How soon do you begin sparring in your school?

[Sam]

Another thread mentioned students sparring after just two weeks. That seemed odd to me, so I wanted to see what the norm was.

[FearlessFreep]

Green Belt at my last school...not sure about my current school

[Gemini]

We were required to be at least a yellow belt before we were allowed to spar.

[rutherford]

My experience:

JKD - First class.

BJJ - First class.

Bujinkan - Eh, I've probably missed an opportunity or two. But I've been going a year now and haven't sparred in the way you're using the term.

Aikido - Probably never. Don't know if I'll ever get that advanced in the art.

[Cirdan]

Wado: White belt but not at full speed until later. Light contact. No gloves or protective gear.
Kobudo: Never as far as I know.
Ju jutsu: Grappling at white belt. Stand up with gloves at yellow belt.

[karatekid1975]

TSD- three months
TKD- three months
JJ first class (I sparred my instructor and got a good whoopin too LOL)

[terryl965]

Well we usally start withen the first month or two, they are required to be able to throw the roundhouse and side kick before they start. That is my school rules anyway.
I have never understood the green belt rule, if they did not want beginner sparring they would not have that division at tournaments.
Terry

[Kacey]

We start sparring during the first couple of weeks, but with additional safeguards - slower speed, more senior partners, partners limited to techniques the junior has learned, pads (I keep a bunch of leftover/outgrown pads for new students to use), and so on. In 15 years of instructing, the worst injury anyone in my class has recieved in class is bruising, usually to the forearms or shins, from blocking.

[FearlessFreep]

I have never understood the green belt rule, if they did not want beginner sparring they would not have that division at tournaments.

Our school was not a big sport/tournament school. Part of it is just that I think the instructor didn't want students to get too distracted by the sport aspects. Part of it is that we start doing self-defense drills very early (first week if not first class) so there is a *lot* to absorb for a beginner just in forms, self-defense, and basic technique. Part of it is also that I think he wants to wait until the student has a certain level of self-control in technique so they don't hurt each other

[fullkontact]

eight classes is our rule, and then they also need to buy gear, (no loaners). So that usually takes em a bit longer. They are not required to spar untill yellow belt though. We spar light contact and people very rarely ever get hurt.

[Carol]

I have never understood the green belt rule, if they did not want beginner sparring they would not have that division at tournaments.
Terry

Insurance is why. Our school's insurance policy says that the student must be at least a yellow belt to begin sparring. The only exception is if the student earned a bb in another art, then the student would be allowed to begin sparring at white.

Some schools have the provisions for beginners to start quickly. Ours doesn't.

[bluemtn]

I chose "other", because it depends. Where I go, we generally start at yellow, which takes 3-6 months to achieve. The only exceptions are: if the student has a good foundation (previous exp.)= before yellow. If it takes longer (commitment, etc.) to achieve yellow= well, you know the rest.

[AdrenalineJunky]

Well, we only meet once a week, so the second week is the second session. Mostly it involves light boxing above the waist and below the head until further techniques are introduced. Novice boxers don't have the strategy to land much more than a jab and a cross, anyway; but the emphasis I place on training is that you should be testing what you learn in an applied environment against resisting individuals. I usually spar the new people because I have control of my punches and am conditioned enough to take harder strikes, should they get a little excited sparring their first few times. The two-man and sparring drills emphasize control, and aid in the ability to spar in a quasi-controlled environment.

[still learning]

Hello, At one Karate school we started sparring as white belts...most of us had no control. Getting hit hard and hurt after every class was the norm.

It depends on your teaching system......But to learn to fight you must fight!

Note: sparring and real fighting is not the same thing. (Real fighting is chaos and no rules) ......but sparring gives you good basics that will lead you to be a better fighter.............Aloha

[AdrenalineJunky]

Hello, At one Karate school we started sparring as white belts...most of us had no control. Getting hit hard and hurt after every class was the norm.

It depends on your teaching system......But to learn to fight you must fight!

Note: sparring and real fighting is not the same thing. (Real fighting is chaos and no rules) ......but sparring gives you good basics that will lead you to be a better fighter.............Aloha

I don't like to make people all that uncomfortable their first few times around. Most Thai gyms beat the pee-pee out of their patrons, because, well, they are trying to offer a program that appeals to fighters. I just want to make Muay Thai fun for people. Sparring on low-levels, right away, doesn't mean that tomorrow you'll be a fighter; it just means that you're applying your knowledge at a level that's consistent with reasonable resistance. I have yet to put someone in a position where they got hurt; I'm very safety oriented. That said, we go without pads more than any thaiboxing out-fit I know of.

Just a note: Chaos is not real fighting. Most people that fight play by certain rules. Chaos is chaos, and is subjected more to "any-means-possible" than "real-fighting" is. We usually call this war, I think.

[MJS]

I picked the first month. IMO, the student needs to be familiar with stances, movement, blocks, strikes and kicks first. Even after the first month, yes, they're still going to be slighty uncoordinated, but they're usually paired up with a more advanced student, rather than another white belt. The goal should be to help them with their technique, give them ideas on what to do, etc., rather than just use them as a punching bag.

Mike

[silatman]

My instructor will allow anyone to spar anyone as long as they both agree. It is then up to the two guys to work out the rules. At all times it is under supervision so no one gets silly.

[evenflow1121]

About a month.

[Aqua4ever]

We start to spar under a few conditions
White striped belt (on occasion white belts can start, but that is RARE and depends on agreements between the instructor and student, and special circumstances)
A want to start
Own equipment
By yellow belt they are strongly encouraged, and everyone starts by yellow stripe (tkd)
Aqua

[Drac]

We started in the 2nd week and ALWAYS against a higher ranking student..It got rid of a lot of bad habits BEFORE they took deep root..

[Grenadier]

Good question.

Throw them to the wolves at an earlier age, or wait until their basic skills have been honed? Which one is better?

A Kyokushin school will probably start them out at full contact, full speed sparring, when they are white belts. Even if I thoroughly disagree with this method, I won't argue with the results, since the Kyokushin-kai are one tough group of hombres, that have an excellent sense of honor. Note: I do not mean to say that they're being thrown to the wolves in a literal sense here, since their partners aren't going to go hog wild on them when they're beginners!

A certain Tae Kwon Do school started them at white belt, but at a very relaxed pace, and no hard contact at that level. As you advanced up the ranks, you would be given more leeway to go at a faster pace, and increased contact.

A certain Shotokan school started them after getting yellow belt, but you would only spar with the instructors until they deemed that your control was good enough that they would trust you with the others.

A certain Wado school started letting them free spar only after they hit green belt (5th kyu), believing that it's not a good idea to let them spar until they have refined their techniques significantly.

One other Karate school would not let you free spar until you hit brown belt (3rd kyu).

Who's right, and who's wrong?

The answer is simple: Everyone's right, it's just a matter of finding a school that agrees with you. I've known people from each of the non-Kyokushin schools mentioned above, that have gone on to become world class competitors, some fighting at AAU events, others at USANKF or WKF events, etc., so the systems do work in their own ways.

[TigerWoman]

I remember distinctly sparring within two weeks and most of them guys, and most of them wild teens. I constantly got clobbered especially high on my arms, as if that was a target. On my first test, I didn't know white belts didn't have to test. Everyone was told to put on chestgear to spar and I thought he meant me too so I did. I was given the opportunity to opt out as the master realized I was in gear but I said, I'm ready. For once, I ended up clobbering a yellow belt teenage boy age about 16. I guess I had learned something by then. TW

[terryl965]

Insurance is why. Our school's insurance policy says that the student must be at least a yellow belt to begin sparring. The only exception is if the student earned a bb in another art, then the student would be allowed to begin sparring at white.

Some schools have the provisions for beginners to start quickly. Ours doesn't.

I never heard of insurance having a rule when you can sparr. Learn sonething new everyday.
Terry

[Jonathan Randall]

At my old Kenpo school (Tracy breakaway), 2-3 months. At my former TKD school 5-6 months. I think 2-3 months is about right for most styles and schools. Depends a lot on the individuals.

[Carol]

I never heard of insurance having a rule when you can sparr. Learn sonething new everyday.
Terry

I don't know if a rule is the proper word.

Having students spar later reduces risk from an acutarial perspective...much like driving only a few thousand miles per year reduces risk from an acutarial perspective.

If the owners of my school made such a decision to have such circumstances written in to their policy, the school must follow the policy as it is written. I don't know what went in to their decision. It seems logical that they balanced the demands of their students with all of the liability factors in their policy and decided on the most optimal balance they can find.

I do believe that once the policy is written, if the school breaks from the policy, the school risks not having their coverage apply (or worse) should an accident happen with the student that is outside the policy bounds. That's just my speculation, though.

[terryl965]

I don't know if a rule is the proper word.

Having students spar later reduces risk from an acutarial perspective...much like driving only a few thousand miles per year reduces risk from an acutarial perspective.

If the owners of my school made such a decision to have such circumstances written in to their policy, the school must follow the policy as it is written. I don't know what went in to their decision. It seems logical that they balanced the demands of their students with all of the liability factors in their policy and decided on the most optimal balance they can find.

I do believe that once the policy is written, if the school breaks from the policy, the school risks not having their coverage apply (or worse) should an accident happen with the student that is outside the policy bounds. That's just my speculation, though.

Lady Kaur I understand just never seen one written that way in all my years. I would suspect the owners start to teach Sd at an early stage and that would be covered by there insurance or do they start SD at green belt level also, not trying to start a fight with words just trying to unerstand the insurance thing, if it is because the risk of getting hurt fighting until green then I would imagine it is the same for Self Defense at the school am I correct on this?
Terry

[Rich Parsons]

It depends upon the student and also on what one calls sparring?

i.e. In the first couple of weeks the new studnet should learn basic trapping hands, and some might call this hand sparring, as you have a technique sequence you are doing, but do not know where and how the opponent is going to strike you?

If it is putting on pads and trying to go at it, I think some basics need to be taught first.

With sticks, some think they might be sparring after I teach them blocks and then tell them I am going to hit them for real, so they had better block. ;) :D I put some force on the strike but am ready in case they miss or freak out, to abort.

Yet, one could say the basics of sparring in some form could happen in a couple of weeks.

Now, in some Judo/Jujutsu classes teach in a sparring type fashion, but even there the basics of falling and the technique need to be taught first. :) So it could be any time I guess.

[TigerWoman]

I don't know if a rule is the proper word.

Having students spar later reduces risk from an acutarial perspective...much like driving only a few thousand miles per year reduces risk from an acutarial perspective.

I think that insurance "rule" would just show their ignorance of the martial art. For TKD, its like getting into a faster and faster car with different terrain. Sure you learning how to drive better and better but there is more possibilities for collision and they are more expensive than bruises. I know I got the serious injuries at blue and red belt and not always sparring. I would think it would be the reverse, you insure a white belt minimum, then after that the rates would go up. TW

[Kacey]

As far as insurance - my insurer requires me to have my students wear hand & foot pads and headgear, with cups for the males (any age). A couple of the black belt men take care of teaching about cups for me... never having worn one, it would be hard for me to give advice!

As I said before, my students spar within a couple of weeks of coming in - but they start off at a slow speed, with senior rank partners who have the control to not hurt them, and not let the white belts hurt the black belts, as I find the most injuries come from wild strikes by the white belts, and not the white belts getting injured - so new students only spar with people who can protect themselves from uncontrolled strikes. The key is that I am in control, and watching closely, and they are limited in terms of who they can spar with.

[BrandiJo]

Iv started sparring with in the first week at my old school, then when i came to college because id already been in taekwondo for about 9 months sparred right away. I love sparring i couldnt imagin haveing a waiting period

[Flying Crane]

In our capoeira school, a new student is encouraged to play in the Roda from day one. The Roda is not identical to freesparring, but it is capoeira's version of that. We say that you can practice technique all you want, but you are not "doing capoeira" unless you are playing in the roda.

On the other hand, in our wing chun school we begin drills that build up to chi sao, which again is not identical to freesparring, but is wing chun's version of controlled sparring and is usually done more commonly than freesparring. But it may take several months or longer for a student to advance to full chi sao.

In my kenpo school, I don't recall when we started sparring. I know I was training for several months before a friend and I started sparring in my basement. After that, we were doing more in class, but freesparring was given less emphasis than self-defense scenarios and developing technique useage for self defense.

[cali_tkdbruin]

For us, it's 6 months in, after you learn the basics...

[TLHisComing]

Ussually in the first week. Tend to always pair up the new students with myself or other black or brown belts and let them break them in slowly with some basic combinations to get them used to throwing at a moving target and limit the response of the higher belt to white and yellow belt techniques and light contact.

[KenpoTess]

1st week.. The beginning student gets all 'bundled up' in their sparring gear and paired up with a senior student.. they can practice punching and actually feeling a body under their hand and kicking.. It's a learning process and each new student really enjoys it.. they don't get hurt, they sure don't know what they're doing.. but it's a good ice breaker into 'our world' :)

~Tess

[Adept]

I firmly believe there should be be extra problems incurred by allowing new students to spar on their first night. Senior students should be able to spar with newbies without inuring them (or being injured in return) while at the same time instructing them, breaking them of bad habits, and working them hard. If this isn't possible, then the problem lies more in the qualities a school demands of senior students, than the decision to allow new students to spar early.

If the newbies cannot control themselves, and when I say this I'm not referring to their techniques, but their temper, aggression levels, and adhering to the rules, then they require a talking to. This is a problem that will be encountered sooner or later, regardless of when you allow a new student to spar.

[mad_boxer]

At my boxing gym you can spar whenever you want if you ask but it will generally be a couple of months before the instructor approaches you to see if you want to spar

[bushidomartialarts]

we allow sparring after students receive their first belt (yellow). mostly this is so they get to know the people in the school. sparring injuries generally happen because somebody's scared or nervous. you're less scared or nervous when you're working out with friends.

we require sparring at green belt through first black. minimum of 4 classes per belt rank. after shodan, any student can stop sparring forever if they want -- we just want the decision to come from understanding instead of fear.