do u ever meet up with a friend from your dojo/dojang and spar? no pads?

 

i did this today with my friend alex from TKD (he is the junior great britian light weight champion) i just bumped into him in the park and we decided to spar and i got my butt wooped. i now have several impressive cuts and bruices including a cut lip and a bump on my outer forarm.

 

but twas all in good fun!

 

anyone ever done this kinda thing?

 

(man i havnt posted in a while!)

Sparring without EQ is not a good idea, for the reasons you stated. Once at class we didnt' have our EQ, but we sparred "light contact" only. I have rememberances from the "light contact" still fading on my arms and legs. The nice thing about wearing the EQ is that you can strike and not be concerned about doing damage. I know putting it on can be a pain, but it makes the session much more enjoyable, and you're less afraid to try new things, especially against a better opponent.

 

When my son and I spar just "for fun", he puts on his EQ, and doesn't fear mighty dad popping him with a kick so much. I don't have to worry about explaining anything to his mother

yeh thats understandable, but dont u think there is soemthing to be said for no EQ sparring? you learn how it feels to be hit and punched, and beleive me when i say you have to be good with those blocks!

 

in some ways i do agree with, u can learn alot from sparring with EQ. one day you will need to expirience being punched without gloves.

 

i can see this thread may cause some mixed opinions so lets keep it friendly thanks

yeah. like at my school we always just spar like before and after class. w/o gear on but we don't hardly ever hurt each other. it is fun, though, huh?

I really don't see the point using body armour. When get punched and kicked you get used to taking a hit. Also you learn how to hit another person more effectively.

We rarely use equipment (mostly only the kids). When the adults put on equipment then you KNOW someone's going to get popped. We go light to medium without and almost, but not quite, full speed with the equipment. We're not a Sport TKD Dojang, so the equipment is used to allow people the practice of really unloading on their punches and kicks with seriously hurting anyone. That being said, in those classes, I often go home more bruised than when we go without it pads.

haha, fights erupt all the time at my school and my house. My dad and I'll just look at each other and it'll start. All in good fun w/very rare injuries.

While the pads do cut down on bruises and cuts, they haven't shown themselves to be very effective at preventing major injuries.. Especially to the head.

There were only a few times I put armor on to free fight:

 

1. When I was training for a tournament, which was not all that often.

 

2. When I was being used to train someone else, especially our founder's son (that was always a pain in the rear, because he trained for tournaments and I didn't. I pretty much learned as I went along).

 

When I was free fighting other BB in class or out, we never used armor. While it does offer some protection, it also can give a false sense of security.

I spar without gear with one of my Wing Tchun buddies on regular basis. No serious injuries to date but I would recommend keeping this type of sparring between friends who know they can trust each other not to lose it when someone takes a lump. Might be a good idea to have a third party to referee if you feel like tempers could flare between you and your partner.