Mega gyms that have abandoned hard sparring?

[DoctorTaco]

I’ve heard team alpha male isn’t sparring super hard anymore. Combat Sports Academy, team oyama, the BMF ranch, even the american top team mothership have all started to work more technically when it comes to sparring.

it’s cool to see a more evolved way of training out of these gyms while still producing world class talent. Are there any other big/mega camps that aren’t going for knock outs and wars in sparring anymore?

 

[FIghtxIQ]

I’ve heard team alpha male isn’t sparring super hard anymore. Combat Sports Academy, team oyama, the BMF ranch, even the american top team mothership have all started to work more technically when it comes to sparring.

it’s cool to see a more evolved way of training out of these gyms while still producing world class talent. Are there any other big/mega camps that aren’t going for knock outs and wars in sparring anymore?

You don't need hard sparring multiple times a week or even once a week. Better to just work timing and technique and get less injuries and save your chin for fights. You can always pick it up when you have a fight coming up. Also too much train with no headgear, in boxing anytime there is hard sparring everyone wears headgear.

Once you have the muscle memory from fighting you don't need the hard sparring, just the timing needs to be worked out. A lot of fighters minimized hard sparring and some stopped completely. I still think it's important getting ready for a fight but not to overdo it and to save it for the actual fight. That's the reason why so many people are injured during their fights is from all the hard sparring sessions leading up to the fight.

 

[Travis Alexander]

It’s a nice change. Meat day at the Blackzilians still haunts me when I wrap up to this day.

 

[genecop]

Abandoned is a little extreme, it serves a purpose..

 

[EJRMAN513]

It’s a nice change. Meat day at the Blackzilians still haunts me when I wrap up to this day.

Elaborate?

 

[PoonRacoon]

It's essential for new/inexperienced fighters. if you haven't been smacked hard in training you will panic when under pressure in competition.

But for verterans who compete regularly, not so important

 

[Travis Alexander]

Elaborate?

Some of the hardest sparring I’ve had in my life. Guys like a prime Rashad, King Mo, Luis Cane, Tyron Spong etc etc going hard full MMA sparring where the only things separating it from a fight were 16oz gloves and shin guards. I once had my leg so bruised from Cosmo Alexandre leg kicks I couldn’t bend to sit on a toilet seat for a week. Also I should add it is an absolutely incredible camp and I loved every minute of it. I have nothing but love for my Blackzilian family. The glory days there from Imperial Athletics through the Jaco move were some of the best times of my life.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

In terms of injuries I would imagine its not just a case of striking sparing being an issue but also grappling, the kind of injuries guys like Cain, Shogun and Khabib picked up I'd imagine they were doing alot of scambling style grappling sparing in the gym.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

In terms of injuries I would imagine its not just a case of striking sparing being an issue but also grappling, the kind of injuries guys like Cain, Shogun and Khabib picked up I'd imagine they were doing alot of scambling style grappling sparing in the gym.

Khabib broke his foot, that mostly happens from kicks. He could've kicked an elbow or a knee that caused him to break his foot/toes.

But accidents happen also from scrambling and grappling. Also from takedowns and landing wrong with their weight crashing on top of you. Knee/shoulder/elbow/neck/back injuries usually happen this way.

 

[rbastid]

And yet American Kickboxing Academy still blasts you in the knee with a sledgehammer, and drops a cinderblock on your back, the second you walk on to the mat.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

Khabib broke his foot, that mostly happens from kicks. He could've kicked an elbow or a knee that caused him to break his foot/toes.

The big injury a few years ago was a knee ligament though.

I wouldn't be surprised actually if part of the reason you see less of the hyper aggressive scambling style grappling these days is that its really hard on the body to train it let alone fight it. In wrestling at least you can hold a grappling stance but the point of that kind of MMA grappling is often looking for takedowns when you and/or your opponent is off balance, that I'd imagine makes injury alot more likely.

Even Khabib is a bit more tactical these days than he was in his earlier UFC run.

 

[Willy Knuckles]

I’ve heard team alpha male isn’t sparring super hard anymore. Combat Sports Academy, team oyama, the BMF ranch, even the american top team mothership have all started to work more technically when it comes to sparring.

it’s cool to see a more evolved way of training out of these gyms while still producing world class talent. Are there any other big/mega camps that aren’t going for knock outs and wars in sparring anymore?

Kinda hard to call the training evolved if it doesn't result in more success. Also I don't think they're doing new drills, just simply doing them more frequently, in place of hard sparring. I don't see some revolution in MMA training happening in that sense

 

[Kforcer]

Some of the hardest sparring I’ve had in my life. Guys like a prime Rashad, King Mo, Luis Cane, Tyron Spong etc etc going hard full MMA sparring where the only things separating it from a fight were 16oz gloves and shin guards. I once had my leg so bruised from Cosmo Alexandre leg kicks I couldn’t bend to sit on a toilet seat for a week. Also I should add it is an absolutely incredible camp and I loved every minute of it. I have nothing but love for my Blackzilian family. The glory days there from Imperial Athletics through the Jaco move were some of the best times of my life.

Did Devin Smyth, Troy Lamson or Dequan Townsend ever come down there from Lansing, Michigan when you were there? There were a few Lansing guys that used to go down there.

 

[Maori]

Most of them have stopped fighting as well

 

[Luthien]

Intensifies

 

[Travis Alexander]

Did Devin Smyth, Troy Lamson or Dequan Townsend ever come down there from Lansing, Michigan when you were there? There were a few Lansing guys that used to go down there.

I don’t remember them off hand. I was down there for about a year from Rashad’s camp vs Jones (at imperial Athletics) until about 6 months after the move to Jaco training facility. We would have a lot of fighters visit from all over so I may have trained with them but I don’t recognize the names.

 

[The Rivv]

A bunch of gyms EXCEPT AKA.

You know for a kickboxing academy they should really look into more the Thai approach rather than the Dutch. Yes they have Khabib and DC and Cain but they Cain and Khabib both get/got way too injured for it to be a heathy level of intensity.

Also by Cowboys on admission JW used to spar very hard, don’t know if they still do but wouldn’t surprise me since pretty much all their best talent has left.

 

[Kforcer]

I don’t remember them off hand. I was down there for about a year from Rashad’s camp vs Jones (at imperial Athletics) until about 6 months after the move to Jaco training facility. We would have a lot of fighters visit from all over so I may have trained with them but I don’t recognize the names.

Devin is Rashad's godson and has come down there the most, probably. Light-skinned, younger kid. Yeah, just curious, because due to the Rashad connection a number of Lansing guys have come out there in the past.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

The big injury a few years ago was a knee ligament though.

I wouldn't be surprised actually if part of the reason you see less of the hyper aggressive scambling style grappling these days is that its really hard on the body to train it let alone fight it. In wrestling at least you can hold a grappling stance but the point of that kind of MMA grappling is often looking for takedowns when you and/or your opponent is off balance, that I'd imagine makes injury alot more likely.

Even Khabib is a bit more tactical these days than he was in his earlier UFC run.

True scrambling takes more energy and causes some weird body parts getting tangled up. Going for hard takedowns will definitely cause injuries, better to be aggressive on getting the take down but not on finishing the takedown. The falling of everyone's bodyweight together is what causes a lot of injuries. People trying to break their fall, or just falling while a body part gets jammed up and ends up breaking/dislocating, or hyperextends the wrong way.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Yes there certainly is something about MMA training that is super hardcore and maybe not very productive. It is hard to prove, but many people think that gym wars have been a bigger contributor to destroying some fighters' chin than actual fights.

I don't have an opinion on the matter, other than the fact that I much prefer Thai style sparring to Dutch style super hard sparring. On the other hand, stadium Muay Thai is much less geared towards looking for the KO so that maybe they have to prepare less for that. In any event these guys fight like every month on average so that they can't have gym wars on top of all these fights, too.