sparring classes

[drunken monk]

im only a white belt and cant spar yet but ive seen others spar during class. my class instructor said that when we spar its light touch and i can understand for saftey reasons but shouldnt the pads cushion hard blows becuz i think that if i dont go as hard as i can each time then i wont get any better i dont want to hurt people either. do any of u do light touch only?, any opinions?

[G95champ]

Before you can run you got to walk. Start light, learn control and techinque. Its really easy to get gun shy. If you can not block and try and go hard you are going to get hurt. As far as point sparring I dont like it. However its a great way to start. If you hit someone with a kick or punch as hard as you can it hurts. Pads or no pads. Never do it to a classmate. Thats what heavy bags are for.

[karatekid1975]

I did light contact in Tang Soo Do (point sparring). It was ok. I didn't spar much then. I was big on the technique side of things (forms, one step sparring, self defense, properly doing each technique, ect).

 

Now I do TKD, full contact. Well there is days we go light contact to learn technique and things, which is good. But there is days we go all out. And yes, G95, it hurts. I also agree with you about going light , learn techniques, and control first. That is very important, specially at the beginner stage.

[inyctrotter]

Light touch lets you control your power for later use in sparring. and of course i do light touch.

[three60roundhouse]

I am pretty sure there have been a few threads on this topic - just search for "sparring" or "sparring classes" and you will get a few results!

[karatekid1975]

Oh s**t. I just realized who you were, drunken monk LOL. Hey this is Laurie.

 

I just want to say that when our instructor says light contact, it's supposed to be, but it's not always light contact. It depends who you spar. I got my but kicked in day class a few times. Light contact my butt

 

It depends on who I spar. If they are going light, I'll go light. But if they wanna go all out, then I'll give them what they want.

[OldRookie]

Hey Monk-we usually start at what we call level 1 & that is no touching. Then after a minute we move up to level 2-light contact & so on. Saturday at my sparring class I broke a buddy of mine's nose with an elbow. I really felt bad;we were in close & my L elbow caught him & I heard it pop. Purely an accident but it still sucked. Our instructor just said-"It happens,we all know theres a chance of that when we step in here."......I still felt bad for him though....in that incident the pads didn't affect the outcome either way-maybe if he had on his headgear...

[karatekid1975]

Hey Old rookie, I like the saying your sig. "A Black belt is a white belt that never quit." I know that was off topic, but that is such a cool saying. I couldn't help myself

[sk0t]

Sparring is a delicate subject when it comes to the Martial Arts, because some teach it differently than others. If you teach WTF TKD Sparring, light contact to those practioners might seem like a lack of training, and to ITF TKD people, Full Contact might seem excessive and dangerous...now to a Karate person light contact is the way to go...

 

It all depends on what style you do and what you prefer...some light contact styles will allow full contact if both competitors agree...and some wont...it is all up to you and your instructors...

 

But I agree with the others...start soft and learn what to do first, then you can pick up the pace and turn up the heat...

[Bratt]

As many have already pointed out, Senseis usually take it easy at first to get their students used to the fact of sparring. Plus, this will really help in controlling your strikes and blocks sufficiently. Then as you progress, they usually bring the sparring up a notch, letting some contact in, then adding a little more and more slowly. But never rush into something, it's always best to take it easy at first, and get the feel of what your doing.