W
warriorsage
Guest
Many have said (both here and everywhere else) that sparring is the ultimate form of training. OR it is the best form of training, atleast where self defense is concerned. I can see why many say this and I will admit that most students who are GREAT at sparring are probably quite capable at self defense (aside from the few who have only a blazing flick of a back fist). But in Kenpo, we actively practice self-defense techniques. In the schools I've been associated with, we've always taken it a bit further than the standard technique line and have worked the techniques in many various drills (semi-circle, random attacks, blind-folded, etc). None of these appropriately address the fear/stress/surprise of a real attack, but they are a step in the right direction.
Sparring doesn't give you much of that. Sparring is a tool. It is great for conditioning, for distancing, timing, etc, but that is where it ends in my book. I think if sparring is to be a truly effective tool for self defense, we need to change the way we do it. I'm not talking about going from point sparring to continous, or NHB. The change I'm talking about addresses one of my biggest problems with sparring. Sparring for me has always been two karate guys fighting each other with karate moves. I know the few things he's going to do and he knows my things AND they are not the kind of things a skilled or unskilled street fighter is going to do. Plain and simple.
What I've started doing with one of my partners is kind of a blend between technique practice and freestyle. One guy agrees to be the karate guy and the other is the street fighter, doing a wide variety of punches(jabs, crosses, hooks, whatever) and attempted grabs, tackles, etc) and a few punt-style kicks. He doesn't just do the attack and stop while I beat him up, as in technique lines. He keeps on fighting as if we were doing usual sparring. This, to me, is a great tool. It's not perfect, it's not reality, but it is the most useful sparring I've done at this point in my training. I was sick of trying to defend mainly against back knuckle/ reverse punch, side kick type attacks...attacks where we were both trying to get in quick and get back out.
Anyone have any thoughts on this??
Sparring doesn't give you much of that. Sparring is a tool. It is great for conditioning, for distancing, timing, etc, but that is where it ends in my book. I think if sparring is to be a truly effective tool for self defense, we need to change the way we do it. I'm not talking about going from point sparring to continous, or NHB. The change I'm talking about addresses one of my biggest problems with sparring. Sparring for me has always been two karate guys fighting each other with karate moves. I know the few things he's going to do and he knows my things AND they are not the kind of things a skilled or unskilled street fighter is going to do. Plain and simple.
What I've started doing with one of my partners is kind of a blend between technique practice and freestyle. One guy agrees to be the karate guy and the other is the street fighter, doing a wide variety of punches(jabs, crosses, hooks, whatever) and attempted grabs, tackles, etc) and a few punt-style kicks. He doesn't just do the attack and stop while I beat him up, as in technique lines. He keeps on fighting as if we were doing usual sparring. This, to me, is a great tool. It's not perfect, it's not reality, but it is the most useful sparring I've done at this point in my training. I was sick of trying to defend mainly against back knuckle/ reverse punch, side kick type attacks...attacks where we were both trying to get in quick and get back out.
Anyone have any thoughts on this??