I nearly punched my friend in the head!

[Blade96]

Ok we were sparring last night and i was attacking and he was supposed to block with age uke but he didnt and i nearly hit him a new one, he had to duck to get out of the way. Now since my blocks and punches are rather sharp and abrupt, I often smack people on the arm or the hand or knuckle. and it hurts. Once I kicked my brown belt friend while we were practicing yoko geri keage. I talk to my parents sometimes (parents wanna know, right?) about my MA but not much. and they said that cause I am strong, that I dont know my own strength, that I should be careful cause i could hurt someone. I was wondering, Is it, my fault cause my punch was strong? Or his fault he nearly got punched in the noggin because he didnt block and had to duck instead? Should people be placing the blame on me cause my blocks and punches are strong and I sometimes hurt them?

Just wondering for opinions cause people (*cough* my parents *cough*) said I should be more careful.

[KarateGeorge]

It's a two-way street on this one. When sparring, it is up to both parties to exercise both caution and control. You put on protective gear to minimize the risk of injury, and when attacking with a technique, the attacker should exert the necessary control to not injure their partner. The one defending from the attack should also be paying attention to what's happening and properly defend themselves. Since sparring is a flowing activity, the role of attacker and defender is constantly changing and sometimes you may be both simultaneously. So each person needs to be continually paying full attention to what's happening and continuing to maintain control of their techniques.

That being said, it is a physical activity of fighting, albeit in a controlled setting, but because of the nature of the activity, people can and do get hurt. Just make sure you're exerting the level of control appropriate for the nature of sparring you may be doing (ie, light contact, full contact, etc.)

[Lupin1]

When you're practicing with a partner, especially as a white belt, you should go easy on the strength behind your movements. I stick my movements out there solidly and with adequate speed, but I don't put all that much strength behind them unless I know there's no way I'm going to hit the person because I know I don't have the control and aim yet to be certain I don't hurt a person. Focus more on delivering a solid, well-performed technique. Give them something solid to defend against, but don't put the speed and strength into it like you'd put into your kata.

[sensei8]

Is it, my fault cause my punch was strong?

NO! Don't you want your punches to have kime and be strong?

Or his fault he nearly got punched in the noggin because he didnt block and had to duck instead?

YES! Ability to block when necessary is an important part of any Martial Arts. If one can't block for one reason or another then the only alternative is to not be there when said technique reaches target by....ducking or something.

Should people be placing the blame on me cause my blocks and punches are strong and I sometimes hurt them?

NO! Yes, we should be careful as to not hurt one another while sparring or whatever because that's not why we're at the Dojo. However, ACCIDENTS do occur. I sincerly doubt that you "hurt" your Dojo mates on purpose, therefore, just spar.

I'm sure that your sensei doesn't allow his students to intentionally hurt one another. Contact WILL HAPPEN no matter what and when dojo mates clash with one another, that contact is magnified and yes, it leads to injuries. If your sensei feels that you're wrong, he'll address it right then and there.

As you gain both the experience and the knowledge; injuries will be avoided, but, even then, accidents happen. Listen, I've been doing this for 45 years now and when I spar with other Dojo mates of equal rank, we clash, we hit, and sometimes we have to duck. But, I never worry about my kime and power because when you spar me and you're equal in rank to me...You better have control and know how to block and you better know how to hit and you better know how to formulate tactics and strategies because I'm here to IMPROVE my skills and I want to be tested at full power. If I get hit...well...I should've blocked.

Edited January 20, 2010 by sensei8

[WireFrame]

Dont soften or slow your attacks. Control them.

Your partner is training to avoid or deflect or block your attacks, slowing down or softening them won't help your partner. But if they fail and you know you're about to cause damage, control the attack to minimise the damage. Karate isn't just about speed and power, it's about control too.

[sensei8]

Dont soften or slow your attacks. Control them.

Your partner is training to avoid or deflect or block your attacks, slowing down or softening them won't help your partner. But if they fail and you know you're about to cause damage, control the attack to minimise the damage. Karate isn't just about speed and power, it's about control too.

ABSOLUTELY! Very good post! Without CONTROL; the martial arts is nothing but barbaric!

[Blade96]

Thanks guys. I guess last night I also forgot I was sparring with a white belt, as when I sparr with black belts I can punch harder because they block better and faster (obviously!) I'm just used to doing this with black belts cause thats who I mostly get paired with. Yes, I gotta learn control in case i do get paired with another white belt. but with BB's, I dont have to. BB's want me to punch harder and faster. so I think I forgot. Those BB's help me a lot though. My punching and blocking is better than my fellow white belt counterparts. Not being cocky, just honest. I didnt get hit by the white belt.

Thanks anyway!

btw I despise people who execute a painful technique on someone on purpose and then say 'oops sorry didnt know my own strength' They're just evil. If I hit someone its always an accident that I hurt them.

[Lupin1]

btw I despise people who execute a painful technique on someone on purpose and then say 'oops sorry didnt know my own strength' They're just evil. If I hit someone its always an accident that I hurt them.

Ugg, yes. We were doing this Aikido take down thing last weekend and since it was just me, a black belt student and the sensei and he wanted to teach a move that was too advanced for me to perform, I got to start learning how to be uki even though I'm not quite up to that level yet. First the sensei demonstrated the take down and the bb got to practice it on me until he got it right. Then the sensei showed him (by doing it to him) a way to manipulate the person's fingers to cause a lot of pain all the way up their arm while you're holding them down. I don't think the sensei wanted him to try that with me, but he kept trying to do it to me, even though he was practically wimpering in pain when the sensei demonstrated it on him. All I can say is I'm very happy he wasn't able to figure it out...

[KarateGeorge]

Dont soften or slow your attacks. Control them.

Your partner is training to avoid or deflect or block your attacks, slowing down or softening them won't help your partner. But if they fail and you know you're about to cause damage, control the attack to minimise the damage. Karate isn't just about speed and power, it's about control too.

Very true! Control does not mean you have to go light. With proper control, one can execute a punch, kick, etc. at full power without hurting their opponent.

When attacking, its up to the attacker to use control. But yes, its also up to the defender to defend. Accidents can and will happen, don't beat yourself up too much over them when they do.

[Lupin1]

Everyone's saying that she's needs to go full speed but control it, but doesn't it take years to develop that control? Shouldn't we be encouraging white belts and really all the lower kyu ranks to not use so much power until they develop that control?