Sparring With Your Teacher..

[MaartenSFS]

If that is what he meant (and it certainly appears so), a statement like that is coming from a place of great arrogance.

I think that some posters are confusing the terms sparring and fighting..

[Niall Keane]

You could be right.. But if a martial artist doesn't understand the difference between sparring and fighting then they know nothing, as sparring is essential!

[fuga]

A good sparring partner (who is better than you) exposes the holes in your game and gives you problems to solve.

[JessOBrien]

Here's how I've seen it:

Sparring mean putting on gloves and competing to see who can win in some way or another.
Fighting means fighting people who are trying to hurt you in real life.
I suppose then there's fight sports where you fight a match of some kind ranging from amateur to professional.

[Wanderingdragon]

A good sparring partner (who is better than you) exposes the holes in your game and gives you problems to solve.

This is the simplicity of it to me, but you cannot do this with a qualified teacher, you get only get two or three steps in before you see the necessity of your training and it becomes a lesson. If you can go rounds and it becomes a match it's no longer a lesson it's a contest, IMO, if your teacher is qualified you should be no contest.

[Niall Keane]

Exactly fuga!

Jess sparring can mean many things...

For my lads its this... Always heavy
One round a feeds kicks all types full force to b to practice take downs

One round a attacks and b defends

One round b attacks and a defends

One round free to do whatever

It can vary and stuff can be focused on.


Fighting means getting in the ring against a fully resistant trained opponent who wants to knock you the fuck out.

It can also mean taking out some untrained agro boy and his juvinile mates whose skill comes from watching ufc and intent is from cans of beer.

The lad who trains 5 hours a day 6 days a week and fights internationally is infinatley more dangerous than the dope who's had a bit much to drink or like the star wars kid imagines no believes really hard that he is the shit and his Jedi mates will back him up!

[Niall Keane]

A good sparring partner (who is better than you) exposes the holes in your game and gives you problems to solve.

This is the simplicity of it to me, but you cannot do this with a qualified teacher, you get only get two or three steps in before you see the necessity of your training and it becomes a lesson. If you can go rounds and it becomes a match it's no longer a lesson it's a contest, IMO, if your teacher is qualified you should be no contest.

Jesus, of course its a lesson, that's the point sparring, taking it to where the student is at and improving them. If they tag the coach great the lessons are working, in one area anyway, now let's move on and acquire more tricks...

First time I met Mitchel he said to me... I'm not going to teach you to be a good as me (pregnant pause) I'll teach you everything I know and you will have your ideas too, so you should be better!

That's coaching, that's evolution, no sycophantic / confusian CMA nonsense there!

And when is became a contest for him to achieve a hip throw on me during sparring I still had plenty to learn from him, and when I could land blows that sent him to the floor I still had other areas he could help me with, and when I could take him in sanda he still had tricks to teach in shaui jiao, and when I could at least contest those and neutralise them he still had weapon skills in weapon sparring to impart.

Its fucking ridiculous and arrogant beyond belief to suggest being able to spar with someone prevents any lessons being learned or even means levels are close.

That's the kind of shit fixed step push hands dopes come out with, I uunbalanced a world champ I must be on the same level.... No equal the achievements then and maybe then you can talk comparing levels!!!

[Wanderingdragon]

Well hell you guys are teachers not me so you know best

[Niall Keane]

I could take any of my students down in an instant, at times I do, usually to make a specific point, and they are champions!
But I don't do that in sparring, and if your teacher does, well he had ego issues and I suggest find a new one, because martial arts are physical and if you are not getting the chance to engage and learn (being fucked on to the ground every few seconds isn't going to help you learn anything but submission) then its just mental masterbation. Basically of you are left guessing its a waste of time! After all jin means educated force!

[Wanderingdragon]

Like I said, you're a teacher I'm not.

[Niall Keane]

Btw when/if I take down a student instantly I don't rejoice, I see it as my failure, it doesn't display my skill to me, it highlights their lack of defence, which if I'm a good coach they should have no?

Not many of the woowoo brigade or their students think that way! The selfish arrogant cunts! But when its put that way, isn't it logical?

[Wanderingdragon]

It's ok, I get it, I was wrong.

[pennsooner]

I've said this on here before but....... What you want is someone MUCH MUCH better than you who pushes you but does not try to destroy you. My first teacher sparred with me almost every day for 3 or so years. And in boxing club in college we sparred a lot. Sometimes an ex-pro boxer would join us and that was a great learning experience. He was very good. Of the commercial schools I've been to, very little sparring, but being on the plus side of 50 I don't miss it all that much.

[Wanderingdragon]

Sparring

http://youtu.be/zBCsJorO4yM


Sparring with the master
http://youtu.be/e9eDnUTGFUE

Fighting
http://youtu.be/f_KPmxBcb1c

[MaartenSFS]

Well, that was pointless..