Sparring club - any tips to continue?

[xo-karate]

Just a very raw idea: What if I would found or start a club for just sparring?

Boxing, grappling, karate - maybe even judo.

It would be mostly sparring, but different arts on each session (practise).

It would need some protective pads - but maybe we can work it out with other clubs...

What will be the biggest difficulties?

Should I start working with multible clubs to arrange an "open sparring night" so that people can visit different clubs - or invite every one away from their regular dojo/ring?

(Every dojo in our area has an "open" training time at their gym - so it could be possible to negotiate a "visitors pass" to free training and arrange it that way too.

[yamesu]

Insurance would be a big hurdle if you were to have it at a stand alone venue....

I think you would be a fool not to have the correct levels of personal injury and public liability insurances for that type of full-contact sport also. The last thing you want is liability for someone who trains light-contact to come along and crack their neck/spine from doing hard judo falls etc ec...

I think the idea of having it moved around to already existing clubs (again verify insurances of each venue are fit for purpose) with concurrence from the current club trainers and owners would be a good way to go.

[tallgeese]

It's actually a great idea. You can learn a ton cross training like that. The best venue I ever had that vibe in was a college ma club I was part of. Everyone got together, trained in everyone's specialty, and sparred in any number of venues.

Highly valuable. It's harder to do commercially, due largely, as has been said, to liability. However, it can be pulled off with the right set of schools and people involved. I'd start with approaching one or two clubs, I'd try very hard to get just the best people from each school. Maybe bill it as an advanced workout kind of thing.

[DWx]

We used to have an event about once a term at uni called a "martial arts mashup" where it'd basically be open mat time for a couple of hours. Each time a different club would do the warmup, teach a few bits and pieces if they wanted to and then it was open mat time. Was a really good event as you got to test yourself against other styles and learn some new tactics and ways of doing things.

If you were to do this, got to watch the liability / insurance and even when running the event you might want to lay down some ground rules just so everyone is on the same page re. safety. But if you can make it work, sounds like a really good idea. I like the of the visitors pass too.

[xo-karate]

Thank for supporting feedback.

To sum it up:

1) Liability - insurance (maybe standing Judo should not be one of the first events:-)

2) Select carefully players and make ground rules

3) Start small - one or two clubs ( about 10 players?)

4) Maybe some instruction or tips from "host" for the beginning

I'll start spreading the word and see if anyone is interested. (I'm going to a karate sparring session just in one hour. I'll have a chat with one or two possible canditates - first time for me so I don't know whos going to be at the dojo.

[bushido_man96]

That sounds like the way to go. Like tallgeese mentions, getting some of the better students would be a good way to keep injuries down, by bringing in those with enough experience to control what they do, and have some ability to relay their techiques to others. Avoid the hotdogs who want to come in and just try to grab and throw someone with no falling experience, or kick someone in the head because they've never seen it before.

So, to sum up, bringing in students who are excited about learning from others and have a positive attitude = good. Brining in students with ego problems and just want to drum up good "beatdown" stories to share with their school at the pub = bad. And you'll probably find that you'll have to tell a few people from time to time not to come back due to this, as well. But in the end, the potential benefits outweigh the detractors.

Good luck with it, and let us know how it goes.

[xo-karate]

I went to the karate sparring session and it turned out to be "an open mat" with players from ju-jutsu, karate and mma. (This might sound like the same what I was proposing - and it is, but variation on students skills was too big.)

From kids with yellow belt to back belts with competition experience.

BUT it's a start and there was maybe 2 - 3 same size players.

About insuries - yep - turned a joint from my toe. Minor thing, but irritation to walk with - and sweeped and assibarai to opponent and he hurt his knee. (Assibarai was not to high - tatami was rubberish and he did not fall. Maybe I did it too light.)

So it was "normal" insuries, but something to watch out for.

[Iron Arahat]

2) Select carefully players and make ground rules

Probably your largest hurdle, and potential issue, as ego can be a huge thing. I train now on a regular basis with a croup of guys, who all have different backgrounds. All we do is submission grappling for lack of a better turn. It is just the players (no instructors), we are at a place with mats, no spectators. Everyone was a high level athlete in their younger years, and have nothing left to prove, but just enjoy training.

However, I have had situations where in the past I have been invited for such days, and it has been very much a spectical, with a club with an agenda to prove something, or players with a huge ego in which some fun turns to be serious.

Just food for thought.

[Shizentai]

2) Select carefully players and make ground rules

When I was in high school I did something similar with my friends. Boxing, kickboxing, aikido, karate, kung fu. All in all it was a very rewarding endeavor. The only problems we had were with the HUGE variations in what constitutes "free sparing" in each of our different styles, and also what is considered an "illegal move." Therefore, I would recommend talking to your members about their expectations while forming the rules of your matches. If you plan to include people from heavy-hitting martial arts, then the amount of contact (low medium or high) should be established and made clear in the very least at the beginning of each match.

Speaking from experience, nothing stinks more than to stop millimeters before punching your opponent in the nose, just to have him put his fist through yours two seconds later.

[xo-karate]

I was at a BJJ club at their first session and at the end was a 60% effert randori

Looks like 60% for some is very close to 100%.

I am scouting for a good group and slowly planning a progressive program. I think sparring needs a progressive plan - start from maybe letting people use only 3 tehniques to counter? Or just having one as a tori and other as a uke for a while....

Or letting peple to punch in the head - and learning to block like "Crasy Monkey" Rodney King approaches.