Make Them Believe: How Faking Creates Real Openings in Sparring

Make Them Believe: How Faking Creates Real Openings in Sparring

One of the biggest shifts I see in students as they improve in sparring is when they stop trying to land every technique—and start trying to set up their techniques. That’s where faking comes in. If you’re not using fakes in your sparring, you’re making things a lot harder than they need to be.

Faking, or feinting, is simply making your opponent believe you’re about to do one thing so they react—then you take advantage of that reaction. It’s one of the smartest and most efficient ways to create openings without needing more speed or power. In fact, some of the cleanest points you’ll ever score will come from a well-timed fake rather than a perfectly executed technique.

A lot of students think fakes need to be big or dramatic, but that’s not the case at all. The best fakes are subtle. A slight lift of the knee can make someone think a roundhouse kick is coming. A quick shoulder twitch can draw a block or flinch. Even a small step forward can trigger a defensive reaction. Once your partner or opponent commits to that reaction, that’s when you follow up with your real technique.

I teach this concept in class by starting simple. We’ll use something like a fake roundhouse kick to the body, followed by a real roundhouse to the head. The first movement gets the guard to drop or shift, and the second technique lands clean. From there, we build it out—fake high, go low… fake low, go high… fake a kick, land with hands. The combinations are endless, but the principle stays the same: get the reaction first, then score.

What I really like about faking is that it puts you in control of the exchange. Instead of reacting to what your partner is doing, you’re making them react to you. That’s a big shift in mindset. You’re no longer just sparring—you’re leading the dance. And once your opponent starts second-guessing what’s real and what’s not, their timing breaks down, their defence gets sloppy, and opportunities start showing up everywhere.

Another benefit is that faking slows things down mentally. You don’t feel like you have to rush in and force techniques. You can stay relaxed, stay composed, and pick your shots. That’s when sparring starts to feel easier. Not because your opponent got worse—but because you got smarter.

At the end of the day, faking is about making your opponent believe something that isn’t true… just long enough for you to capitalize on it. If you can consistently draw reactions and then take advantage of them, you’ll find yourself landing cleaner techniques with less effort. And that’s what high-level sparring is all about.

Grandmaster Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do Ltd.

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