Traditional development
Partner exercise
Sanbon kumite 三本組手
Three-step sparring
What it is
In plain words
The same exercise over three steps, with the level of the attack usually changing between them — jodan, then chudan, then a kick. The defender must select the right block rather than repeat one.
Purpose. Selection. Gohon kumite trains one block; sanbon kumite trains choosing between them under a moving opponent.
Where it leads. Leads to kihon ippon kumite, where the number of steps drops to one and there is no run-up at all.
4 steps
How the exercise runs.
- Formal start and bow, as gohon kumite.
- Three attacks, announced or agreed in advance, at differing levels.
- The defender steps back and blocks each with the appropriate technique.
- A counter follows the third.
Safety
Partner work injures people when it is done carelessly.
- As gohon kumite. The changing level makes a mistimed block more likely, so control matters more, not less.
- Agree the sequence before starting.
2 faults
Common errors, and how to fix them.
Fault
The defender chooses the block before the attack arrives.
Why it happens. The sequence is known.
The fix. Have the attacker vary the order within an agreed set.
Fault
The stance degrades over the three steps.
Why it happens. Retreating rather than moving.
The fix. Check the stance at each step; it should be as good on the third as on the first.
Practice
Drills
- Jodan, chudan, mae-geri as a fixed set; then the same three in an order the attacker chooses.
3 terms
The Japanese, explained.
- Sanbon kumite 三本組手
- Three-step sparring. The same exercise as gohon kumite over three steps, usually with the attacks varying in level.
- Jodan 上段
- Upper level. The head and the neck — both as a target and as the level at which a technique is named and performed. Jodan-zuki is a punch to that level; jodan-uke is a block against one arriving there.
- Chudan 中段
- Middle level. The torso, from the collarbone down to the belt. It is the level most often attacked in basic practice, because it is the largest target and the one a beginner can strike with control.