No respect for age!

[Shorinryu Sensei]

why would he be going "all out" on you. The goal of sparing isn't to injure your partner. It is to learn how to use your martial arts in a controlled fighting situation. Am I correct?

You're correct that that is what it's SUPPOSED to be but like I said, many of the young practitioners want to prove themselves .

I've had a number of these "overzealous" young men in my class in the past that felt they needed to hit harder than they were supposed to. I will warn them a few times about it, and if it isn't doing any good, then I will spar them at the same level they are sparring at. I tell them this right up front that if they want to get rough, I will also.

It usually only takes a minute or less and they understand that they need to tone it down a notch or two.

[MASIsshinryu]

Meet their aggression with equial force, but greater skill. Use your experience to teach them the right lessons. Holding back does not show them a true picture of you as a Martial Artist, and might be hindering the emotional development that they need to more fully appreciate those that train with them.

[STR33T GUY]

When I spar with someone for the first time, I tell them to keep the contact light. I also tell them that I’m not a punching bag; if they hit me hard I’ll hit them back hard.

If anyone goes at me all out when sparring then I do too. It’s only happened once with me and I knocked the guy out, I was wearing 16 oz gloves and he had head gear on. I can hit harder than most fighters.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Meet their aggression with equial force, but greater skill. Use your experience to teach them the right lessons.

I disagree. Meeting force with force is an unskilled way of fighting IMHO. That's not what you should be learning in your training.

Take a 6' 21 year old man with big muscles and an attitude. Put that man up against a woman that is 5'5" tall and slim build. She is not going to be able to match force for force in a fight, yet she should be able to come out triuphantly if she uses her skill, knowledge, experience and training.

Holding back does not show them a true picture of you as a Martial Artist, and might be hindering the emotional development that they need to more fully appreciate those that train with them.

This depends on what you mean by holding back. if you're talking about going all out on this young man, that doesn't teach him a lesson, but rather will stroke your ego. I don't think I've ever given anyone my best fight...ever. Not in 30 years. The person that I will give my all to in a fight is the man that I intend goiing into the fight, to kill or cripple for life. Thus far, I haven't encountered a situation that I feel I need to go all out in, thus I hold back.

[STR33T GUY]

Take a 6' 21 year old man with big muscles and an attitude. Put that man up against a woman that is 5'5" tall and slim build. She is not going to be able to match force for force in a fight, yet she should be able to come out triuphantly if she uses her skill, knowledge, experience and training.

Not on the planet that I live on!

[Shorin Ryuu]

Man. What are all these old codgers talking about?

But to be serious, I think there are always those kinds of people, regardless of age or even time period. If this energy can be channeled into something productive, it can yield great things. One only has to look at the likes of people like Motobu Choki to see what I mean.

[MASIsshinryu]

Meet their aggression with equial force, but greater skill. Use your experience to teach them the right lessons.

I disagree. Meeting force with force is an unskilled way of fighting IMHO. That's not what you should be learning in your training.

Take a 6' 21 year old man with big muscles and an attitude. Put that man up against a woman that is 5'5" tall and slim build. She is not going to be able to match force for force in a fight, yet she should be able to come out triuphantly if she uses her skill, knowledge, experience and training.

This was actually meant to suggest not feeling the need to defend with LESS power than the individual faced, if they are inclined to use more than what is the norm in class. It sounds like the example given was in reference to a younger male aggressor, who seems intent to used excessive levels of physical force. My suggestion is, in response to the base note, do not overpower him, but show him how superior technique at equal levels of force will prevail.

Holding back does not show them a true picture of you as a Martial Artist, and might be hindering the emotional development that they need to more fully appreciate those that train with them.

This depends on what you mean by holding back. if you're talking about going all out on this young man, that doesn't teach him a lesson, but rather will stroke your ego. I don't think I've ever given anyone my best fight...ever. Not in 30 years. The person that I will give my all to in a fight is the man that I intend goiing into the fight, to kill or cripple for life. Thus far, I haven't encountered a situation that I feel I need to go all out in, thus I hold back.

By chosing not to more fully engage the aggressor, the aggressor is learning that his behaviors will lead to victory. He will fail to grow in maturity, as he will feel no need to critically evaluate his own approach. Some of the best lessons in life are gifts delivered wrapped in defeat. I would never council someone to blow out a fellow student for any reason other than the learning experience which thath individual would have. Ego has not place in a dojo, or other training experience. I assumed, as this was a dojo setting, that one would limit the level of force to what still falls within a "training mode," but would not feel over constrained to avoid the bumps and bruises that meeting the demonstrated level of force might cause.

[UsagiYojimbo]

Okay, that leads to another question... at what level of aggression should a student be kicked out of a dojo? If a student has been warned repeatedly not to go all out during sparring, and they intentionally continue to do so, at what point have they gone too far? Does the sensei have to wait until the student breaks a rib/arm/whatever to get rid of them? Has anyone here been in a situation where someone was removed from the dojo for being overly aggressive?

[Muaythaiboxer]

not all of us teens are cocky and arrogant when i spar someone my senior i always try my hardest but i dont ever try to hurt anyone. my advice lay the cocky guys out i know i wouldent want anyone not sparring to my level.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Okay, that leads to another question... at what level of aggression should a student be kicked out of a dojo? If a student has been warned repeatedly not to go all out during sparring, and they intentionally continue to do so, at what point have they gone too far? Does the sensei have to wait until the student breaks a rib/arm/whatever to get rid of them? Has anyone here been in a situation where someone was removed from the dojo for being overly aggressive?

I haven't had to kick anybody out of my dojo for being to aggressive and hurting others, but one of two things will happen to them in m yexperience

1. They will beginbto exercise more control...problem solved.

2. They quit coming to class...problem solved.

Either way works fine for me.