Power of Sparring
What is the power of sparring. If you have ever researched this topic there is always a comparison about sport sparring and combat sparring in general. While sport karate for example is great to teach you speed, agility, distance management and timing. I think if this the only way you know how to spar, this could be problematic in a real self defence scenario.
The reason for that is because in a real life scenario you have to deal with one or more of the following
- An attacker want stop if you get hurt
- You can not rely on someone coming to your rescue
- Enviromental factors come into play e.g rain, hills, grass, gravel, sand and leaves can be slippery. This will affect how you can move.
- You could end up in a confined space such a small room, classroom, bus, bathroom, car. This greatly effect the type of techniques you can apply and you can not rely on being able to use any kicks.
- Sport sparring has rules to follow e.g what techniques you use, time limit, stopped once you score but in a life scenario an attack is going to be chaotic, no rules apply and no one is going to stop unless you win or you can escape.
You also need to think as a grappler you may have not striking skills or a striker may mot have grappling skills. In order to have the best sparring techniques it is better to be well rounded with your techniques. This is the power of sparring.
WHY IS SPARRING IMPORTANT
When you begin any martial art of self defence program it may be something you might be nervous about, as you might be scared about getting hurt. But you will soon understand sparring is one of the most important aspects of any martial arts training.
Nearly martial art styles will have some form of sparring in their training, be it striking or grappling. The power of sparring shows this is a great way to test out your strengths, weaknesses and mental toughness in a fight. You will be able to improve, perfect your techniques, learn how to fight. You will not be able compete for a competition without sparring.
THE ONLY WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS (power of sparring)
While practicing your techniques with a stationary target e.g kick pad, mitts, punching bag or grappling dummy. Will help you develop a proper stance, joint locks, kicks or throwing precise strikes . It all changes once you need to confront a real person, who like you, is also moving and throwing strikes at you. Think about this, as women we are trained to kick a male attacker in the groin (which is easy if they are stationary ) now imagine you are in self defence situation and you have to fight them off. The groin area is a very small target and would almost impossible to hit directly in they are moving. You would in fact have a better chance using a knee strike.
WHAT DOES SPARRING TEACH YOU?
- How to keep your opponent at a safe distance
- How to set up the timing in executing your techniques
- Footwork and positioning
- How to apply techniques you learned from your sensei or coach
- Learn how to recognise your strengths and weaknesses in your techniques
- How to stay focused and keep calm in a attack or a fight.
You will never learn how to improve your timing or technique unless you spar, because the bag is not a moving target. You don’t have to worry about the bag hitting you back or kicking you. Once you start sparring, you soon realise is that you can’t just attack whenever you want. Throwing a strike at the wrong moment may leave your face unprotected and in a bad position. This gives your sparring partner a chance to catch you off guard with a quick jab.
PRACTICE ALL YOUR SKILLS
Now that you have been training in martial arts for awhile and have learnt how to throw a jab or get someone in a joint lock, would you know when is the right time to execute it in a real self defence situation? How do I react when someone is putting pressure on me? Do you forget to keep your guard up when you spar? or get nervous before a takedown? These are all vital questions that you need sparring for in order to answers those questions.
Remember that sparring in a dojo or a gym is not a real fight. But it is the only place in which you can apply these techniques you learned in a safe environment. You don’t have to worry getting hurt as the focus is about applying the techniques in the right way.
USE THE POWER OF SPARRING IMPROVES YOUR SELF DEFENCE
This is where we need to be careful. I pretty sure nearly everyone in the martial arts world has heard about mcdojo. These are fake martial art dojos and do not include any form of sparring, competition or you can do things like get a blackbelt in a year. The majority of martial arts take 5-6 years for this to be achievable.
We should also look the mental aspect of sparring in martial arts. Sparring this way helps you understand how you would feel to be in a real fight with another person trying to hurt you. It will give you emotions like fear or a adrenalin rush, the same as you would get in a real fight.
Sparring on a regular basis will help you learn how to control your fears and stay mentally calm in this type of situation. This is, perhaps, the greatest advantage you could have in a real life self defence encounter. You need to make sure that both your mind and body are working together. Because if you let fear take over in that moment everything you know about martial arts is gone when you need it the most.
HELPS YOU PREPARE FOR COMPETITIONS
People start training in martial arts for a variety of reasons, such as fitness, self defence or to compete on the world’s stage. Most martial arts dojo’s such as boxing, karate, taekwondo or bjj emphasis a great deal on sports competitions.
In order for these competitors to train at such an elite level , martial artists spend a vast majority of hours sparring in their dojo or with their trainers. No matter if you are just beginning to enter these types of competitions or training for the olympics. Sparring is where all your years of training comes together and your skills get sharper. Constantly going through your techniques, hitting pads or getting you mentally prepared. Martial artists must also increase their cardio and strength in order to give them advantage over their competitors.
As I stated at the beginning of the blog that sparring helps you with timing, reactions, distance management and reserving your energy. These are the skills that separates the true martial artist from the mediocre ones. For instance, having a powerful and awesome technique is going useless without good timing. So always remember that the more you spar, the better and sharper you skills will become.
SPARRING IS ACTUALLY PRETTY FUN
Just like when you practice any contact sport thinking about sparring can make you nervous and can be quite intimidating. First of all, you train wearing protective gear such as gloves, mouthguard, head-guard, shin pads, and groin cups. Martial artist are taught to control their movements and have a great deal of respect towards each other. Doing everything they can to help you improve and succeed with your goals.
Second, sparring is not about knocking training partners out by swinging wild and powerful strikes. It is all about learning the process of how to be completely focussed on applying the technique and only using about 50% of the power. Higher ranked belt rank or professional competitors may go harder, because they have more control over their techniques than beginners. Even though bjj is not a striking martial arts, they still need to apply caution when training with lower ranks. This the power of sparring.
If you ever experience some soreness or you become exhausted you can always stop and take some time to recover. Once you get used to it, sparring will no doubt become your favourite thing about training. Rolling on the ground, throwing kicks or punches or simply just trying to out do each other will make you feel good and happy. And isn’t that what it is all about!
POWER IN SPARRING TIPS
Any martial artist will tell you that the very first time you you step onto the mat or into a ring to spar. Felt extremely intimidating, because you have no idea what to expect.
However, if you actually want to ensure your able to defend yourself in a self defence scenario. Make should you martial arts school practices sparring and on a regular basis. Sparring is designed to test out your strengths and improve your weaknesses . Even when doing karate sparring I would try and test out new techniques, as I had no interest in sport karate and train for self defence. Sometimes pulling in combinations and techniques from other martial arts.
Sparring also helps to reinforce the basics, learn distance management and timing. By constantly being willing to learn and adjusting your techniques as you go. Because one thing I have learnt in sparring is no one fight the same and you need to change up your techniques to win. It reminds me of a quote by Bruce Lee “ The best fighter is not a boxer, karate or judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt on any style. He kicks too good for a boxer, throws to good for a karate man and punches too good for a judo man”
GET THE MOST OF YOUR SPARRING
- It is important to not spar at 100% – I have come across guys in sparring during gradings who literally try to take your head off. And I have connect harder in the stomach as a warning and they usually back off. Usually when I spar I match my sparring partner in the intensity they have set. Never going to hard but just pushing each other enough.
- Beginners should start easy in the beginning as you get more comfortable up the anti a little bit.When sparring or in any self defence situation you need to mentally be prepared to not only hit your opponent but accept you will get hit back. Most of all Lose the Ego . I seem to find that guys have no problem accepting this. But when women first start to spar they have a lot trouble in this area. Due to fact this not a natural instinct we have. This is the power of sparring.
- The only way to get better at your martial arts is to feel what your attacker would feel. For instance in order to learn how to block, punch and kick is if you get kicked and punched. Eventually you will learn to block those kicks and protect yourself from those punches. Having an ego will only get in the way of becoming a martial artist. No one wants to spar with someone who thinks they are better than everyone else and can’t control their actions. One of things I love about martial arts is that everyone is trying to achieve the same thing. Supporting and respecting each other. All while staying humble.
- Remember that no one will spar the same way. So make sure you look for openings in your opponents guard and try to exploit it. Throw a right kick and see how your opponent responds. You need to test the waters to see if you can find any weaknesses. After all, everyone has a weakness and it is up to the opponent to identify it and maximize this to his/her advantage. The more you spar, the easier it becomes to identify weaknesses and different styles. Once the weakness you can go away and think about how to get around it to succeed. So the next time you spar against them, you will be ready.
MORE TIPS
- Use Combinations in the power of sparring – Once you get used to sparring you should start to try and put together combinations. Instead of throwing a low kick, why not throw a jab-jab-low kick? Remember that putting combinations together is much more effective at landing shots than throwing single attacks.
- I remember in karate once I asked, if I kick and someone grabs my leg. Is there a way I can get my leg back, so I’m not taken to the ground. Receiving the answer that they did not know. I started to research this and found I could spin out of the kick and then realised if I only spin halfway. I would not only get my leg back but also I was in a perfect position to do a back kick . After a while I learnt more combinations and started to add and test them in my sparring sessions.
- Knowledge is Power – Ask for advice! After sparring with someone, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Think of it as a teamwork . Your sparring partner is the ultimate way to help you grow if you work together to improve your technique . This goes both ways, so don’t hesitate to offer tips and advice if you see something that the person can improve on. The more knowledge you have during training, the closer you are to becoming a better martial artist.
POWER OF SPARRING
- Change your Sparring Partners – One of the most frustrating things I found in mixed classes. Was everyone would start to spar with the same person.
- As I have wanted to teach women self defence. I wanted spar with the guys so I could understand how they moved and their mindset. The guys I would train with, were so supportive and offering guidance on how to improve. These tips helped me greatly in my martial arts journey.
- So don’t be afraid to spar different people. Variety is essential! Everybody has their favourite combinations and their own style. Sparring with different people will enable you to react and respond faster and easier the more you do it. Teaching you to step outside your comfort zone. Practice and train your weaknesses. Whatever you feel least comfortable doing…train it, so that it becomes second nature! Make your weaknesses then become your strengths.
Don’t be afraid to spar someone at a higher rank. Often you will learn the most from people who are at a higher level. I loved sparring with the dan blackbelts, because I found it easier to pin point my weaknesses. Whenever you get pushed further outside of your comfort zone.
Enjoy the Power Of Sparring