Rules for sparring?

[ninthdrunk]

Howdy guys! I have been watching a lot of clips on the net lately of other schools sparring and other styles' tournaments and I was just wondering what the rules are for different martial arts schools' during your sparring. If you have some time, let me know what your rules are, and what style you train! Thanks!

Ben

[apoweyn]

Well, I can give you the rules for the schools I've attended. They aren't necessarily representative of the styles overall. But they're all I've got. So...

1) Taekwondo. I was in taekwondo prior to the popularization of Olympic taekwondo (as far as I know). And we were an ITF school anyway. So regular sparring was no shots to the back or below the belt. No grabbing or grappling. Punching was fine though the face was off limits (and wasn't protected by the headgear at all). Our point sparring was essentially the same deal except, obviously, that they kept track of who hit what when.

2) Eskrima. Stick sparring was done on a 10-point must system, similar to boxing. You could hit the back, back of the head, arms, hands, thighs, etc. Knee shots were illegal, I believe. You could also disarm and sweep. Empty hand shots weren't allowed, regrettably. Neither were grappling or throwing (sweeps aside).

Empty hand eskrima was similar to taekwondo, but much heavier on the boxing skills. We could also use an array of low kicks not allowed in the taekwondo classes. Elbows (pulled) were allowed as well. Essentially, a wider array of techniques but still not much contact. No shots to the back or face. Takedowns were allowed (though we had little instruction in them, so they were pretty primitive).

There are more, but I'll post those to get the ball rolling. Dig?


Stuart B.

[fa_jing]

Rules for sparring:

1. Don't get seriously hurt

2. Learn

Everything else is an extrapolation of these rules.

If you learn to vary the intensity from 1-10 in cooperation with your partner, it will help you greatly with the above 2 guidelines.

[BentMonk]

No throat or eye strikes. No knee traps. Other than that, the same as Fa-Jing said. IMHO to limit sparring any further is absurd. You WILL fight according to how you train.

[Becca]

Pai Lum's rules:

1. Don't spar above your partner's level unless they wish it.
2. Don't deliberatly go for a strike that could cause injury unless your controll is up to it AND your partner is OK with you trying it on them.
3. Don't use any more force than you want used on you. You punch/kick hard, you will get hit hard right back.
4. Don't pick a partner who isn't up to your level of skill/strength if you want a good workout.
5. Be safe.

[norther practitioner]

We use such an array of different scenarios, that sometimes it's hands, sometimes it's feet, sometimes both, sometimes with throws, sometimes without, I haven't gone toe up with anyone in a while except my teacher, I'm allowed to do anything I can while he beats my azz

[Becca]

I always use evrything I got on Sifu and Wosu. They hit hard no matter what. Might as well them some pain, too.

[CaptinPickAxe]

We go full contact in SC, but we keep one thing in mind. If we hurt our partners, we can not train for a while. Besides that, no neck strikes, no knee attacks.

[anton]

Originally posted by BentMonk
No throat or eye strikes. No knee traps. Other than that, the same as Fa-Jing said. IMHO to limit sparring any further is absurd. You WILL fight according to how you train.

You guys are allowed to kick in the balls? ...that's a pretty tough school.

[BentMonk]

Originally posted by anton


You guys are allowed to kick in the balls? ...that's a pretty tough school.

That's what a cup is for. We don't go 100% full contact, but 80% is probably a fair guesstimate. No pads, just the cup. I get my azz handed to me regularly, but it keeps me real.

[rogue]

No gloves or pads. Most hits to the torso. Head shots are pulled. Leg kicks, sweeps and takedowns are no longer allowed. Leg checks are OK. Sparring in the school I went to broke down into three models, long distance trading of kicks, up close beating on each other and then the guys who know what they're doing. The only time people get hurt is when you mix the first two. Either the up close guys (like me) walk into a side kick (like me) or the kickers miss and get in the way of a punch.

[Black Jack]

Rogue-

Leg sweeps and takedowns are now a no-no. Give that a double sad face bro.

What happened? One to many school accidents?

[rogue]

I think it's pre-emptive BJ. My instructor is running a stand alone school as his full-time job now and has to make sure there are feet on the mat. It ****ed off the kickers.

[Mr Punch]

NO rules but those of respect and control.

We decide how hard or fast we are going on the day. Usually we decide sometime during or after the first hand crossing when we've gauged how sloppy/tired or whatever we are feeling... so sometimes one of us gets the pace wrong or ups the pace during sparring. I say 'wrong' but it keeps us on our toes!

So, anything is allowed! In practice however, we are usually working on one or two points, so we try to set those up and experiment with their counters until we develop a reflex response. Also, we usually practice in the park so we don't work any takedowns so often, but with winter coming again, we'll be back to a matted room I guess. Also, we usually keep it short and break quite frequently... this is because

1) We can train the points we want to train;
2) We can focus on fast 'finishers' and KISS (or at least, what are potential fast finishers against 'average geezers');
3) We don't want to get into a rhythm, or if we do we break it asap (which usually leads to a swift and violent denouement!);
4) We a horribly unfit!!!




I hope the last one is a joke!

I guess what we do is more like a 70%-full short intensive drill rather than real sparring... we get injured but usually nothing serious...

[Water Dragon]

rule 1. If you're losing, kick him in the ballz
rule 2. If you're winning, watch out. He's probably going to try to kick you in the ballz.

Other than that, Captain Pickax is correct.