Melody Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 My sensei says that in sparring, keeping a straight face or smiling at your opponent can lead them to lose. He said that keeping your cool and being a good sport is the most important thing, and can often infuriate or unnerve your opponent. Personally I believe every word of this. What do you guys think? Would you get P.O'd if your opponent was grinning at you? I can personally imagine my opponent losing it and beginning to flail their arms un-artfully with no form. .: No matter what happens you must have faith in yourself, or no one else will ever have faith in you. If you have the desire, you can do anything :. (A quote from my sensei) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung001 Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 As far as sparring goes, I think there are a lot of things that you can use in your attempt to gain points. The expression on your face is one certainly, body language can come into play too, in other words, do you look confident or do you look scared or nervous? The noises you make.... if you throw a kick, and miss by a mile, do you groan out of frustration, or do you give it all you got, and follow-up the technique to let them know that you mean business? Now in an actual self defense situation, I wouldn't worry to much about smiling at the guy comng at you with a knife... I would concentrate more on defending yourself and those around you, but in sparring... anything goes. Student: "Why did you hit that guy with a chair? Why didn't you use your karate?"Master: "Hitting him with a chair was the only karate I could think of at the time."Lesson: Practice until you don't have to think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted October 9, 2004 Author Share Posted October 9, 2004 I certainly agree w/ that. I don't think I could muster a smile if someone was coming at me with a knife. .: No matter what happens you must have faith in yourself, or no one else will ever have faith in you. If you have the desire, you can do anything :. (A quote from my sensei) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karatekid1975 Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 When I spar, I have a grin on my face most of the time. When I spar a few people, I laugh. Not because they are bad, but because I just can't stop laughing (my boyfriend is one of them LOL). Plus I like to have fun while sparring. It's a game, basically, for your mind and body. If a person is stiff and tense, what is that going to get them? Frustration, mainly. So I stay relaxed, have fun, and enjoy it. It throws a few people for a loop (the ones that are stiffies, mainly), but hey. It works for me Laurie F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiboxerken Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 I'm not so sure about the claim. I'd bloody a smile as sure as I'd bloody a frown. It's easy to smile and be confident, but that doesn't win the fight, skill and tactics do. Just kick 'em, they'll understand.- Me Apprentice Instructor under Guro Inosanto in Jun Fan Gung Fu and Filipinno Martial arts.Certified Instructor of Frank Cucci's Linxx system of martial arts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaG Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 At our dojo we are told not to smile. My instructor says that it presents a target for them to hit. Suddently they see these big white teeth and instinctively... *blam!* Tokonkai Karate-do Instructorhttp://www.karateresource.com Kata, Bunkai, Articles, Reviews, History, Uncovering the Myths, Discussion Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddwraph Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 im in capoiera and there is a lot of smiling in that. my teacher says its a way of hiding ur moves. plus when im sparring, its having fun so i smile. Im brasilian, but live in the united states. Really enjoying martial arts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Warlock Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 Being expressionless, or smiling, is a good means to avoid showing that you may have fear. Showing determination is far more effective. Oftentimes smiling can be misconstrued by the assailant as 'mocking,' which can serve to add a few more logs to their fire (not a good thing), but can also cause them to overcommit when attacking (a good thing). On the other hand, smiling could also intimidate. All in all, it depends on the situation. But, what really matters is your conviction and conditioning. "When you are able to take the keys from my hand, you will be ready to drive." - Shaolin DMV TestIntro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karatekid1975 Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Exactly WW Good post. Laurie F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markusan Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 LIke all tactics and strategies, smiling will work on some opponents some of the time. You can't rely on it to have the same effect every time and if you do you're asking for trouble. That said, I think it's good to go into a sparring, or a self defence situation, with the mindset that you know there's a good chance you'll get hurt, but you're going to enjoy the contest anyway. I find I smile at training partners who I've been sparring with for years, because we ar very comfortable with each other and we are really having fun, trying to score points against old friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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