Who believes it is good to spare against people of higher rank and why? What are some of the benefits that come from it and when you do is it like a real sparring match or is it light contact?
Sparring
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Deaf Smith
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What? You mean there is a place where lower rank belts DON'T spar higher rank ones?
Of coures one should spar higher rank belts.
1) This benefits the higher rank belt as they can concentrate on their more difficult techniques or combinations they want to practice on.
2) It benefits the lower rank for having a harder challenge.
3) It benefits the higher rank as they can slow down a little and work on control.
4) It again benefits the lower rank as it forces them to think faster.
It's mostly light contact. Then ONLY time it has any real contact is when the instructor feels the lower rank student needs an attitude adjustment.
Deaf
Of coures one should spar higher rank belts.
1) This benefits the higher rank belt as they can concentrate on their more difficult techniques or combinations they want to practice on.
2) It benefits the lower rank for having a harder challenge.
3) It benefits the higher rank as they can slow down a little and work on control.
4) It again benefits the lower rank as it forces them to think faster.
It's mostly light contact. Then ONLY time it has any real contact is when the instructor feels the lower rank student needs an attitude adjustment.
Deaf
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But... how can they learn as much only sparring students their own rank? I agree with Deaf Smith on this one, for all the reasons he gave - that's what we do as well, and for the same reasons.
K31
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5) It benefits the higher rank because he/she may be presented with something they've never encountered before.
As a white-belt in Judo I practiced with a visitor to our school who was a contender for the Olympic team. While executing a particular throw I hooked his opposite underarm rather than what I was supposed to do. He stopped and asked me why I did that. I told him that it felt more natural for me. He stopped and asked our instructor to come over and asked me to show it to him, repeating what I had said. Rather than a correction, it was clear he thought that this was something useful to study because it had taken him off guard.
As a white-belt in Judo I practiced with a visitor to our school who was a contender for the Olympic team. While executing a particular throw I hooked his opposite underarm rather than what I was supposed to do. He stopped and asked me why I did that. I told him that it felt more natural for me. He stopped and asked our instructor to come over and asked me to show it to him, repeating what I had said. Rather than a correction, it was clear he thought that this was something useful to study because it had taken him off guard.
BrandonLucas
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Seriously, what can anyone hope to gain by only sparring their same rank all the time? It's like only talking to people the same age as you.
Twin Fist
Grandmaster
if you dont spar against higher ranks , you will slow your learning to a crawl
higher belts learn control sparring lower belts
lower belts learn to push themselves sparring higher belts
higher belts learn control sparring lower belts
lower belts learn to push themselves sparring higher belts
What everyone else said...I'll go fuirther to say everyone should pretty much spar everyone. Short vs. tall, fast vs. powerful, inexperienced vs. experienced....you should spar everyone...each match is an opportunity to learn or improve on something. A school that limits this is unnecessarily limiting thier sutdents.
Peace,
Erik
Peace,
Erik
phatbway
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Very good to spar higher ranks, at least for me. @ my dojang sparring starts when you rank Light Green and it's a testing requirement. I saprred this Blue belt then and man, did I learn some things. It was supposed to be light contact but, he got rough and roundhouse kicked me to the left side of the face. I shot back with a left jab to the face and a right reverse punch to the solar plex (wearing protection of course) It was a relief and gained his respect ever since. now he's Red and I'm Blue and we spar all the time cause we test together.
I also sparred with a Red belt rank then and learned very much from him.
soooooooo, sparring with the higher ranks is very benefical to lower ranks. I spar with my instructor sometimes, he says i kick like a BB LOL.
Have fun sparring
I also sparred with a Red belt rank then and learned very much from him.
soooooooo, sparring with the higher ranks is very benefical to lower ranks. I spar with my instructor sometimes, he says i kick like a BB LOL.
Have fun sparring
Deaf Smith
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HM2PAC,
We have to hold back. Once you have mastered a good kick or punch, it's very very easy to send someone to the hospital. This is especialy true if the one they are sparring has very little experience.
I have no doubt John Chu's higher ranks went slow with me and yes, held back. Not to make me feel good but to help me learn. It's real hard to learn if you end up every time you spare you are scared or things go so fast you can't even see what hit you.
I've seen lower ranks actually shake when they faced me and their eyes get big. The black belt sort of intimidates them.
When you get to a higher rank you will see why you need to control your technique better and sometimes slow down to help the lower ranks learn.
Deaf
Tryak
Orange Belt
It is great for conditioning to spar higher belts as well. I have sparred with those 2-3 belts higher than me and just been dripping sweat after it and it was a great workout. They can also help point out basic positioning things that you are doing wrong to help you like dropping your hands or switching stances at the wrong time. Also it is a huge morale boost when the higher level compliments you for being a better competitor than he or she was expecting. As for them holding back...if you want them to spar harder then push them harder yourself and they will match you.
I guess you are going to have to feel coddled and insulted then. You will learn nothing if a person much better than you goes full bore and just obliterates you. The flipside is that I (or an equivelant higher rank) don't learn anything by just playing to our strengths and "winning" a sparring match. Someone who is better pushes the person who is lower. We also learn by working on things we aren't as good at, sparring is a learning experience, you aren't just there to pound on each other. Each participant doesn't need to know what the other is working on, but everyone should be working on something.
I've had students say "it doesn't feel like I'm getting better," not understanding that the higher ranks are upping their game as the student improves.
Lamont
I wrote:
I don't mean to hurt newbies,...but don't take it too easy on them either. I guess holding back from obliterating someone is OK.
Remember that all because some of us are new to a particular style does not mean that person has not trained in other formats.
I don't mean to hurt newbies,...but don't take it too easy on them either. I guess holding back from obliterating someone is OK.
Remember that all because some of us are new to a particular style does not mean that person has not trained in other formats.
chokimotobu
White Belt
I was always taught that a good senior student always makes a junior feel that they could almost beat them. Not quite yet, but if they tried a little harder. This keeps the student from feeling dejected, but also keeps there ego in check. On the other hand, if they can't keep there ego in check ...
well, training at a school with few adults (compared to kids) if we don't spar up and down the rank latter, we don't get to spar.
And as a program that does attract quiet a few women, most of whom have never done anything in that fashion ever, as higher belt you have to make sure the lower ranks don't get discouraged.
We do have the option to ask lower ranks to throw certain techniques so we can work on our stuff, but I have hardly ever seen it (never, really) But we do ask them to reach deeper into their arsenal, or where they mess up and have to improve (and sometimes the reminder to keep the guard up comes with a kick to the head gear)
With the kids you often have a different problem, in classes ranging from 6 to 13/14, SIZE is a bigger issue than rank more often than not.
And as a program that does attract quiet a few women, most of whom have never done anything in that fashion ever, as higher belt you have to make sure the lower ranks don't get discouraged.
We do have the option to ask lower ranks to throw certain techniques so we can work on our stuff, but I have hardly ever seen it (never, really) But we do ask them to reach deeper into their arsenal, or where they mess up and have to improve (and sometimes the reminder to keep the guard up comes with a kick to the head gear)
With the kids you often have a different problem, in classes ranging from 6 to 13/14, SIZE is a bigger issue than rank more often than not.
