Sparring 101

[girlychuks]

'Key, quick question.
My instructor says to spar head on, using all four "weapons" (hands and feet) to block attacks. Presenting shoulders even to your opponent. I see a lot of boxers fight this way.
Another instructor, not mine, says to spar with one leg back so you expose less of your body. One hand up, one hand down. i see a lot fo martial arts sparring this way.
Which, in your opinion, is more effective in sparring? Of course speed is the #1 issue-
Thank ya kindly... Cathy, preparing for my first attempt at novice sparring in a few months-

 

[GouRonin]

Speed is not the number one issue as far as I am concerned. Speed is good when you have accuracy and power but with those things it's nothing. Make every shot a good one and you'll find that you'll do ok. If you get punched 100 times with no effect but hit your opponent 1 time with a knockout effect, does speed matter?

I like boxing style fighting as it gives you as many weapons as you can use. The "karate" style I think is more for point fighting. It also takes away 2 weapons.

If you're point fighting, then fight the way point fighters fight. If you're fighting for your life, fight like you want to win.
:soapbox:

 

[deadhand31]

well.. depends on the style, sis.......

i've been taught to be at a 45 degree angle, one leg in back, the other in front. This exposes less body area. Keep your hands up, even if it's against the rules to hit to the head. With one leg in front and one leg in back, you have different methods that can be used. front leg techniques tend to be faster, while back leg techniques are more powerful. This isn't taking weapons away, but giving you different ways to use them.

With your shoulders even, you're alot more vulnerable to the simple front kick, because they have a larger target to kick to. With your stance angled, they have to get a little bit closer to you to actually hit.

 

[thaiboxer]

well i would do what my instructor says to do, if hes reputable that is. Just go with the flow and always try your combinations, because in sparring you might get hit hard, but you wont get killed, so better off ironing out problems then compared to actually when you have to fight to defend your life/self.

Im a muay thai (thai kickboxer) exponent, and we stand generally with our rear foot just marginally behind the front foot. Alternatively i like boxing as well, and i was sparring my fellow thai classmates boxing only the other night, (as i have a busted right leg at the moment) and a good boxer stood side on nearly and had more reach on his jabs than i had standing almost front on. so there are benefits to both and really its up to what you want to try and do to the other person.

fighting is all about having the ability to adapt and realize and act on what your opponent does, and also having the ability to take a hit as well, all with split second timing. lot of natural ability required really to be a good fighter. anyone can claim to be able to fight.

anyhow best of luck with it all. hope this helps

 

[Carbon]

I think standing at an angle you can get more power from your strikes.

Say standing at an angle and you bring your leg to do a side kick or something you can twist your whole body and get power.

On the other hand you can't get as much power standing straight up since you can't put your weight into your punches or kicks as effectively.

 

[Shinzu]

my fighting stance is to the side as to present a smaller target for my opponent.

my hands are one in front and one near my chest. it provides me with different hand techniques that are fast and unpredictable.

if your instructor says to stand a certain way, then by all means i would respect that. sooner or later everyone developes their own comfort fighting stance.

best of luck to you

 

[tshadowchaser]

I'll be the pain in the backside on this one. Learn to fight from all the stances. Each has advantages and disadvantages. sometimes you can fight in a stance for years then find if modified just a little it gives you a total different view of your opponet.
Hated fighting out of a front stance when I first tried becuse I had learned the side stance first. Now I use the front stance or a verriation most of the time.
There is something to be learned from all of the stances and learning when to switch from one to another is still another story.
Shadow:asian:

 

[Rob_Broad]

I would tend to agree with Girlychucks instructor, only because he is HER instructor. You should spar the way it is prescribed by the head of your school. I personally never fight the same way twice in a row, but I have the experiece to do so plus I tend ot mimick my opponent as I get going.

Spar the way your instructor teaches you and then later modify to fit YOU

 

[thaiboxer]

Originally posted by girlychuks

"'Key, quick question.
My instructor says to spar head on, using all four "weapons" (hands and feet) to block attacks. Presenting shoulders even to your opponent. I see a lot of boxers fight this way.
Another instructor, not mine, says to spar with one leg back so you expose less of your body. One hand up, one hand down. i see a lot fo martial arts sparring this way.
Which, in your opinion, is more effective in sparring? Of course speed is the #1 issue-
Thank ya kindly... Cathy, preparing for my first attempt at novice sparring in a few months-

"

firstly i agree with gouronin's comments. Also i would like to add that you should always spar as you would fight basically, and go reasonably hard, else its a waste of time. I would also suggest that you should never be too cocky or disrespectful of what any "sucker" can do and always hold hands up in front of face to protect against all attacks.
But definitely spar as realistically as you can, you will face the real situation better, if it happens.

 

[Rob_Broad]

As my first instructor used to say about people hitting with a little contact, "ballet class is on tuesday nights, start hiiting and taking some shots or trade in your belt for a Tu-Tu".

 

[Klondike93]

Originally posted by Bonehead

I would tend to agree with Girlychucks instructor, only because he is HER instructor. You should spar the way it is prescribed by the head of your school. I personally never fight the same way twice in a row, but I have the experiece to do so plus I tend ot mimick my opponent as I get going.

Spar the way your instructor teaches you and then later modify to fit YOU

I think what bonehead says makes the most sense for you. Follow your instructors teachings and modify it later as you get better.

Now having said that, for me there is two different ways of sparring. Point tournament style and continous style.

In point fighting you have to expose as little targets to the opponent as possible.
In continous it's like boxing, so you can square up more and take a shot to give a shot.


:asian:

 

[Cthulhu]

I think one also has to consider what type of sparring is being done. We've been doing stick sparring once a week (padded sticks, hockey helmets, paintball gloves, probably should wear cups) and if you don't stay in motion, you'll probably get hit. Unless there's some tactical purpose, I think we tend not to use any set stances...everything is dynamic.

Hurts like hell, but it's so much fun

Cthulhu

 

[arnisador]

I am not particularly mobile by nature so this is work for me! But yes you learn fast that anything that isn't moving is likely to get hit.