Best way to spar

[hanshi9]

dear wastelander, my reason for mentioning the stop action during kumite is that in the 51 years of teaching and visiting various dojo on the east coast is that i've seen many , many students participate in kumite in and the "instructors" only coments were " you have to block more " it seems that todays martial art dojo have lost the true essence of the art. IE; to teach the student to defend his life if necesary and to become a real martial artist. too many dojo are concerned with tournaments & trophies. in the 70's i ran a tournament and the final match for black belt champion lasted 20 minutes. we had to change all referees 3 times !! the quality of black belt was outstanding. i feel , that quality has been lost in todays world due to the fact that people open a dojo without all the necessary teaching qualifications. they jump from system to system in order to gain rank and hang a certificate on their wall. i hate to use the saying "back in the day" but here goes at tournaments there was reserved seating for 4th. and 5th. dans. today everyone is carrying 8th. 9th. 10th. dans . sorry to vent. this was to be a short response.be well

[hanshi9]

bushido...man96 ; kumite should be fun at times. i love it when my black belts do kumite and one thumps the other with a solid technique. they both laugh then discuss how the technique got "IN" . the other thing is when they are sparring i will hear one say to the other"your dropping your guard or your telegraphing your next move or here comes your back kick " each one working so hard to help the other improve. this applies not only in kumite but kata , weapons , self defense etc etc as well. they strive to help knowing that one day they may be alone and will have to call on their training in order to survive.

[Dobbersky]

I ALWAYS spar with my students, I use it to instructor guide and inform them of the short comings and of their strengths. It is a custom in my Dojo, not too sure if this is a knock-down thing but when a possible knockout strike is applied the receiver congratulated the striker with an "OSU"

I always advise that they can make mistakes in the dojo but should do their best to make the same mistakes on the street!

"Subete no ningenwa, umarenagara ni shitejiyū de ari, katsu, songentokenrito ni tsuitebyōdō de aru. Ningenwa, riseitoryōshinto o sazukerareteori, tagai ni dōhō no seishinn o mottekōdōshinakerebanaranai."

Translation:

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Edited January 11, 2012 by Dobbersky

[hanshi9]

dobersky , sparring with your students or having your yudansha spar with them is the only way they learn. it's the traditional way. your quote at the bottom of your post is EXACTLY what a dojo should be. every student should make a conscious effort to assist a student of lower rank. it's the spirit of brotherhood that keeps the dojo strong. domo arigato

[ShoriKid]

Our sparring runs the range from light contact at low speed to really work on those new techniques, timing and combinations, all the way up to wrapped hands, heavy gloves and head gear. Targets are pretty much open, and the lower belt sets the pace and the contact level within the given guide lines. The instructors spar with the white belts on up and we have a blast doing it. I love it when someone makes that little connection that lets them string together good footwork, solid defense and strikes. Instruction is always coming from the side to keep guard up, move their feet/head t work a combination etc.

Dobbersky, we don't "Osu" when that solid shot lands or one that was on the money if things were full on, but you get a nod and a "good, good" from the receiver.

[evergrey]

I don't mean to say that we never go light... but we pretty much always use contact during kumite. We are encouraged to try to work in the techniques we have drilled earlier in class, but we still tend to spar freestyle. Always, however, there is someone watching all of the fights, and they will stop kumite if they feel the need to make a point, either the individual fight, or the entire class. We usually have half the class sparring with the other half of the class, and most often it is the low ranks against the high ranks, fighting down the line, so everyone gets to fight the entire other half of the class. Sometimes low ranks will spar low ranks, and high ranks will spar high ranks... there are very good reasons for doing that, too!

Also, in my dojo, usually the low rank does set the pace, unless the high rank is instructed to wake them up, or take it lighter. White belts aren't beaten into a paste- what would the point of that be? What would that teach them, except for helplessness?

Though, SOME white belts (*coughs and looks back into her own past*) tend to be a bit too gung ho, and do need to get the wind knocked out of them and take some free flying lessons in order to settle down, haha!

There is a lot of instruction, in the form of advice from instructors, and even advice from one's opponent, in my dojo. Sometimes (GASP!) a low rank will even notice a "tell" that a high rank has and is unaware of, hah! Not so common, of course, but it can happen.

Sometimes when someone lands a really solid blow, we'll "OSU," and sometimes we'll just say "oof, GOOD ONE!" Me, I'll often start laughing. Yeah I don't know why either exactly. Sensei has called me his little berserker before.

[Sokusen]

The dilemma that I am facing is that some guys at the dojo don't actually understand the principle behind it and start sparring hard which results in a stand off where both of us are more concerned with defence and dont try any techniques.

But on the other hand isnt it good to spar with intensity as that will help you learn to defend attacks that are close to what you might face in real life?

Basically how do I become good at sparring......

If you want to become good at sparring, then stop trying to win when you are training. You and your partners are so concerned with scoring the point you forget why you are in the dojo. You are there to learn. This is a common problem when students first begin to spar. They think “I need to score a point, but I can’t let them score a point!” This way of thinking couldn’t be more inhibiting for the learning process. I don’t care if how you train whether it’s light contact, or harder contact. Forget about “winning” and focus on your technique and what you are trying to accomplish when you spar, whether it be distance, timing or control. Leave the “winning mindset” for the competitions, keep the “training mindset” for the dojo.

[brickshooter]

What I'd like to see that I can't find in any dojo is kumite starting and staying in a 3 foot area at roughly 25% contact. And it should allow non strikes such as arm locks and throws.

But it needs to be done under close scrutiny with immediate feedback from instructors who has a better view of what is going on. Instuctors should be instructing, not participants.

[tallgeese]

The dilemma that I am facing is that some guys at the dojo don't actually understand the principle behind it and start sparring hard which results in a stand off where both of us are more concerned with defence and dont try any techniques.

But on the other hand isnt it good to spar with intensity as that will help you learn to defend attacks that are close to what you might face in real life?

Basically how do I become good at sparring......

If you want to become good at sparring, then stop trying to win when you are training. You and your partners are so concerned with scoring the point you forget why you are in the dojo. You are there to learn. This is a common problem when students first begin to spar. They think “I need to score a point, but I can’t let them score a point!” This way of thinking couldn’t be more inhibiting for the learning process. I don’t care if how you train whether it’s light contact, or harder contact. Forget about “winning” and focus on your technique and what you are trying to accomplish when you spar, whether it be distance, timing or control. Leave the “winning mindset” for the competitions, keep the “training mindset” for the dojo.

I don't think any advice could be put better than this.

[hanshi9]

todays dojo & the students are concerned with tournament sparring and not " street defense" on the street there are no sinbons & corner judges. when sparring you have two jobs #1 hit the other guy #2 DON"T get hit. if you hit your opponent with a STRONG CONTROLLED !!! technique , stop and ask your self if that kick or punch would have dropped him. there are no do overs on the street , point fighting has destroyed the art in more ways than one. if a student continues to point fight and concentrates on winning a trophy , when and if the fight is real he or she will pull the punch or kick out of habit and will get their brains beaten out of them. "hito tsuki / hito geri" one punch or one kick should do enough damage to the oppenent to render him incapable to continue.