01/05/2024
Very true 🤜🤛
The Purpose of Sparring
Sparring is the heart and soul of martial arts. It is the one thing that absolutely needs to be done in order for one to improve. You can work out in the gym, drill for hours, or work the pads, but if you don’t spar, then you won’t get better, plain and simple. Sparring should be looked forward to and not shunned. It’s the chance to really use what you have learned and the only solid way to mark your progress.
Sometimes the idea of what is to be achieved during a sparring session is lost on students. More often than not, I see egos get in the way of actually trying to achieve a goal and get something out of the session. The purpose of sparring is to make both you and your partner better. You should be trying to work and flow with one another, while at the same time developing better reaction time and enhancing your skills. Remember, sparring is not fighting. There is a large difference between the two. During sparring you’re not trying to beat your partner into submission. The dojo should not be your proving ground.
This can be a difficult thing to keep in mind in the heat of the moment. When you feel someone land a good shot on you, it’s natural to pick up the pace, hit harder, and get those shots back. That being said, there is a time and place for hard sparring, but high-intensity sparring should not be the norm. That doesn't mean you can’t work hard. It just means you have to use self-control. Sparring hard and beating one another to a pulp all the time is only going to get you (or others) injured and keep you (or others) out of the dojo.
Sparring when grappling
Once our students reach brown belt they start learning to grapple on the ground, this is where the chances of injury can greatly increase as so many of the techniques involve the use of some form of pressure on the joints. For this reason and many others, it is imperative that students are careful whilst they build they skills and knowledge on the ground.
Sparring here takes on a new method in the form of “technical sparring”. No one gets hurt, but everyone learns. You’ll see that the more experienced students aren’t trying to smash and grind each other into the mat, and that’s what sparring is all about - learning. Something that is often said in the dojo is “If you can’t do it slow, you can’t do it fast”, this is a key element to successful grappling on the ground. If you want to have a long and enjoyable but still challenging grappling session with your training partners, then you need to be able to do this.
If you have ever had the opportunity to watch higher level black belts spar, it’s almost as if they are playing. It’s exactly how it should be. But while they may have smiles on their faces, they are being serious and working on their techniques.
Sparring with people who are better than you is the best thing you can do for your fight game. If you only spar with those lower in skill and rank than you, then I guarantee your progress will quickly plateau. Getting better is all about stepping out of your comfort zone and being forced to do what you do.
Hard Sparring
Hard sparring is important and should not be overlooked in training. Nothing will ever push you harder and simulate the stress of a real fight more than a good hard sparring session. Just make sure that hard sparring happens only occasionally. It’s the exact same thing as testing your one-rep-max. Don’t do it often and you will be fine. And in hard sparring remember that emotions can flare up quickly, which is good, but it’s always a good idea to have your sensei or a competent coach or senior grade there to oversee the session.
Keep these concepts and types of sparring in mind when you’re training. And when you do get on the mat to spar, remember to always work with your partners, listen to your sensei, and keep progressing towards your goals.
Richard Hang Hong
