How to Spar

[phillyman]

Ok all does it matter what type of sparring you do. For instance if i can train in jkd/kali/silat class once a week and spar at a tang so doo place once a week will that suffice. They do a lot of kicks and punching but no real boxing type moves. Do you all think this is enough to teach me how to defend myself. What is the right way to spar?

[Underdog]

It all depends on what you are tryin' to accomplish. If you feel insecure on the street or on the ring and need to get relaxed, then get padded the best you can, find someone that can beat the crap outta you, and spar NHB. Sure, it'll hurt, but the reward will be that you will get relaxed under real pressure, someday. If, otherwise, you are tryin' to perfecting some particular aspect of your game, do conditioned sparring, i.e. takedowns against blows or kicking vs boxing.

Just be sure to spar with just EVERYONE. And as often as you can.

[Robin Hood]

Yuo sould try to hit the ohter guy witout him hitting yuo.

[PassiveGuy]

Dude, I can't spar against tall guys. Well, at least I can't be on the aggressive, al I can do is counter attack. Good thing is most of these guys have shitty defences against body shots. Heres a hint: watch you opponents shoulders at all times. And to answer yer question, if you train JKD once a week you should be good in the street, especially if you practice at home. Sparring is sooooo important that it doesn't matter too much who you spar against.

[rockinronnie]

Phillyman - sparring once a week IMO is not enough if you want to get GOOD at it. It doesn't matter what type of sparring it is, to get good at it, and feel comfortable, you have to spar more than once a week.

I have'nt actually done sparring in a few months myself, but when getting ready for a fight / competition, I spar 3 - 4 times per week. Sparring is the BEST way to get ready for a fight, because it's the closest thing to the REAL THING.

Ronnie.

[phillyman]

Ronnie the place i could spar at doesnt spar full cantact. They have contact but no hard. They do throw leg kicks but it was mostly karate punches and typical korean kicks. They were even throwing spinning backfist. I know some sparring is better than none but would you suggest this type of sparring for me to learn how to defend myself? Thanks

[Maxximus]

phillyman,

The type of sparring at the place you train at that you just described sounds like the traditional "play fight" sparring found in various styles of karate, Gung fu, TKD, etc. When I used to do Gung fu I did plenty of that type of sparring and in my opinion its relation to actual fighting is pretty limited. It does teach you timing and reaction, but there is just so much control and limited technique involved that it kind of gives you a false impression of what your fighting skills really are. I think its okay to do that kind of stuff once in awhile if you just want to sharpen your timing with certain techniques, but it certainly doesn't replace full contact sparring. You can do that kind of sparring for ten years and still not have much of an idea of what its like when hard fast punches are thrown at you to knock your head off. And you also must remember that when you spar this way you are constantly training yourself to pull your punches. This is not healthy. It'll screw up your sense of power and distancing in a real fight.

To really get good, in my opinion you have to regularly do grappling sparring, controlled full contact kickboxing sparring, conditioned full contact (i.e. boxing vs takedown, ground grappling with strikes, etc). You should at least once in awhile put on the headgear and MMA gloves and go full out.