No sparring first year??

[new_guy]

During a discussion with my instructor, he said in his school, nobody spars in the first year. The first year is spend perfecting technique.

A year sounds like a long time to me. How can you test your skill without sparring?

Thoughts?

[Garland]

During a discussion with my instructor, he said in his school, nobody spars in the first year. The first year is spend perfecting technique.

A year sounds like a long time to me. How can you test your skill without sparring?

Thoughts?

yeah...that is a really long time, considering that if you practice dilligently for 4 months or so, you'll have the basics down pretty solid.

[3mptin3ss]

doesnt sound right if you ask me. you should be sparring way earlier inmop. i was sparring like 3 days a week, many many rounds per week way before i hit the one year mark. at 1 year i had accumilated a good amount of experience fighting others.

[Khun Kao]

ah, different strokes for different folks. Some people simply have a different approach. I sparred with my instructor my first week in MuayThai. I sometimes allow students to spar their very first day. Not saying "all out" sparring, but controlled sparring with a real experienced student or a coach.

I've had some students that have been with me for years and still have never sparred, and others who have been with me less than a few weeks and spar regularly. It varies from student to student.

[new_guy]

ah, different strokes for different folks. Some people simply have a different approach. I sparred with my instructor my first week in MuayThai. I sometimes allow students to spar their very first day. Not saying "all out" sparring, but controlled sparring with a real experienced student or a coach.

I've had some students that have been with me for years and still have never sparred, and others who have been with me less than a few weeks and spar regularly. It varies from student to student.

Yeah, I wish it were that way, Khun. But at this school, NOBODY spars the first year.

I'm struggling with this. On the one hand, I really want to mix it up. On the other, his point is to master the fundementals first. The guy is a perfectionist. Today I did so many round kicks I'm dizzy. Feet position off? Do 5 more. leaning back? Do 5 more. hands were down, do 5 more. So maybe in the long run, I'll be a better fighter.

[Garland]

I'm struggling with this. On the one hand, I really want to mix it up. On the other, his point is to master the fundementals first. The guy is a perfectionist. Today I did so many round kicks I'm dizzy. Feet position off? Do 5 more. leaning back? Do 5 more. hands were down, do 5 more. So maybe in the long run, I'll be a better fighter.

This is a good way to drill...but you should supplement it at LEAST with some sort of timing or distancing type of sparring. Not serious sparring, but the jab drill is GREAT for beginners. Maybe some light boxing sparring too??? I'd say that it should be subjective...if the person has the fundemental techniques down, they are ready to spar. Think of it as running plays is football. You can drill, and drill, and drill, and work on plays...but if you never ever scrimage, or throw some contact in there...how will you find what works for you?

[Little Apple]

I agree. we don't spar right at first, but we do range and timing all the time. But kudos to him on drilling the form. You see too many fights where the guy can't keep his hands up.

[Garland]

I agree. we don't spar right at first, but we do range and timing all the time. But kudos to him on drilling the form. You see too many fights where the guy can't keep his hands up.

that's more due to fatigue than poor form.

[theprophet]

one word "Len"

[jaymackz]

That's bs.....you should be able to sparr, 1 year without sparring is a long ways from now....i was sparring a week later when i first started boxing and trust me you want to know how to take a hit and see how it feels like to get used to it and besides sparring helps you improve 100% more.. cause you learn from your mistakes when you sparr.

[new_guy]

one word "Len"

What does that mean?

[theprophet]

Len (sp?) in Thai means play. It is a very slow, controlled sparring. It gives you and your partner the chance to work on good technique and form. You also get to see various attacks come at you at less than full speed to recognize the mechanics which prelude them. Only trick is both partners need to keep control and not make any quick movements, for example I throw a len kick and you block it at full speed, no good. From beginner to advanced len is a very useful tool.

[new_guy]

Len (sp?) in Thai means play. It is a very slow, controlled sparring. It gives you and your partner the chance to work on good technique and form. You also get to see various attacks come at you at less than full speed to recognize the mechanics which prelude them. Only trick is both partners need to keep control and not make any quick movements, for example I throw a len kick and you block it at full speed, no good. From beginner to advanced len is a very useful tool.

Oh, OK. So it's like when the feeder swings a thai pad at me and I block it right before I do a combintation. Or when he slowly round-kicks, and I block it (with the Captain Morgan stance) before I return with a combination.

Does that sound right? Is that "Len"?

There is another school in town that allows sparring quickly, but it's not muay thai, it's kickboxing based on karate. Do you think it's best to stick with muay thai and be patient, or give the other flavor of kickboxing a shot? I haven't signed any contracts yet.

[Abe]

That's stupid to be honest, your trainer is being very silly.

Ok, to perfect techniques? half of the people that learn thai boxing wouldn't even know how to really kick untill they sparr. I see it in my gym, most people who don't sparr always get a rude awakening the first time they do, becuase they been kicking the bads and pads so hard that they forget about the fact that they haven't actually tried the kick on a moving/defending/countering target. They have no idea why they have to hold their guards when kicking, and which direction or side the counter will come from, or even what the other guy can do. I've been throu that, adn tell you what, I'm glad I started sparring early.

This is how I train now, I sparr until I found a short-coming in my techniques, than I get on the bag or pads to fix it. I always thought my leg check was OK until someone turned the side of my leg purple. That's when I get back to work on it.

How perfect ur techniques means nothing if you can't use it during a fight. Only when you and the opponent have the same amount of experince, the winner is the one who posses better techniques and more will to win.

PS, don't do karate basic kickboxing if your into full contact. I don't knwo too much about it, but I spend oen lesson at my uni's "kickboxing" class and watched the advance guys body sparring all the time. It's just how the rules are like I guess? No punches to head?

[Slavez3ro]

Hi i am new to the Forums aswell...joined Today...

I agree there is no substitute for sparring.....
I would say u get to know the style first and then u can slowly Blend into the whole idea of kicking and punching real ppl....
That is the only way u get experience is sparring...