aznkarateboi Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 it depends on why you are in the school.... if you are there for fun and fitness its fine.. but if you want to learn some combative skills some form of freestyle practice is a must...Interesting, considering that free-sparring has little relation to actual self defence. I think free sparring at an early stage can actually decrease one's ability in a self-defence encounter, due to an over-reliance on high kicks and tournament technique. I don't think the phrase "freestyle practice" implies high kicks and tournaments...
Sibylla Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 Same as me, almost no sparring in Shotokan. I guess some of the reason is that we don't wear gloves etc. But sparring half speed should be possible even for the beginners.
Gloi Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 What grade are you , Whitelion , and how long have you been training? That information would be useful to anyone trying to advise you. A lot of clubs won't let people spar for quite a long time until they are sure techniques and control are good enough to avoid injuries. At clubs where people are allowed to spar before they are ready students often get hurt or frightened and leave.
WhiteLion Posted March 29, 2004 Author Posted March 29, 2004 Well about to get orange so i know im not too experenced in most peoples eyes but there have been people there for 6 years who still have only spared once a very long time ago. Just like the phoenix I shall rise from the ashes.
Tigerspirit Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 Well you being only an orange belt i wouldn't worry about it too much but the person there for 6 yrs is a bit of a puzzle. i must of been there for a year before i first fighted but i thought nothing much of it i was just a kid. Impossible is not a fact, It's an opinion!Shotokan-Nidan
AndrewGreen Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 What grade are you , Whitelion , and how long have you been training? That information would be useful to anyone trying to advise you. A lot of clubs won't let people spar for quite a long time until they are sure techniques and control are good enough to avoid injuries. At clubs where people are allowed to spar before they are ready students often get hurt or frightened and leave. Nonsense I start people sparring almost right away, no one gets hurt. No one gets scarred. I have a lot less injuries this way. People get hurt when the person in charge doesn't know how to teach sparring, and just pads them up and says go. Andrew Greenhttp://innovativema.ca - All the top martial arts news!
wado_lee Posted March 29, 2004 Posted March 29, 2004 sparring comes hand in hand with basics and kata get these right and your sparring will be far easier and more understanding theres no one style just your style---------
AndrewGreen Posted March 30, 2004 Posted March 30, 2004 Not really, Basics and kata don't help sparring all that much. Sparring helps sparring. Andrew Greenhttp://innovativema.ca - All the top martial arts news!
wado_lee Posted March 30, 2004 Posted March 30, 2004 sorry i belive they do i feel they introduce timing body movement, stretch, strengh not to mention disapline i think you need them all as they compliment each other theres no one style just your style---------
Knockdown Posted March 30, 2004 Posted March 30, 2004 This is one of those areas where there is just wide diversity in how it is handled in styles, and in each Dojo. Not to mention individual instructors. Some styles will put a big emphasis on sparring. Some dojo will. and the reality is that some do not. It sounds like your instructor does not. Perhaps he does not value it as a training tool. If there are members who have been there for years, and they seldom have sparred – it sounds highly unlikely that this will change in the immediate future. Past behavior is usually the best predictor of future behavior. In my school we spar 1-2 times a week. As a style, Kyokushin values Kumite. As an instructor, I enjoy drills to enhance sparring as well as actual sparring. So chances are good that 2 out of 3 classes will involve Kumite to some extent. But, Some clubs do not do sparring. To over-generalize, some of the really old school Okinawan styles do not use sparring. if your instructor does not value sparring, he will not start using it now. There is nothing wrong with that, it is the way that Sensei views the martial arts. I.E., I have a buddy who trained at a Okinawan Goju club for 2 years. The instructor really trained on in-depth Kata bunkai, two person drills, and other self defense applications. They never once did any sparring in the 2 years he was there. It was not even a matter of the students being “ready”. The Sensei just did not see it as an important activity and placed no emphasis on it at all. And for that Dojo, that was just fine. Personally, I agree with some of the previous statements that it takes a while to get people ready to spar. for most people, I wait about 3 months. That is not a hard and fast rule, just a general guideline I use. Some start in a month, others wont be ready after 4 months I have heard of some dojo that really do wait a year or two, but definitely not in Kyokushin. Anyway, If sparring is extremely important to you, then you will need another school to train at. That is just my 2 cents. But if you like what your instructor is teaching, and do not feel the need for Kumite, then there would be no need to go looking for another club to train at. Best of Luck.
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