Insightful Interview

[JessOBrien]

I've found that sparring with my teachers have been very rewarding. Sometimes they bring their level down to mine and sometimes they turn up the intensity quite a bit, but either way I always learn a tone. I consider that sparring, just with different levels of intensity. The valuable things I get are not only limited to trying to pull things off on someone that's good, but I get to feel how he moves in that kind of situation, and also he gets to feel how i move and can correct me from what he has felt of me.

When I am sparring with my teachers I am trying to "win" and they push me to go as hard as i can (unless we are doing some sparring with less intensity).

Fubo, you are trying to win, but they aren't. That's not sparring. That's a two person exercise, and it's one of the most valuable and powerful experiences that Chinese martial arts has to offer.

From my perspective, Jess O

[JessOBrien]

It all depends what meaning you attach to the word "spar".

Jess, throughout your answer you keep saying again and again about how little time you have and how precious it is with teacher. Now what would you do if you had all the time in the world with that teacher - would your answer be different?[/quote]


Hi Graham, again, I'd love to cut loose against one of my teachers, going full force with gloves and spar with them. I'd learn something. Fighting freestyle against a good fighter is always a learning experience. But it would be embarrassing for them, and it would be quickly over.

If I had unlimited time with my teachers, there are many things I'd like to learn. To me the best way to learn Chinese martial arts is one on one with a good teacher. The teacher would beat you repeatedly until you learned the techniques through osmosis. No forms, no nothing, just fighting. The second best way is weekly classes, with forms and drills to train on your own. The worst way is once a year, work intensively and train it yourself and with friends all year until the next year. That's what I do.

Please don't get me wrong folks. Contact is mandatory. Contact is how you learn. But sparring with your teacher is not the same as doing techniques with your teacher. At least not the teachers I've trained with. Because if you want to go full on with them you will get decimated.

Just a few thoughts from me.
-JEss O

[GrahamB]

Jess,

It depends what dictionary you use, but in my Apple one on my Mac is says,

Sparring:

"to make the motions of boxing without landing heavy blows, as a form of training".

You seem to think it's something else:

"cut loose against one of my teachers, going full force with gloves and spar with them." "o full on with them you will get decimated."

Peace,
G

[JessOBrien]

Oh cool then. I spar with all my teachers all the time.



-JEss O

[Fubo]

Fubo, you are trying to win, but they aren't. That's not sparring. That's a two person exercise, and it's one of the most valuable and powerful experiences that Chinese martial arts has to offer.

From my perspective, Jess O

Jess,

I realize they are not trying to win, but train at my level, or a little above - at times they also go all out in standup/ground gappling/throwing, I suppose that would be your definition of sparring - I've learned a lot from those times also.

Craig

[Johnny Drama]

I have to say, I think sparring your teachers is one of the best things you can do. Now, before I get ahead of myself this is done from a purely grappling perspective. If your talking both parties striking and going full on, I'm not so sure. But, I would tend to think as the student progresses, regardless of style that full on sparring with the teacher is good.

This is probably why I prefer grappling, just because of the training methodologies. I can full on spar my coach and superior grapplers with little fear of injury. Most of the time I have been decimated, but there are times I haven't. Sparring such superior people have taught me a lot. How different body types matter, how styles match up, and how even the best in the world have their off days and are human.

I didn't full on spar with my Hsing I teacher, David Bond Chan. He actually mostly taught, but would do light sparring with me. One time he wanted to prove something to me, and hit me with solid shots enough to hurt me, but not put me down every time I came in on him. I see the difference in grappling training, but at the same time I far more confident of my grappling ability then my striking because of the different training methods.