6' sparring

[Pajarito21]

In my dojo we do something called 6' sparring. Even though we do have pads and we still do normal sparring, we sometimes do this type. It is when we stay 6 feet away form our opponent and spar like we would normally with out getting close to one another. I am terrible at it and hate doing it because I always end up closing the distance and sparring without contact but like I would normally. So I do get reprimanded for it. I am just wondering if anybody else does it and why?

[joesteph]

It sounds like an extreme in non-contact. I can understand that you might not want to ask your teacher without appearing disrespectful. Is there a higher belt you can speak with to ask what this is all about?

It's almost like you're shadow boxing and are being observed doing it by your teacher.

[bushido_man96]

Yeah, it does sound somewhat counter-productive. I have not heard of it. I could see sparring maybe in a limited fashion from like a kicking distance or something, to work on that aspect, though.

[Sokusen]

I think Joesteph is right. It sounds like shadow boxing but with a partner. I can see the usefulness of learning how to read your partner and react to openings without having to worry about getting hit or, if your control sucks, hitting your partner. Like anything you have to break something down and work on specific aspects of it using drills to become proficient at it. To me this sounds like your working on awarness of your opponent. What do you do when your opponent strikes? How does your opponent react to your strikes? How is he/she moving? Who is controlling the pace? Theses are all things that you could be working on durring that drill.

[JAKEHE3078]

I think Joesteph is right. It sounds like shadow boxing but with a partner. I can see the usefulness of learning how to read your partner and react to openings without having to worry about getting hit or, if your control sucks, hitting your partner. Like anything you have to break something down and work on specific aspects of it using drills to become proficient at it. To me this sounds like your working on awarness of your opponent. What do you do when your opponent strikes? How does your opponent react to your strikes? How is he/she moving? Who is controlling the pace? Theses are all things that you could be working on durring that drill.

At first I was thinking its just glorified shdow boxing. After reading you're post I think you are probally right.

[ps1]

It really sounds quite useless. I can't see how it would truly be a beneficial skill. I can see why you don't like it. I don't think you should always be pounding on each other, but there are better ways to learn to read your opponent.

[Jeffrey]

To add to Sokusen post. I think there is impotant lesson in distance here.

[bushido_man96]

I think Joesteph is right. It sounds like shadow boxing but with a partner. I can see the usefulness of learning how to read your partner and react to openings without having to worry about getting hit or, if your control sucks, hitting your partner. Like anything you have to break something down and work on specific aspects of it using drills to become proficient at it. To me this sounds like your working on awarness of your opponent. What do you do when your opponent strikes? How does your opponent react to your strikes? How is he/she moving? Who is controlling the pace? Theses are all things that you could be working on durring that drill.

At first I was thinking its just glorified shdow boxing. After reading you're post I think you are probally right.

I think that the major downfall here is that you end up having two guys throwing all kinds of techniques at each other at the same time, without regard to what the other person is doing. It ends up becoming a continuous buzzsaw of techniques, with no rhyme or reason. If you don't have to worry about being struck by a technique, then you won't learn how to deal with it, and what techniques you can and can't do when you are jamming each other or being pelted from a distance.

[ps1]

To add to Sokusen post. I think there is impotant lesson in distance here.

I disagree. This type of sparring doesn't teach you to move in and out...just stay out. There's nothing of value in that. It doesn't teach good footwork, distance, properly reading the opponent, or timing.

[Jeffrey]

To add to Sokusen post. I think there is impotant lesson in distance here.

I disagree. This type of sparring doesn't teach you to move in and out...just stay out. There's nothing of value in that. It doesn't teach good footwork, distance, properly reading the opponent, or timing.

That depends on who is the agressor. If I move in that forces you to move out and vice vesa. I would consider this like shadow boxing only I can have the invisible partner right in front of me.

To be honest I can see pro's and con's to this type of sparring.