sparring questions

**ark44** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 7:47am

jumping into kickboxing sparring with blackbelts while being a white belt may not have been a great decision though i learned a lot about getting hit in the head with kicks. those i could handle it was the body shot i took in the gut from a roundhouse kick from a blackbelt that knocked the wind out of my sparring sails. being a natural boxer i love to throw the jab and move around the ring, this fight in particular our instructor decided there would be "no jabbing" as a younger student ended up in tears the previous sparring class.

any advice on remaining actively involved in my kickboxing class among karate blackbelts, where sparring is mandatory, and while everyone is new to kickboxing, they all have blackbelts in karate or other striking arts. trying to survive without internal bleeding at this point seems difficult, seeing as how i am a white belt in karate with no official fights on record.

**cyril** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 8:17am

Ummm... Tell them to tone it down a bit for you?

**ark44** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 9:40am

the problem is i love to box and have a lot of upper body strength, the real problem is i have no idea how to block kicks and end up taking a lot of head shots when i spar, mind you i can land a lot of jabs and connect with wild hooks, even while my instructor continuously tells me not to swing so wildly. i went in kind of scared against the blackbelts and ended up swinging with full force while they were tagging me with kicks to the head and making me look silly with moves they learned outside of kickboxing. i suppose i will have to tone it down myself and not be so aggressive and hope they do the same. that body shot really hurt.

**The Question** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 9:41am

Originally Posted by ark44

jumping into kickboxing sparring with blackbelts while being a white belt may not have been a great decision though i learned a lot about getting hit in the head with kicks. those i could handle it was the body shot i took in the gut from a roundhouse kick from a blackbelt that knocked the wind out of my sparring sails. being a natural boxer i love to throw the jab and move around the ring, this fight in particular our instructor decided there would be "no jabbing" as a younger student ended up in tears the previous sparring class.

any advice on remaining actively involved in my kickboxing class among karate blackbelts, where sparring is mandatory, and while everyone is new to kickboxing, they all have blackbelts in karate or other striking arts. trying to survive without internal bleeding at this point seems difficult, seeing as how i am a white belt in karate with no official fights on record.

I recommend punctuating your **** to make it more readable.

Telling them not to beat the crap out of you until you've had more experience may also be a good idea.

**Jadonblade** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 10:16am

Dive in and tackle them, take them down. Ground and pound till the instructer pulls you off him claiming thats not r34l k4r4t3.

**Snake Plissken** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 10:20am

realize that during sparring:
1) you are a white belt and therefor considered the most dangerous person in the room because you don't know **** and don't realize you don't know ****.
2) that at any given time, you can be tooled and schooled by anyone in that room, it's just not mutually beneficial for anyone.
3) that they won't necessarily take it easy on you, but they won't try to necessarily hurt you either, unless you decide to get *cute*.
4) that you need to have fun and PAY ATTENTION. Not only for your own self-preservation but to realize that every day you spend showing up is one day closer to your ultimate goal (whatever it may be), the black belt standing in front of you is the personification of that fact.

**The Question** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 10:22am

Out of curiosity, what style of Karate do you practice?

**ark44** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 10:28am

i'm not sure i will have to ask my instructor he has never specified an exact style

**ark44** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 10:29am

the club teaches primarily karate and one instructor who is a former boxer runs the kickboxing class once a week with full contact sparring, a lot of blackbelts from other clubs drop in to develop kickboxing skills and spar full contact.

***JohnnyCache*** · Posted On: 12/26/2007 10:29am

Originally Posted by ark44

the problem is i love to box and have a lot of upper body strength, the real problem is i have no idea how to block kicks and end up taking a lot of head shots when i spar, mind you i can land a lot of jabs and connect with wild hooks, even while my instructor continuously tells me not to swing so wildly. i went in kind of scared against the blackbelts and ended up swinging with full force while they were tagging me with kicks to the head and making me look silly with moves they learned outside of kickboxing. i suppose i will have to tone it down myself and not be so aggressive and hope they do the same. that body shot really hurt.

You are a fence-swinging asshole and they're beating you up in the hopes you might learn to calm down.

Stop sparring to "win" for a while and start sparring to learn. If you don't know how to block something, ding ding ASK YOUR COACH or sparring partner.