How To Spar: A Guide

**SifuJason** · Posted On: 9/13/2010 10:14am

Great guide, I would like to copy and paste as well!

**OZZ** · Posted On: 9/16/2010 6:55pm

This was very well written and covered all the bases, I have to say. Good job.
The idea of starting off slowly with a new partner is , as you mentioned, extremely important and also very hard for some people. No one wants to be made a chump of and people will often fly in and try to prove themselves and come off like a douche, get themselves hurt or worse - hurt someone else.I know that I was guilty of this myself on a couple of occasions until I became more experienced, and I regret it.

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 9/16/2010 9:16pm

Originally Posted by OZZ

This was very well written and covered all the bases, I have to say. Good job.
The idea of starting off slowly with a new partner is , as you mentioned, extremely important and also very hard for some people. No one wants to be made a chump of and people will often fly in and try to prove themselves and come off like a douche, get themselves hurt or worse - hurt someone else.I know that I was guilty of this myself on a couple of occasions until I became more experienced, and I regret it.

People get really anxious and pent up when it comes to sparring, even people that have been doing a year or two of their respective style, so it's easy to get carried away. I've been guilty of getting overly excited in the not too distant past against people I felt like I needed to prove myself against, spazzed out and then felt like a fool afterward. It's good to remind yourself to stay cool and just try to be technical, even if you already know that's what you should do. When I spar I'm always talking to myself in my mind to try to keep myself under control. I'd be lying if I said it always worked haha.

***WhiteShark*** · Posted On: 9/17/2010 9:29am

I just try to smile. It keeps me calm and helps me remember we are sparring not fighting. Unfortunately, I've noticed it pisses off some people that don't know me.

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 9/17/2010 10:49am

I'll bet having their feet kicked out from under them pisses them off more.

**ArtOfDefense** · Posted On: 9/17/2010 12:19pm

Originally Posted by KidSpatula

I'll bet having their feet kicked out from under them pisses them off more.

IT doesn't even take a hard kick a lot of the time, but I've never had someone get up from having their plant foot kicked out and not amp up the intensity. It's embarrasing, like the first time you tried to high kick and end up on your ass.

I do the smiling thin too, not sure why people get all upset about it, maybe cuz they think that means you think they are an easy match? Even if it does...everybody is an easy match for somebody.

**AAAhmed46** · Posted On: 9/28/2010 3:44pm

Thanks for posting this.

**AAAhmed46** · Posted On: 9/28/2010 3:57pm

Really liked the comments on sparring with woman thing, very true.

Problem is, sometimes we get in trouble at my gym for treating a girl like a guy sometimes. Even when she says "go hard' sometimes you get in **** by some of teh coaches.

For instance, I was once sparring with this chick, she was spazzing, ignoring light shots. So i let the power sink in more(not full power), and she got really pissed off, and i got yelled at by the boxing coach.

Second example was with no gi grappling. We rolled, she didn't tell me about an injuries to her left arm. I arm barred her, and she got pissed. I didn't know she was hurt. She didn't tell me to stay away from that arm. Though i will be honest, that i can get 'submission happy' where i will go slow and fluid, then dive for the submission. But i did not know she was injured.

Seems that sometimes guys are simply reacting to past bad experiences when they treat woman differently. It's crappy.

That said, there is this chick at dragon that is a way better kickboxer than i am. I can go hard with her, she hits me back hard, and hits me more than i hit her. She is the same wieght, so maybe thats why. I don't know.

But seems she went in wanting to be treated equally.

Im not really a spaz, ive done enough touch contact karate to have some kind of restraint kickboxing. But mixed messages from coaches and training parnters can be frusterating.

This applies to guys as well, guys who spaz, go hard, you hit them back and they get pissed. But there is less social stigma with it.

**OZZ** · Posted On: 9/28/2010 8:00pm

Originally Posted by ArtOfDefense

IT doesn't even take a hard kick a lot of the time, but I've never had someone get up from having their plant foot kicked out and not amp up the intensity. It's embarrasing, like the first time you tried to high kick and end up on your ass.

I do the smiling thin too, not sure why people get all upset about it, maybe cuz they think that means you think they are an easy match? Even if it does...everybody is an easy match for somebody.

I remember the first time I had my legs swept out from under me..I was like 14 or 15 and playfighting /sparring with a Karate guy outdoors and he just did a really quick backspin from a crouched position and swept my legs. It freaked me right out!Luckily it happened to me when I was young so I was wary of it early on..
As for smiling..I start grinning when someone amps up on me or some noob tries to prove himself with me ..its a sign that I am ready to crank it up as well.

**korean dragon** · Posted On: 9/29/2010 9:06am

Originally Posted by AAAhmed46

Really liked the comments on sparring with woman thing, very true.

Problem is, sometimes we get in trouble at my gym for treating a girl like a guy sometimes. Even when she says "go hard' sometimes you get in **** by some of teh coaches.

For instance, I was once sparring with this chick, she was spazzing, ignoring light shots. So i let the power sink in more(not full power), and she got really pissed off, and i got yelled at by the boxing coach.

Second example was with no gi grappling. We rolled, she didn't tell me about an injuries to her left arm. I arm barred her, and she got pissed. I didn't know she was hurt. She didn't tell me to stay away from that arm. Though i will be honest, that i can get 'submission happy' where i will go slow and fluid, then dive for the submission. But i did not know she was injured.

Seems that sometimes guys are simply reacting to past bad experiences when they treat woman differently. It's crappy.

That said, there is this chick at dragon that is a way better kickboxer than i am. I can go hard with her, she hits me back hard, and hits me more than i hit her. She is the same wieght, so maybe thats why. I don't know.

But seems she went in wanting to be treated equally.

Im not really a spaz, ive done enough touch contact karate to have some kind of restraint kickboxing. But mixed messages from coaches and training parnters can be frusterating.

This applies to guys as well, guys who spaz, go hard, you hit them back and they get pissed. But there is less social stigma with it.

There are guys like that at my gym too. They'll try to kick your lungs out but will complain about you kicking to hard. The best way I've found for dealing with this is just trying to match the other persons power and agrressiveness.

Besides they'll have to learn not to freak out everytime they tagged anyway.