Does your Sifu/instructor spar with you?

[Meat Shake]

"What's a sap?"

Im not quite sure, but you dont want to get hit by B. Sapp either.

[SifuAbel]

Originally posted by LEGEND
Sifu Abel...I see u are using the FIST INC. Headgears...is that a quality headgear to use with JKD/KENPO gloves...advice appreciated.

I'll say this about FIST headgear. Once you replace the lexan face shield for a metal grid(The lexan will buckle and cut you.), It becomes an effective tool for full contact fight training. You can take alot more for a lot longer. You can effectively double your full contact time in your regimen.

The dual foam system is superb. The outer foam is thick, dulling the pinpoint of the strike. The inner foam is spongier and takes the bluntness. The only draw back with the models we used was the material it was made of. The canvas was unyeilding and would cut you open if you skimmed with exposed skin. skimming Elbow shots with no padding always resulted in bloody caps.

At higher levels of fighting, its not IF you'll get a head hit, but when. Even pro boxers spar with head gear. The only thing that suffers is the neck from all the heavy bouncing. I've taken full round kicks on the face without too much trouble. But again the neck was sore for days.

The chinese fingered gloves are a good cross between boxing gloves and grapple gloves. Affording at least 10 ounces of glove with the ability to grab.

Some would argue that masks like this train one to just take the head shot. I disagree. The trauma may be reduced but the shock of impact is still there. You may not get a black eye but it still rattles you severely when you get a full on shot. It does train you to avoid the strike.

[fa_jing]

my teacher sparred with us...

[SimonM]

I guess I got really lucky with my school. The head sifu at my kwoon is one of the nicest guys around. He is also really good at gaguing the skill level of the person he is fighting. He always responds with just enough force in a spar to make his student try their hardest. As for the other instructors well, let me share this exemplary story.

One of the more senior of the assistant instructors at my kwoon is Mark. Now a few weeks back there was a day when almost nobody was at the kwoon, just me, mark, and two others who were more interested in a jiujutsu match with each other than in any sort of organized class. So Mark took me aside and the two of us worked on Wing Chun drills. At first I was being over cautious about actually hitting Mark since neither of us were using any pads of any sort - not even mouthguards - (and I only usually barehand spar with my brother) but he told me to try harder to hit him.

So I did.

I made his gums bleed with one sun punch to the mouth. And his response (after checking to make sure his teeth weren't damaged) was to say "good work, let's try that again".

It makes me sad to see that not everyone is as lucky as myself as far as easy going teachers goes. I guess I should count my blessings.

[Ironwind]

Originally posted by MasterKiller
I must have missed that DBZ episode.

So you never hit your sensei, MK !?

I find that highly upsetting to some one who learns their technique from watching kid shows.

[Ray Pina]

Excellent post Judge Pen!

Also, Serpent raises a very valuable point. Notre Dame players didn't ask Lou Holtz to run a fly pattern when he told them to go long ... they just do it.

Likewise, my master long proved to me that he is formidable and can fight -- the monthly challenges that he accepts and fights at the school at 64 doesn't hurt that view point either.

But I don't need to spar with him and a lot of my classmates don't want to train at the same level and intensity that I do. That's another reason why I like to compete, fight out and meet with martial artists outside.

I view this as university now. I've been learning to kick and punch for 26 years. I got it.

Now I'm studying detial. How to get a little more power. How to get better structure AND keep what I have until old age.

Punching someone in the head or yelling from the sidelines "Kick harder," does not a master make.

Balance and where one is and what one is looking for is important I guess.

[Judge Pen]

My teacher is closer to my age (actually younger) and he doesn't get to spar regularly unless it is with me, his dad, or his brother. I've only had the opportunity to spar his father a handful of times. The most amazing thing with sparring someone of that level for me is that (1) he spars just above your level so that you learn without being discouraged and (2) he usually spars you using your best techniques. If you are a kicker, he will out-kick you. If you are a puncher, he will out-punch you. He doesn't spar with me often, but it's a treat every time.