Teaching sparring

[monkeygirl]

I'm a kata practitioner. That's my specialty. I'm also a fairly good fighter, but when it comes to teaching...I don't know where to begin. I'm almost entirely responsible for a family class that is taught on Mondays & Wendesdays...my brother helps me out sometimes, and he's a very good sparring instructor. Mostly though, I teach the class. Because of this, the students tend to be more artistic and good with katas and such, but rather lacking in the sparring department. I know I can't rely on my brother to teach sparring all the time, so I need to learn how to do this myself.

 

So here's my question: how do I develop my students into good fighters? What do I need to focus on in class, besides just giving them plenty of opportunities to fight?

 

What kinds of sparring drills do you do in class?

 

What do you look for when improving individual fighters?

 

I know there's times when I can see what a student is doing "wrong" in sparring, but I just can't articulate it. It's very frustrating for both me and the student.

 

Any help would be appreciated!!

[KickChick]

Mostly though, I teach the class. Because of this, the students tend to be more artistic and good with katas and such, but rather lacking in the sparring department. I know I can't rely on my brother to teach sparring all the time, so I need to learn how to do this myself.

 

You are obviously not ready to instruct in the area of sparring.

 

Stick with what you are capable of teaching for now ...

 

Instead of asking us, maybe you should get some further "instructor training" from the master instructor of the school.

 

Teaching students "how to spar" is taken too lightly by most instructors. Many believe in the that best way to learn to spar is to suit up and just get in there and spar. But to introduce students to sparring using this method can be a mistake. You need to be sure that your students have a sound foundation in sparring basics.

 

Basically students need to learn proper stances, one-two-three step sparring, balance, and footwork & lateral movement.

[Pacificshore]

Work on some focus pad drills for hand combinations. You can start with your students in static mode so that they can get timing down. As you progress add in some footwork, linear and lateral. Continue to add in some upper body movement such as the bob and weave as they throw their punches. For punches work basic jab, cross, hook, even uppercut.

 

If you have the Thai pads, you can incorporate the kicks with the hands.

 

Hope this is of some help to you.

[hobbitbob]

Two person drills are a good way to begin. i have to admit I like the JKA's philosphy of starting wiht 5 step adn then progressing through 3 and 1 step sparrting before beginning free sparring. It tends to prevent the flailing that is common in many schools.

 

Simple drills:

 

Opponents in left foot forward kamae. Alternate mae-geri, gyaku-zuki back adn forth (most basic).

 

Opponents as before. Attacker skip forward mae ashi mawashi geri, rear foot mawashi geri, uraken uchi, haito uchi, then the other side repeats.

 

Opponnents as before. Attacker yori ashis in with gyaku zuki. Defender sidesteps and counters with same technique, back and forth.

 

Feel free to add on everybody.

 

[G95champ]

I work them blocking a round/hook righ

 

then I make them work differant counters off it then we just go from there.

[AndrewGreen]

So here's my question: how do I develop my students into good fighters?

 

Have them drill fighting, but do so with specific goals. Don't just say go and let them have at it, give them a focus.

What do I need to focus on in class, besides just giving them plenty of opportunities to fight?

 

Drill, drill, drill and drill some more.

What kinds of sparring drills do you do in class?

 

All kinds

 

The drill has to have an objective.

 

If I want to work the jab, thats what we spar with.

 

Want to keep the hands up, only the head is a target.

 

Want to work combinations, you can only hit in 3's (or 2's, 4's)

 

Want to work a specific combination, only use it.

 

But all of them are sparring, no preset drills. Those won't help much, all they are needed for is sometimes to break down psychological barriers about hitting and being hit at.

 

So lets say you have a brand new student, first day. You teach them posture, movement, covering and a jab. Now have them spar with it. Just a jab, keep moving and keep your hands up. Throw when you get an opening. Throw to create an opening. But just the jab, maybe even just to a particular target to start.

 

Then add other things.

 

What you drill will depend on what you want to develop. You say you can recognize when something is wrong. Now create a drill which isolates it. Bob there drops his hands and exposes his head when he kicks. So now he can only kick, and Joe can only close and attack his head when he kicks.

 

Bob will correct his own mistake or have a very sore nose.

What do you look for when improving individual fighters?

 

What are there strengths/weaknesses.

 

What do they land/what lands on them.

 

Develop a strategy which works within that.

 

Bob can't kick, doesn't have the balance/co-ordination/leg speed or whatever, he just can't do it. Teach him to close and use his hands.

I know there's times when I can see what a student is doing "wrong" in sparring, but I just can't articulate it. It's very frustrating for both me and the student.

 

You don't need to explain it much, just isolate it and drill it in isolation. Something goes wrong when Bob kicks high but your not sure what. Bob can only use high kicks, Joe anything and try to narrow it down. You're pretty sure it has nothing to do with Joe's kicks so take them out. Once you isolate it and correct it in isolation put it back into a more "complete" form.

 

Don't let beginners spar beginners with everything. A beginner can slow spar an advanced person with everything if the advanced person is walking them through it and is really isolating and drilling things as they go.

 

If you could give a little about how you spar and what sorts of things you want to develop someone might be able to provide more help.

[monkeygirl]

Thanks everyone!

 

Andrew Green, some of those ideas will really help me. In a sense, I knew a lot of them already just from my training, but since I haven't tried to "raise" fighters, I haven't had to use those drills.

 

At this point I don't have many advanced belts, so we're just working the basics of footwork, getting used to throwing techniques, getting used to being hit, etc. But I do have some fighters who are beginning to blossom, so I need to help them along with that. Like I said, right now I can have my brother help me a lot, but I need to develop these teaching skills NOW.

 

It's also strange because right now I'm going through a major turning point in my fighting: I'm discovering what kind of fighter I really am. So I'm really noticing a lot of things about fighting.

 

Question: Should I:

 

a. jump in and spar my students?

 

or

 

b. walk around and cruise from match to match, critiquing the fights? I usually have an assistant instructor black belt fighting in there with them.

 

What are the benefits/consequences to each? (Sheesh I sound like my Health textbook )

[Withers M.A.A.]

Work on drills that require sparring-like techniques. Have them put the sparring gear on and have one side throw a backfist followed by a reverse punch. The other side should do some type of perry or block and then counter. Combos like this build up confidence and help people build combinations in fighting.

 

Pete

[Martial_Artist]

Monkeygirl,

 

"Raising" fighters is a tough thing to do. Not everyone has it in them to be a good fighter. However, it is good to teach sparring. Let me see if I can help.

 

If you want to develop a good fighter then you're not going to want to build around set patterns when actually doing live/contact sparring.

 

For the beginners, who are the most dangerous(mainly because they don't have the discipline over their bodies to control hits, etc), work them in mobility. Movement is crucial. Teach them proper avoidance, proper advancement, and proper retreat. Have them work this while avoiding basic attacks. Get them used to the art of movement. The key to any type of fighting is movement.

 

Then work in attacking and defending while moving. Try to make it as simultaneous as possible. Just the basics. Nothing fancy.

 

Then when they have learned to move and then hit and move have them spar. Don't have them spar in patterns. Just let them free spar using the techniques you have instructed them in. If you see anyone going outside what they have worked on then intervene and ensure that they are practicing the basics and when the basics have been mastered they can move on to more advanced movements. For now, the basics will suffice for some very interesting sparring matches.

 

The same applies for your advanced students. Although they will have a greater freedom to choose their movements, they should not go beyond what is fundamental and necessary. Fancy movements can be practiced, but fighters should always work on the foundations. It takes years to master even the most simplest of movements when applied to live/contact sparring. Doing them alone is easy, using them in real-time is a different story.

 

Hope this helps.

 

MA

[hongkongfooi]

just remember no matter what training u have taken when it comes to sparring and your stood there face to face with your opponant all the training in the world can go out the window just take your time with them students dont rush them teach them thats all u can do teach them