm to the neck has no effect. Smashing the forearm into the neck does :-)</p>

<p>Light sparring is all about developing the skills needed to get weapon to target. Pad-work is where we ensure that the impact will do real damage; and real damage is not something we want for sparring.</p>

<p>I’d also suggest you give yourself some more time. A strong partner will be difficult to deal with, but as you progress you will find that skill can negate that advantage. If you’re just getting into / back into training, then you just need more training and more time.</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<p>Iain</p></div></div></div>      

Iain Abernethy


        <div class="field field-name-comment-body field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>I had reached the same conclusion or close to it. I am simply mentally and physically out of shape and have lost a good amount of the flow of fighting. Nothing other than time and practice is going to change that fact.</p>

<p>Very frustrating position to be in however, with no secret techniques to assist me to not be middle aged, overweight, and overworked. I suspect I also watched too many kung fu movies growing up ;).</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Mike&nbsp;</p></div></div></div>      

OhioMike


        <div class="field field-name-comment-body field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p></p><blockquote class="quote-msg quote-nest-1 odd"><div class="quote-author"><em class="placeholder">OhioMike</em> wrote: </div>Very frustrating position to be in however, with no secret techniques to assist me to not be middle aged, overweight, and overworked. I suspect I also watched too many kung fu movies growing up ;)</blockquote><p></p>

<p>LOL. The “secret” would be to simply enjoy the training. If you focus on the process, the product will naturally flow from that. The opposite is not true. Sounds like you’ve got a great training partner there though!</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<p>Iain</p>

<p>PS There is the “five-point exploding spleen palm”, but it’s difficult to describe in text ;-)</p></div></div></div>      


        <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>A little background, I am about 40, short and slightly (alright, maybe more that slightly) overweight with a job that gives me a lot more stress than exercise. Trying to get back in shape after chasing my career for the last 20 years.&nbsp;</p>

<p>My dojo has a supernice guy that I really want to punch in the face. Or more acurately it was seveal supernice guys that I regularly punch in the face, but one in particular that is a big challenge for me. &nbsp;He is about my age but his profession is welder and body mechanic (read modern day blacksmith) so his body hardening is impressive and my ability to manuever him is very limited, he can block most punches without much effort and his grip strength makes grappling with him generally a losing proposition.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I have had some limited success with using the kata based sparring, he likes to throw straight punches and the crowding pressure seem to help. But I am stuggling to generate power with the the close in forearm strikes etc. Does any of the high impact stuff or anything else you guys have tried help with developing that type of power.</p>

<p>More importanly it is not that I simply want to hit my friend (although I do want to hit him) it is also that I figure I am regularly going to be fighting younger men that are substantially faster than me and so being able to play a closer game that takes avantage of my body weight and breaks up their thinking is likley a good direction to take my personal skills.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Mike &nbsp;</p></div></div></div>      

A little background, I am about 40, short and slightly (alright, maybe more that slightly) overweight with a job that giv...