how good do you have to be to spar?

[moneygqj]

i'm new to martial arts, boxing and the MMA world. i wrestled my whole life and i'm now taking some MMA classes.

in my first class the teacher to me to the side to teach me the basic punches, kicks and combinations. we also went over some general submissions.

today was the second class, and we began off by doing punch and kick combinations and then did 20 minutes of sparring.

i found myself going up against a guy that was 6 inches and 125lbs heavier than me and that is also a black belt.

i felt uncomfortable but didn't want to say anything to the teacher. do you think i'm being thrown in too fast? i mean i can barely throw a jab and straight correctly at this point with keeping a proper guard let a lone having someone stand infront of me and not only throwing punches at me but also kicks.

[Ninjitsu]

I would definately say you are being thrown in too fast. 6 inches taller and 125 lbs. heavier? Yeah that is definatly too fast in my opinion, though I'm not a teacher myself, so thats just my opinion. I'm thinking you should normally start out with someone at least your same weight/rank.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

IMO heightt/weight differences have no bearing in sparring unless you're in a tournament that has such divisions. In a street confrontation, are you going to say to a guy 6" taller and 125 lbs heavier "Sorry, you're to big for me to fight...do you have a smaller brother?"

As for sparring to soon, I let beginners spar very soon...even the first night sometimes, so that they get a feeling for what they are doing. I coach them as we go by telling them to try this kick or that punch. I, or my senior student, always spar a beginner the first time. We don't attack much and just let them try a few things on us.

And while we're on the subject of size difference, I'm 6'6" tall and 240 lbs (Shorin Ryuu and Sauzin will verify that), so I'm usually quite a bit larger than my opponents. I spar young kids, ladies, or guys any size. They all need to fight someone larger than themselves or they will not know how when they get on the street.

[Ninjitsu]

I would say that if you can barely throw a straight punch, or keep on guard properly, like he has previously stated, you shouldn't be thrown into a sparring situation with a 6 foot tall 225 pound black belt. But i dont want to argue with you, ShorinRyu Sensei, like i have done in the past.

[AndrewGreen]

Where you thrown in too fast?

All depends on how hard he was hitting you and how he was working with you.

Sticking beginners with really big guys is often just safety, in case their ego gets in and they just start swinging, you need a guy that can deal with it and not risk injury to either of them.

Now if he was trying to knock you out, then yes, thats very bad...

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Sticking beginners with really big guys is often just safety, in case their ego gets in and they just start swinging, you need a guy that can deal with it and not risk injury to either of them.

Now if he was trying to knock you out, then yes, thats very bad...

This is exactly why I, or my senior student (a sandan) spar beginners first. Once in a while youy'll get some guy that trys to knock your block off and I'd rather he try it with me than with someone his own level.

I often state in class that the most dangerous person in the dojo is the guy that doesn't know anything. No control, sloppy technique, bad timing, whatever. I like to get them sparring early so that they can see what it's like and understand what we're teaching better through experience, rather than just words of demonstrations.

[DKizzle]

Yeah, I'd never put 2 white belts together or a Yellow with a White. Brown should be the lowest belt to spar a White for the first time (going easy, but good enough to beat them).

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Yeah, I'd never put 2 white belts together or a Yellow with a White. Brown should be the lowest belt to spar a White for the first time (going easy, but good enough to beat them).

The object of myself, or my senior black belt, sparring a beginner the first time isn't to "beat them". If that was the case, chances are that not one of those beginning students would come back again for a 2nd/3rd class. The object is to let them try a few techniques in a somewhat controlled environment without worrying about defense to much. I seldom will attack a new student unless they are obviously very wide open. Then my few attacks are slight and slow to allow them to see where they are vulnerable.

[AndrewGreen]

The object of myself, or my senior black belt, sparring a beginner the first time isn't to "beat them". If that was the case, chances are that not one of those beginning students would come back again for a 2nd/3rd class.

Depends on the guy, some come in with really big ego's, those are the ones that are dangerous until that ego gets squashed.

The object is to let them try a few techniques in a somewhat controlled environment without worrying about defense to much. I seldom will attack a new student unless they are obviously very wide open. Then my few attacks are slight and slow to allow them to see where they are vulnerable.

I'm the other way, I want to coach them through getting an effective defence up first.

[KempoTiger]

i found myself going up against a guy that was 6 inches and 125lbs heavier than me and that is also a black belt.

Welcome to my world

i felt uncomfortable but didn't want to say anything to the teacher. do you think i'm being thrown in too fast? i mean i can barely throw a jab and straight correctly at this point with keeping a proper guard let a lone having someone stand infront of me and not only throwing punches at me but also kicks.

How hard was he engaging you? If he was a black belt, he probably was just there to work with you, and let you get a feel for getting to hit someone as hard as you can.

When I teach classes to new students, I often allow myself to be a dummy for them so they can get a feel for the move, as well as get a feel for what it's like to hit someone. Better they vent on me than on some other student