How do you spar in your Kung Fu class?

[Iron_Eagle_76]

My question is what level of contact do you apply, what level do you feel teaches you or others the best, and what kind of equipment is best used.

In my gym, I break sparring down into three levels:

1. Light Sparring-Equipment used is fingerless Kenpo or MMA style gloves, mouthpiece shin guards. Usually contact in about 50-60 percent, light contact to the head. This allows people to practice all techniques learned, including grabs, hooks, bridging, sticky hands, shirt or lapel grabs, ect. that are difficult to perform when using boxing gloves.

2. Moderate Sparring-Boxing gloves, shin guards, mouthpiece. Contact is a little heavier, with more emphasis on stringing together combinations.

3. Heavy Sparring-Head Gear, Boxing Gloves, shin guards, mouthpiece. Heaviest contact which combines elements of the first two with about 70-75 percent power put into strikes thrown. This, of course, also depends on the level the student is at and other such factors.

One thing I have learned when teaching new students is to break them of these two habits:

1. When sparring without head gear often they make NO contact as if the other person is made of glass. Some contact must be made, albeit controlled.

2. When heavy sparring, as soon as someone gets head gear on it's swing for the fences time. Making them step back and set up good combinations and technique is instrumental in getting them away from the head down, bull rush, swinging mode.

Please share thoughts and ideas concerning this.

[maxattck]

In kyokushin we either 70% to full contact to the body, only kicks to the head. MMA gloves and shin guards. The no hands to the head does tend to lead to bad habits though.

[Iron_Eagle_76]

Max,

While not striking the head can lead to bad habits, it would not be hard for you to adjust your training to include and incorporate head shots. Kyokushin is an awesome style and produces some tough a**ss fighters! My advice is to use boxing gloves when training head strikes, this will provide you protection against bruises and cuts and allow you to go at it. I like head gear as well.

[maxattck]

Yeah I Hear ya, but the school real traditional so I don't see the head gear punching in the future. But in my BBJ academy we use the 12oz gloves every so often to work shoots against striking, fun stuff

[MightyB]

it's all no-touch kiJitsu. It's quite intense - two people face off and imagine what they might do to each other.

[ginosifu]

I run a commercial school so insurance forces us to have a full set of gear (foam head, foam hand, foam foot, shin guard, cup and mouth piece. Sparring in general in broken down into 3 categories. Light contact for beginners, Shuai Chiao and San Shou.

Beginners start out with basic sparring strategy and trying to create combos and such.

I have a separate class for Shuai Chiao. Everyone here learns either competition style or Black Hand (SC for self defense).

I also have a San Shou class for those want to get a bit more hard core.

Basically after the basic sparring we go into harder sparring (the students are at a intermediate level here) with fingerless gloves, shin pads, cup and mouth piece. This is where I combine SC, SS and Shaolin fighting concepts. Everything usually goes to tap out. Not necessarily does it always go to the ground. I teach standing choke outs etc etc.

I do teach a bit of ground work, chokes, submissions and High School wrestling (mostly the down position, the stand up is all SC) to give everyone a more rounded approach to fighting.

ginosifu

[TenTigers]

we run it similar to the above methods, but we do one thing a bit different;
I teach a short form of samjien, with pressure testing/strikes to the body, followed by other body/leg striking drills. Then the students do what we call, "Samjien sparring," which is bare knuckle sparring to the body and legs. This breaks through the fear barrier, and allows them to go to the next levels with more confidence.

plus, they get to brag to their friends that they do "bare knuckle sparring." :-)

[SPJ]

Please share thoughts and ideas concerning this.

If you have a good mattress or a stage with a ring.

You may go free will but both have to agree to some rules.

San Shou rules

Kuo Shu rules

or just some agreed rules.

punch kick throw away

most would say no elbow, no knee, no head shot etc

fine as long as both agree

what ever you want basically.