San Shou sparring

**ojgsxr6** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 4:53pm

Originally Posted by Seraphim

How come slow up and slow down mean the same thing?

I was going to ask, who the hell says "Slow up", then I read you're from Alabama.

**Seraphim** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 4:55pm

Originally Posted by ojgsxr6

I was going to ask, who the hell says "Slow up", then I read you're from Alabama.

Yeah. It's sad.

**ojgsxr6** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 5:05pm

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Yeah. It's sad.

Hey it could be worse, you could be from Tennessee or New Jersey.

**SixNgHarmonies** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 5:25pm

Wait, what's wrong with temporary point sparring?

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 5:41pm

point sparring teaches bad habits, though I guess it might be good for asshole beginners with no control

**Jaguar Wong** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 6:08pm

Originally Posted by Kidspatula

point sparring teaches bad habits, though I guess it might be good for asshole beginners with no control

LOL, that's what I wanted to say, but I can't seem to channel my inner Omega and my posts always turn out like the one on the first page.

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 6:15pm

I encountered one of those beginners with no control in sparring last night. Manu paired me up with this guy who'd been coming for a little over a week who's about 5' 9" probably 160lbs or so. He came at me kicking full force, I told him "relax, calm down, just go light and work some technique" he was like ok and continued kicking me full force. He ended up totally jacking up his foot from repeatedly kicking me in the hip bone full force (I've got a little bruise on my hip now :( ).

**Cullion** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 6:22pm

To join the amen corner: Yes San Shou sparring is 'alive'.

On the 'point sparring first' thing, how long are you expected to point spar for ?

I point sparred a lot in my teens and I still have some weird habits when it comes to judging distance etc..

I still find myself throwing woolly powerless techniques because I think, in the moment, that they will 'connect', but it's a waste of energy (and opens my guard) without having any real effect.

Knowing that point sparring isn't real fighting on an intellectual level, and actually ingraining it into how you move and judge when to throw on a more visceral level can be quite a gap to overcome.

Very light sparring probably is useful for letting you work on things without taking the injury risk all the time, but for people who've already got some full/hard experience (and still do that regularly) and need to go light some of the time not to get injured too much (but know from experience with the hard stuff when a tap was just a tap and not a proper hit). I think spending a few years just tapping each other is a bad idea.

**alex** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 8:21pm

i think its dumb to start off with point sparring. its like teaching someone to play touch as a build up to play rugby- you look like a moron doing it and it would be so much quicker to just get down to business

**Arbiter** · Posted On: 8/22/2006 8:28pm

'point sparring' is horrible prep for full contact san shou. as mentioned its very different and will just inforce bad habits that you would have to unlearn.

if it is just light contact or interactive with correct san shou technique w/o going full contact then it could be fine still. that can be ok for developing technique and control w/o it turning into a spaz fest.

you should ask your coach about it.