sparring

[zx]

No, it depends on coach's judgement.

 

[SAAMAG]

It was definately harder than 20 40%. We weren't going full out but like I said I don't think I was ready. I guess I could have refused but who wants to be that guy. It was pretty discouraging.

Case in point. You probably need to get with another group of folks. If that's not an option perhaps talk to the instructor on the side to get his rationale for doing so. No proper instructor I know would ever put someone in a 50+% sparring session without the proper tools in place first. So if you don't like the way that turned out, ask him to have you only do drills for a while until you develop some proper automatic responses to the varying stimulai you'd see in sparring.

 

[CONQUERER23]

I've seen guys spar the first day. But that consists of getting in the ring with somebody really good who will barely even tap them, while the new guy can do whatever he wants.

I've also been to a place that tried to use new guys as punching bags. Shitty thing is that a lot of places will do this.

Amen to that. See that quite often. New guys if put into sparring should be put with an advanced guy for one reason. THe new guy learns offense while the advanced guy works defense and takes it light on the newby.

 

[Rado]

Sad but true.

 

[BWC]

Sparring is all a matter of judgment. I actually like to see guys get in there pretty early on. Not in a 100% fight mind you, but against someone who's decent. At the end of the day it's a contact sport. You're going to get hit and it's going to hurt. I actually see a ton of guys who start sparring a little harder after a bunch of really basic training and really light sparring and they figure out that they really can't stand to get hit. And they figure it's just not for them and they basically become cardio-kickboxers and all the preliminary training was a waste.

And getting hit is a great teacher. Ever since I took some nasty leg kicks early on I check them like a mad man. I suppose I may be a little different in my thinking in this area but spar at least a little pretty early on..

 

[MajorTom]

I think there's too many assumptions that the coach knows what he's doing. This putting the coach on a pedestal thing needs some reevaluation.

If the guy doesn't have the fundamentals, then he shouldn't be sparring. He should be doing sparring DRILLS. Footwork drills, blocking drills, jab counters, cross counters, kick counters, etc. He should be going over fragments of fighting...everyone needs to learn to stand before they can walk, walk before they run, and defend themselves before they spar.

Otherwise bad things happen.

This is all good in theory. This guy seemed like he was reluctant, but I know when I started I wanted to spar right away.

My instructor requires that you train for 3 months. Being ready varies depending upon the person, but 3 months is time to teach you some basic defenses, strikes and counters.

I dunno why you were in the sparring session if you didn't want to be, but I assume your instructor knows what he was doing. Most guys don't want anyone to get hurt in their gym.

If you didn't want to spar, why would you?

Edit: I read your explanation for sparring, but I still don't get it. Why would you if you're brand new and have the sense to know you don't have any idea what you're doing? I suppose your instructor could've asked the guys to go easier (my instructor asks us to go easier on new guys) but you could also have said "Maybe I should just go" Since you didn't know anything.

 

[xen]

I think everyone should spar from day one. They won't have skill, but they'll be working on the most important thing early, i.e. actually fighting a person. Structured technique work can be done first, then sparring should be light, focused on technique and be supervised.

 

[rubberducky27]

I think everyone should spar from day one. They won't have skill, but they'll be working on the most thing early, i.e. actually fighting a person. Structured technique work can be done first, then sparring should be light, focused on technique and be supervised.

I agree 100%. I think learning whilst sparring is underated, for sure there is all the technique work before and after, but if you're training to fight, learn whilst you're fighting. The key however is that learning is happening, not just a kid being thrown to the wolves to become a human punching bag.

 

[Tsingani]

getting hit is a great teacher. ..

So true.

Its like this... you can train on pads and bags and do drills etc all you like, but there will come a time where your learning will plateau. The only way to advance at this stage is to spar and test your techniques then work on your weaknesses... until your learning plateaus once again

the next step is to fight in order to further improve your skills and techniques.

id imagine that after a 100 or so odd fights.. your learning would again plateau and i guess then you'd probably have to teach and train others to advance.

Getting in the ring early, whether it's fighting or sparring, will absolutely accelerate your learning curve.