Sparring Without Injury

[Faux Newbie]

Yes. Excellent post there, FN.

It's clearly what Tom Cruise used to save the samurai.

[Faux Newbie]

When I'm injured, at my age, I play it safe. I spend my training time maintaining my strengths, and working new techniques in through things like shadowboxing, heavy bag work (where it doesn't aggravate the injury), etc. I do footwork, left, right, back, forward, diagonal, and incorporate the new techniques I'm trying to make second nature from each step in each direction, and work it in shadow boxing, making sure the shadow boxing makes sense, where I'm doing in close moves when the footwork would have brought me in close or when my assumption is the opponent moved in, training doing my moves for a reason, not trying to show off the form for each move, doing this light. Then, when I'm healed, I'm a different fighter, and I can get in and see where my ideas were on, where they were off, and how my training partners adapt and force me to adapt again.

Sometimes investing in loss has made me a much better martial artist. When one can't spar, one can drill what one was putting off drilling, anyway.

Also, beer.

[SteveLau]

Let me use an example of mine on the point of student's ethics in sparring. Two months ago, I did not attack much when I sparred with a classmate. In fact, there was not much engagement. I did not know exactly why at the time. But I knew why on the next day - the classmate does not mind hurting the other side to the degree that I regards as unnecessary for good training purpose. Yep, that was what I felt. This coincides with the theory that fighting is very much done by sensation. I felt he was attacking too strong. Sure, I did not think that he would inflict serious injury on the other side, but that does not mean it is alright. He was not wearing gloves, not any protection gear at all. And he struck at the same spot on his opponent more than twice in a sparring session. No wonder another classmate was hurt by him during sparring.



Regards,

KC
Hong Kong