sparring-question

[devante]

we all know guys take and give shots differently; an what i mean by this is based on how you learned, what art you trained and your personal ability..you have a different perception of what is considered hard contact..etc

how do you balance that out when sparring, as a person who is not a big hitter at all; it can be precarious when doing a sparring session depending on who or what stylist im facing. As alot of people have a rule when light sparring it's 50%, but my 50 is alot different than someone w/legitimate power; the same would be said about going higher 60-70%.

Someone w/big power can hit you w/50% which is equivalent or superior to your 70%, how do you navigate that; also w/diff guys ability to absorb punishment as some guys can take a higher and more consistent level of abuse and be fine...others not so much.

i just ask cus sparring is to improve and of course put someone under the fire, that being said it's not to injure one another; but these two attributes, i.e. power and durability can play a huge part in whether that happens or not. I had discussed this w/a few people and decided to get the forums opinion, i.e. perspective.

 

[jazza]

iv just bought all i need to sparr with my friend allso has the gear were both at 68kg but his 6 ft 1 and im 5 ft 7 i would allso like to hear about this guys

 

[mikecello]

Hit them as hard as they are hitting you. To hell with %.

 

[Deathmonkey]

Hit them as hard as they are hitting you. To hell with %.

Great idea! Then someones ego gets out of control and it turns into "I can hit harder than you" session. All skill is thrown out the window, nothing is learned and someone possible gets hurt.

To answer your question TS, it depends. It depends on the size, power and experience level of the two sparring. It's hard to give a general "rule of thumb" to the amount of power or the pace to set your training session, it's something a qualified coach can just see and know.

 

[mikecello]

Great idea! Then someones ego gets out of control and it turns into "I can hit harder than you" session. All skill is thrown out the window, nothing is learned and someone possible gets hurt.

To answer your question TS, it depends. It depends on the size, power and experience level of the two sparring. It's hard to give a general "rule of thumb" to the amount of power or the pace to set your training session, it's something a qualified coach can just see and know.

Harder and as hard are two different things.

 

[Kozbot]

just stop being a pussy and punch him back

don't try to destroy each other but make him not want to get hit

 

[surfer dude]

The first time sparring someone is always awkward. I usually go real light, and will even pull shots before they land, or shorten it so it just whizzes by. It is just to let them know I am in it for the right reasons, and I am not trying to prove anything to anyone.

When they land I acknowledge the shots, so they know I am not trying to pretend otherwise. That way they do not feel like they need to blast me to prove they can hit me and/or hurt me.

Once you know each other a bit, you can start turning up the dial more. It will be readily evident to both of you, in short order, where each of your dials go, and you can then proceed accordingly.

If they are just a disrespectful douche, you can choose to either go to war, or excuse yourself. Obviously you should not spar with them again, if you do not like their attitude or sparring behavior.

 

[devante]

thanks for the diverse and interesting responses

just posing a question to further discussion, me personally i don't hit hard; so there is always a disparity between what im giving and taking, if we go by the give as good as u get.. It doesn't necessarily work in my favor cus from what i see my 75% isn't equivalent to alot of people's 40-50%; so while i may be progressively hitting them harder, its still not enough for them to ramp up on their end.

on the other side of this i have seen guys, esp in boxing sparring, who hit very hard and their trainer will tell them 30-40% FOR YOU, other guys go 60% or 70%; because of the disparity in the power and the fact they don't want him going through sparring partners or guys in the class.

so that is why i asked how do you navigate it when you have disparity in physical ability, tech balances some of that out; but not all of it. An when there is a huge gap in what people can give or take there can be issues. Or in the case of guys w/outstanding issues, of a physical nature; learning exactly who can take what is key...

 

[TwoFour Lowkick]

I'm not a big puncher. My 60-70 is probably closer to my opponents 50. I try to match intensity, not necessarily power if that makes sense. He may hit me harder, but i'll hit more often, so it balances out. Work on being as fast possible. A great offense is good defense..

 

[xilliun]

If you've held pads for one another before you can probably gauge what their power is like, so just match yours accordingly in sparring. Start off light and just work it up from there to wherever you're comfortable.

 

[c0r1nth14n]

Well, if they hit you too hard, why not ask them to power down? Especially if they're a lot bigger than you, or have trained a lot longer or something, they should understand. Any time i do even a light drill with someone I haven't worked with before, I just say "Let me know if I'm going too hard".

 

[LizaG]

Well, if they hit you too hard, why not ask them to power down? Especially if they're a lot bigger than you, or have trained a lot longer or something, they should understand. Any time i do even a light drill with someone I haven't worked with before, I just say "Let me know if I'm going too hard".

Good approach, I also make sure I train with someone at a similar weight, height and build as me (tricky to do with dudes sometimes), but I find this also helps.

 

[EVIL5150]

I spar relatively light. If it gets heated and you guys want to bang, just make sure your opponent is comfortable. If I hurt my sparring partner I'll ask if it was too hard and tone it down if necessary. But sometimes getting hit just makes people want to fight harder, in which case go for it if you're having a good time.

The point is keeping sparring partners who want to spar with you. If you're too hard people wont want to train. And if you're too much of a nancy they won't get a good work out.

 

[thirteen]

Hit him as hard as you would like to be hit.

 

[256]

I dont have a problem telling someone to step up or step down the power. I tend to run into just as many guys who wanna play patty-cake as guys who wanna take my head off.

If i have the choice, i stick with the more experienced fighters as my training partners. Guys who know me and I know them. Less chance of things happening like that.

In the end, as long as they are not trying to hurt me or they are not acting like assholes, i dont mind a good headache after a couple rounds of sparring.

 

[ssullivan80]

we all know guys take and give shots differently; an what i mean by this is based on how you learned, what art you trained and your personal ability..you have a different perception of what is considered hard contact..etc

how do you balance that out when sparring, as a person who is not a big hitter at all; it can be precarious when doing a sparring session depending on who or what stylist im facing. As alot of people have a rule when light sparring it's 50%, but my 50 is alot different than someone w/legitimate power; the same would be said about going higher 60-70%.

Someone w/big power can hit you w/50% which is equivalent or superior to your 70%, how do you navigate that; also w/diff guys ability to absorb punishment as some guys can take a higher and more consistent level of abuse and be fine...others not so much.

i just ask cus sparring is to improve and of course put someone under the fire, that being said it's not to injure one another; but these two attributes, i.e. power and durability can play a huge part in whether that happens or not. I had discussed this w/a few people and decided to get the forums opinion, i.e. perspective.

Remember that the purpose of light sparring or 50% sparring is to simulate an actual fight only without the increased risk of injury. In short, if your 50% is less than your opponents 50%, well..... that is no different from being in a ring with a guy who hits alot harder than you only when going 100% you cant just decide to go 120% because the other guy hits harder. Taking this into consideration, you know what you have to do.... adapt and develop a strategy that allows you to use your advantages and nullify his, that being his power. If you decide to just crank it up in light contact sparring because the other guy has heavier hands, well your not doing yourself any favors. In a real fight, you have physical limitations, so you adjust and overcome by finding a way to use your advantages..... do the same in light sparring! light sparring is only as effective as you choose to let it be, sure you can just increase your power to match the other guys, but does that do you any favors in your "honest" development as a fighter, probably not. If anything, try to intentionally go lighter and find alternative ways to adjust, adapt and overcome. The tougher you make your training in the gym, the easier it is in the ring and only you can decide how hard your willing to push yourself. If you take the easy route in sparring where the pressure and nerves are not a factor and your opponent does not have bad intentions or mean to cause you physical damage.... well then what is gonna happen when your in the ring and you no longer have those safeguards and their ain't no "easy way"

I promise, if you ask your opponent in a fight to please hold back on his shots or say "hold up, let me take a break for a minute that one hurt"........... what would his reply be?

I give you this response because from our prior conversations i know you "train to fight", if you were doing this recreational or just for fitness, different answer! But if you train to fight, well you gotta fight to train!