Types of Sparring

[Iron_Eagle_76]

At my gym I try to break sparring down into subsets so that my students are able to learn and apply what they are learning, which I believe is the goal of all instructors. These are a break down of some of the different sparring methods I use:

1. One Step Sparring- Very similar to two man drills, one person throws a technique while the other defends, switching back and forth between rounds. More controlled but allows one person the delivery system and the other the blocking and evading system.

2. Light Sparring- Usually done with MMA or fingerless Kenpo gloves, kicks and punches to the body are heavier with pulled or controlled contact to the face and head. Clinch and pummel is also trained during this as well as grips and throws that are harder to pull off while wearing boxing gloves.

3. Heavy Sparring- Done with 16 oz boxing gloves, shin guards, and head gear. Harder shots all around including the face and head area. Clinch with knees is encouraged but generally not at full force. Sometimes a chest protector is good for this to be able to bury the knees in a little more, but even those do not provide that much. I always encourage my guys to go hard and experiment, but even this type of sparring is not fighting and you should not be trying to knock your training partner out.

4. San Shou Sparring- Same as 3 with throws, sweeps, and takedowns thrown in.

I try to teach clinch, pummeling, and throws/takedowns seperatly but also integrate them into the stand up sparring. Often I will have them train these with gloves on just to get used to throwing with them on, as is done in competitive san shou. Please feel free to add to or comment on these sparring methods.

[sanjuro_ronin]

There are only two types of sparring ( by sparring I mean a free style exchnage between two people) and that is light contact - you make contact hard enough to keep it honest but are NOT trying to KO the person.
And Hard Contact - you hit hard enough to hurt, even KO.
Full contact- where the intent is to KO the person- is reversed for competitions is is not, typicaly, a "training tool" so it is not really considered "sparring".

Coming from a TMA back ground I was exposed to ALL types and after over 30 years I have found that the Two above are the only ones that are needed and that other types can actually hinder progression and skill, rather than develop it.

[Iron_Eagle_76]

Would like to add that while doing heavy sparring your intent should not to be to knock out your training partner, it can and does happen. In the heat of the exchange and going hard not every thing can be controlled and we all have to take our share of lumps in learning.

@ Ronin- I agree that full contact should be for competitions and is not considered sparring. Sparring (heavy or hard) is a training tool that simulates a full contact fight. A full contact fight is where you are in the ring or cage with another fighter and your intention is to KO your opponent.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Would like to add that while doing heavy sparring your intent should not to be to knock out your training partner, it can and does happen. In the heat of the exchange and going hard not every thing can be controlled and we all have to take our share of lumps in learning.

@ Ronin- I agree that full contact should be for competitions and is not considered sparring. Sparring (heavy or hard) is a training tool that simulates a full contact fight. A full contact fight is where you are in the ring or cage with another fighter and your intention is to KO your opponent.

Dale ( Knifefighter) and I had a discussion about this.
I have never competed at an elite level, I have competed at the local and even national level in boxing, judo, MT and kyokushin, but never made it to the point where I was going against the best in the world and truth be it told, I never wanted to since for me competition was a testing ground and no more.
But Dale has and has trained those that have and he said that, at the higher level, the intensity is comparable to being in a "real fight", in other words, regardless of the "fellowship" outside the ring, at that level these is serious intensity inside the ring.

Personally I don't know if he is right, but it makes sense.

[lkfmdc]

Dale ( Knifefighter) and I had a discussion about this.
I have never competed at an elite level, I have competed at the local and even national level in boxing, judo, MT and kyokushin, but never made it to the point where I was going against the best in the world and truth be it told, I never wanted to since for me competition was a testing ground and no more.
But Dale has and has trained those that have and he said that, at the higher level, the intensity is comparable to being in a "real fight", in other words, regardless of the "fellowship" outside the ring, at that level these is serious intensity inside the ring.

Personally I don't know if he is right, but it makes sense.

are you saying in competition or back in the gym?

at elite levels, competition can be like a real fight, most definitely (not my first hand experience, but it's been relayed to me by enough reliable people)

however, at the elite levels, the "in gym" training is probably not what most people expect it to be

[Iron_Eagle_76]

I have not competed at that level either, but it does make sense. I know coming up in the schools I learned at I always had a training or sparring partner that when we sparred, we went at it and it did become competitive to the point of always trying to "best" that person, and sometimes it got heated to the point of the line being blurred as to it being a sparring match or a fight.

I'm sure you had similar experiences in your training, Paul. So to me it does make sense what KF was saying. Whether or not we agree with it doesn't really matter.

[lkfmdc]

My experience has been, the guys who achieved the most did NOT try to kill each other in practice. It leads to too many injuries, it doesn't let you work on fine tuning your game, it doesn't let you integrate new material in your game, etc

[sanjuro_ronin]

are you saying in competition or back in the gym?

at elite levels, competition can be like a real fight, most definitely (not my first hand experience, but it's been relayed to me by enough reliable people)

however, at the elite levels, the "in gym" training is probably not what most people expect it to be

Yes and yes to this too?

My experience has been, the guys who achieved the most did NOT try to kill each other in practice. It leads to too many injuries, it doesn't let you work on fine tuning your game, it doesn't let you integrate new material in your game, etc

[wenshu]

In my limited experience observing professional fighters prepare for a title bout, the few rounds of hard sparring I saw exceeded anything in both intensity and duration I've ever seen in a quote/unquote real fight, either one on one or five on one.

That's why they are professionals.

Unless you are apt to get into brawls with professional fighters in the street, you are unlikely to encounter that kind of intensity in whatever kind of scuffle you get into outside da club.

In the street, outside of unskilled tussling, an escalation in intensity is either something like this http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...r-stadium.html
or firearms are produced.

At that point what you need is not more training in "street deadly", rather, in the last few seconds of cognizance left a thorough reevaluation of the life choices that brought you to this point. Such as don't wear a Cowboy's jersey to an Eagle's home game.

[Iron_Eagle_76]

Such as don't wear a Cowboy's jersey to an Eagle's home game.

Anyone caught wearing a Cowboys jersey should be shot on site regardless!!

[lkfmdc]

Yes and yes to this too?

no offense, but I asked do you mean in competition OR the gym and you said "YES"

which did you mean????

[sanjuro_ronin]

no offense, but I asked do you mean in competition OR the gym and you said "YES"

which did you mean????

LMAO, pardon the brain ****
I agree that in COMPETITION it is pratically a "street fight" in terms of intensity and the better the comp, the more real it truly is.
And I agree that, in the gym, you need to keep it honest but there is a degree of diminishing returns if you go "too hard".

[David Jamieson]

Uh, you left out the superior and best form of sparring ever.
I can't believe you did it, but you did.

Never forget the best form of sparring is:

1) co-ed slap&tickle

really, it's the only one worth mentioning. The rest is just repressed homosexuality.

[YouKnowWho]

I like to start beginners with one person plays offense while the other plays defense. This will help them to remove fear in the early stage. If you know that your opponent will only block or dodge your attack and not hit back, you will not have fear and you will not use full force either. The other person can learn block, cover head, dodge, run like hell, and realize that how important the footwork is.

[Lucas]

how do you guys introduce sparring to women who have never practiced martial arts before? esp when u have no other women for them to train with.