Open tournaments and sparring events!

[evergrey]

OSU folks,

Today I went to my first all-styles sparring event!

I had so much fun, though I think the mat was a lot cleaner at the end of the day after those three guys wiped it with me, hahaha! Of course the white belt ended up sparring with three senseis... I sure didn't "win" but in a way I did, because I learned so much! A lot of it was "what I shouldn't do," but sometimes failure can be the best teacher.

I've lost about 30 pounds since I started Kyokushin. 20 since I started training at this dojo. I still have *mumblemumble* pounds to lose, but I think I'm on a pretty good track for that!

Here, I'll show you a highlight, just for fun!

"I did not expect that," said Shorin Ryu sensei guy. Really nice fellow, by the way!

http://www.niceboots.org/~evergrey/Kyokushin/1210/highkick.jpg

That, and an uraken to the face (which I pulled, 'cos I am nice and I didn't want an uraken to the face myself) after smacking down both of his hands, were probably my crowning moments.

The other two people I sparred with were both a part of my style, but I'm hoping to get a chance to spar with some more people of different styles later. Maybe the Wing Chun guy.

So, tell me- do you spar with people outside of you school? Do you spar with people outside of your style? Do you feel that it helps to round out your skills? Or is it just a fun distraction?

I believe it is a great thing to do, because then you can test your style, and work with people and tactics that you may not be familiar with, which can make your way of thinking more flexible. It can also show you where the holes are in your style (all styles have holes and gaps, none are perfect) and what really works.

Tell me about your experiences with sparring other styles. How did it go?

[Wastelander]

OSU folks,

Today I went to my first all-styles sparring event!

I had so much fun, though I think the mat was a lot cleaner at the end of the day after those three guys wiped it with me, hahaha! Of course the white belt ended up sparring with three senseis... I sure didn't "win" but in a way I did, because I learned so much! A lot of it was "what I shouldn't do," but sometimes failure can be the best teacher.

I've lost about 30 pounds since I started Kyokushin. 20 since I started training at this dojo. I still have *mumblemumble* pounds to lose, but I think I'm on a pretty good track for that!

Here, I'll show you a highlight, just for fun!

"I did not expect that," said Shorin Ryu sensei guy. Really nice fellow, by the way!

http://www.niceboots.org/~evergrey/Kyokushin/1210/highkick.jpg

That, and an uraken to the face (which I pulled, 'cos I am nice and I didn't want an uraken to the face myself) after smacking down both of his hands, were probably my crowning moments.

The other two people I sparred with were both a part of my style, but I'm hoping to get a chance to spar with some more people of different styles later. Maybe the Wing Chun guy.

So, tell me- do you spar with people outside of you school? Do you spar with people outside of your style? Do you feel that it helps to round out your skills? Or is it just a fun distraction?

I believe it is a great thing to do, because then you can test your style, and work with people and tactics that you may not be familiar with, which can make your way of thinking more flexible. It can also show you where the holes are in your style (all styles have holes and gaps, none are perfect) and what really works.

Tell me about your experiences with sparring other styles. How did it go?

In karate I have sparred Shuri-Ryu, Shorin-Ryu, Kyokushin, and Tae Kwon Do practitioners so I don't have a wide spread since I was in Shuri-Ryu when I sparred Shuri-Ryu people . Sparring other styles is a great way to not only test your style but to adapt it because the things you have learned may not work best in certain situations that you will come up against. The same is true for grappling--when I was doing Judo I would have to grapple with people who practiced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Japanese Jujutsu, collegiate wrestling, freestyle wrestling, Pankration, etc.--and you have to adapt.

From my experiences, Shuri-Ryu people tend to be very solid and like to be counter-strikers. Shorin-Ryu people tend to be very evasive and like to dodge and strike from odd angles. Kyokushin people tend to be very direct and like to lead with kicks and follow with a flurry of punches. Tae Kwon Do people tend to be fast and like to switch techniques mid-strike to confuse you and get a strike in where you didn't expect. All of these methods can work, but sometimes you will need to change it up--for instance the Kyokushin guy had trouble sparring us when he joined our Shuri-Ryu dojo because we would counter punch him off the kicks before he could touch us, and some of us had trouble with a couple TKD people because it's hard to counter-strike against something that switches mid-technique.

Adaptation is the key to effective fighting, in my opinion. There is no perfect style and no one person is perfect, so being able to change and adapt your fighting style on the spot can help you tremendously. Congratulations on your learning experience and hopefully you get many more open sparring classes.

ETA: Thanks for bringing this topic up, by the way, as it gave me some inspiration for a post on the OKI Blog.

[bushido_man96]

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing them.

I have never had the opportunity to really spar with someone out of a different style, but have had the opportunities to work with BJJ guys, Aikidokas, and other general DT practitioners. I would like to have the chance to spar with some guys like that to learn some different things, though. It would be a great experience.

[DWx]

At uni we had "martial arts mashups" where all the styles come together to do a bit of training. Sparred a couple Karate & other TKD style guys but most people there are beginners so its not really all that indicative of the style. I dropped out of the uni TKD club though and don't really have time to do much else. Kinda wish I did have the chance to get stuck in with some other styles, but maybe I will in the future. Am hoping to do a big all-styles tournament in Feb.

Sounds like you had a good time evergrey.

[Lupin1]

Haha. For a second I thought you were fighting a little kid. Until I looked closely at his reflection in the mirror.

[evergrey]

Haha Lupin,

Nope, he's a nidan and an instructor! He's just short like I am.

The only thing that I would have liked to have seen, really, was more stand-up styles represented, and more stand-up sparring. Mostly people grappled... which I do want to learn someday! But right now, it's stand-up for me.