Learning to Spar

[GhostFighter]

Ive been on Krav Maga for a couple months now but i still really suck at sparring and thinking this was not the right sport for learning to spar.

Most of the time i bite the dust against someone when its time to spar in the class even tough the person is weaker and smaller then me!

My question is what the best MA to join to learn how to Spar and why?

Thx in advance

[Menjo]

Mauy Thai is relitivly easy to learn and is nowadays all sparring. However by no means i think just because youve found a weakness, you should give up. If want to improve and stay in your MA, then ask the instructor and try practicing sparring drills. Obviously within a couple of months id find it hard to picture someone winning every single match and proclaimed a champion. Different MA take different amounts of time, just try to remember to stay patient.

[Jiffy]

It really depends what you are after.

Most of the long range standup systems are really good for this. Eg. Karate, Tang So Do, TKD etc.

[GhostFighter]

I was thinking of something more simple like kickboxing.

[ShadowFox]

Ask your instructer to go over some sparring drill with you. I think you should pratice some more before joining another MA, but if you dieing to join another MA try kuk sool won; it go over the basic sparing drill from the beginning and dont even let you start sparing to blue belt and by then you good and ready to start sparring.

[Nurvingiel]

Good idea ShadowFox.

One thing I'm a big fan of for people new to sparring (and those not so new too!) is controlled sparring drills.

In karate for example, we have kihon ippon, which means "one step"*. There is a prescribed series of moves for the attacker and the defender. In tournaments, the winner of a kihon ippon match in a tournament is decided by whose techniques come the closest to their opponent without actually touching, and whose techniques are the best (best stance, best technique, most ki focus).

This is a great way to learn because it teaches you the basic mechanics of sparring. We also have two other drills which aren't as controlled as kihon ippon but aren't (mostly) unrestricted like free sparring. Unfortunately, we only do free sparring and kihon ippon (for children and white belts) in tournaments.

I wouldn't worry too much about sparring. It's loads of fun and extremely useful to learn. It's also very difficult to learn, and everyone progresses at a different pace. (The same can be said about kata [forms], but I think this is even more pronounced in sparring.) Furthermore, your belt doesn't necessarily determine your skill at sparring, unless a significant portion of each class is devoted to sparring (and even then, I still think everyone has a different pace).

We don't spend a lot of time sparring in my style, so people's skill levels are all over the place. I've had yellow belts take points off me and I have a black belt! Now, I'm not bad at sparring, but I think people forget that junior belts can be quite good in sparring. After all, it's a totally different skillset than kata, and is learned in a totally different way. All that to say, it's no biggie that smaller people than you can beat you at sparring. That doesn't mean you're bad at sparring or won't improve or anything.

Furthermore, don't forget that small people can have an advantage in sparring too! A tall person is typically stronger with a longer reach, but a small person is typically faster, and can get inside a tall person's reach and cause all kinds of problems. This isn't true for everyone, so you have to get to know your opponents', and your own, strengths and weaknesses.

As a short person, I try to get inside people's optimum distance for a technique (where kicks are all scrunched up and not effective) and then quickly move away (I need to work on this moving thing more though).

*One something anyway. I really should know that.

[CTTKDKing]

I personally think it's good that you start sparring right at the beginning. We usually wait till you've been there about a month in our school before the instructor lets you spar. I personally think you should stay in your style for a while longer before leaving it. If it really isn't fitting you after a while longer with a very hard effort I might recomend TKD, Karate, or Muay Thai if you want something simpler like kick boxing.

[tufrthanu]

If you suck at sparring now you're going to suck at sparring no matter what art you take. The answer is to get better at what your doing. There are alot of books out there that talk about this type of thing but the basic theme is this...is there any techniques you can do really well and fast? If so try thinking up some combos that get people to fall for them. Practice it over and over. The other thing you have to remember is in MA small and weak means nothing. I'm 6'1 and 290 pounds...I could hammer people if I went full bore...but instead I routinely get hit hard by smaller weaker opponents. The reason is I'm not trying to go force for force...eventually you will meet the guy that has more force then you. The idea is to fight better not harder. So while I do still get hit alot by the 140 pound guys...just think how fast I'm becoming by fighting them...when I fight a heavy guy...I will appear to be very fast because he will move so slow. Just some things to think about.

[GhostFighter]

If you suck at sparring now you're going to suck at sparring no matter what art you take.

I dont think that is true because im not getting any sparring tips with Krav Maga, we just spar and thats it! Sometimes i do get some tips from my oppenents telling me to keep my hands up etc...

While on kick box or mua thai they do learn to spar step by step i understand so i am thinking that i can become a better at sparring if i join those MA.

Can a person who doesnt know how to swim learn it by just jumping in it?

Maybe yes but it takes a lot longer time then taking class.

[AndrewGreen]

Boxing or Muay Thai. I reccomend Boxing, at least to start.

If you suck at sparring now you're going to suck at sparring no matter what art you take.

I disagree, MANY martial arts instructors don't really teach sparring, they just toss people into it and say go. A good coach can get just about anyone that wants it to a decent level, regardless of what they come in with. Decent meaning they can beat beginners with ease and are comfortable sparring, not meaning they are winning belts or trophies.