not sure where you get your information from. There are few things my Sifu considers before having any students spar such as how long he/she have been at the school and the level and ability of the student. It can take a few years for a student to get to that level, it all depends on the person but students are introduced to partner conditioning, sensitivity, and application drills within a few months of joining the school. We do not believe in throwing beginners right into sparring "sessions" before they have a good foundation in the style. Otherwise, they may be prone to reverting back to what may come instinctual to them prior
to their training rather than using praying mantis techniques and applications. This is why we focus on sahn sao practice a lot to develop those mantis techniques into reflex before allowing students to free spar.