holding back

[hand2handCombat]

when i spar with ppl at my skill or higher one, i try my best. but when i spar with ppl with a skill less than mine, i go slow and tell them what im going to do and how to block it.

my question is do u guys think that im delaying the development of their skill by babying them?

 

[Deathtrap101]

depends on how the class learns. I'd say yea definetly.

 

[Kenpo Wolf]

"I'm going to take my right foot and whack you across the left side of your face and you know what. There is not a damn thing you can do about" BAM!!! That's my favorite scene from Billy Jack, which what the topic reminds me of.

I have done this on a few occassions. It's detrimental to your partner's growth in the sparring area so unless he is very dense, I would'nt make a habit out of it. Everyone has to find their own way instead of being a MA clone of somebody else

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I think it depends. On occasion I'll do a 'walk thru' where we spar and correct each other as we go..

"Shoulda blocked left" "Thats a duck and turn" "block then go left, not right." etc. Course the last few times I spared it turned into a hockey brawl as we tripped over the "BOB"s.

 

[jkn75]

Well, it depends. Given their age/ability level it could vary greatly.

If anyone has less skill, going slow is OK but telling them what is coming doesn't develop their skill at being able to see the attack, react, counter/intercept. As they improve they will get better.

An older person may not be respect you or feel they are getting anything out of sparring. Someone older may want you to attack faster because you are at the ability of someone who may start trouble with them.

Younger people want to go out and at times want to learn things for themselves. Go slow but let them attack and counter as they see fit.

Sparring this way is not bad for someone who has no experience in sparring. Plus it may give someone new ideas on how to counter. But your sparring partner needs to learn what works for them also: they may be of a different build, different strengths and weaknesses. You may be hindering their progress.

A session, after sparring, discussing what you did and what they did and what you think they need to work on is much more helpful. Also you can do sessions where you say you will only use feet, only use hands, a particular technique, one person blocks the other attacks only, etc.

When I spar with someone who is a lower belt i'll go slow but shout out things they should do: keep guard up, footwork, combinations, move in a circle, etc. But I try to mix up my techniques so they learn to see attacks and counter them.

Hopefully this helps.
:asian:

 

[Deathtrap101]

yea stuff like that is good jkn but when your writing the whole spar out for the other guy you are basicly doing a kata and the other guy doesnt have to try and react to anything he doesnt know is coming.

 

[J-kid]

It depends usally when i spar we work hard and fight each other, we dont go slow or to hard , We go intil we deside to stop, After words is when we go over moves we did to each other work on counters tips on failed moves and more. That is a good way to work on sparring,

 

[Yari]

Originally posted by hand2handCombat



my question is do u guys think that im delaying the development of their skill by babying them?

Depens on how much (like what most others have said). It has to always be the right amount. Just like when you learn a technique for the first time, you take it slowly and work it through. The same with free-sparring. THe better uke, the more you can "go for it".

/Yari

 

[hand2handCombat]

i dont say what im going to do before i do it. i say what iim going to do at the same time i start to move. so itll be easier on his part. i think u guys misunderstood me, i think u think im sying that i say it 1-2 seconds before i do it:asian:

 

[sweeper]

wellI personaly don't like to talk when sparring because I have lost my mouth guard to hooks and upercuts many times..

the only time I give advise is 1: totaly new guy making tons of mistakes, or 2: someone doesn't seem to realise they have a gaping hole int heir deffence examples, new person can't get inside on me because I'm using my jab and stop kick, I give them some combination advise.., or 2: my buddy is leaving his guard down on his left when he throws a right hook or cross, or the biggest one was when my freind would enter placing his heal to the ground (like he would step and jab but land with his heal than go to the ball of his foot)

 

[tonbo]

I would say to take a look at how people teach *you* that is effective....then pass it on. It didn't sound as if people higher than you tell *you* how to block or dodge, and they don't tell you what they are going to throw. It just happens.

IMHO, this is the best way to learn, when doing free sparring. You can do "three step" sparring, where you are like six feet away from your partner, and you are throwing one move at a time, in the air, while they are blocking your moves in the air. This will train them how to block what moves. However, I am a strong advocate that what actually works in free sparring is to spar at just above the level of the lower belt you are sparring. Give them something to rise up to, not something they can handle easily. Let them figure out what is going on. Don't pummel them mercilessly (I don't hear you saying you do), but challenge them.

Before I start sparring someone lower than me, and usually after, I will have a quick discussion with them, pointing out that where they get hit most often is where the holes in their defense is. Then, they get to figure things out. If they want pointers from what *I've* seen when sparring them, I'm happy to share. However, they have to want them.......if they are not interested, then they will learn the hard way...

Again--*challenge* people, don't figure it out for them. You can stop (briefly) in the middle of sparring them to point something out, but I wouldn't do it for the majority of the moves. One I use is to tell lower belts when best to come in on my--I tell them things that I have noticed I tend to do (I am working on fixing them!!!), so they can start to see patterns and exploit them.

Ah, well.....my opinion. As with all things, your mileage may vary.

Peace--

 

[sweeper]

something else I might point out, genneraly people understand more than their fighting ability shows.. if they telegraph and take a hook because you slipped their cross, they probably know what happened and know they have to tighten up their motion.. things most people don't notice about them selves are usualy more like stance and footwork.

 

[Shinzu]

when i spar people of less experience i will not go super slow, but i will slow down to "their level".

meaning, i will read their body movements to see how fast they can perform and move. i will then lower my technique speed just a little above that to push them.

i will say things to them only if i see a pattern in their technique.. not keeping their guard up, only using one side to kick of punch etc.

i don't coach them along but i do give them support so they can help themselves be the best they can be.

 

[MartialArtist]

Originally posted by hand2handCombat

when i spar with ppl at my skill or higher one, i try my best. but when i spar with ppl with a skill less than mine, i go slow and tell them what im going to do and how to block it.

my question is do u guys think that im delaying the development of their skill by babying them?

Well, yes and no.

If you go all out to beginners, then they will have a VERY conservative fighting style where they just defend.

However, for intermediate (1-8 years), don't go too easy on them but don't go all out so they don't learn, just get hit. Go around 80% speed and only go to 100% for a few short bursts to teach them. And don't be afraid to teach them and show them how to do a correct move like you're doing.

For sparring, I'm sure they're also sparring people around their level of experience so you shouldn't baby them too much. If all they fought were people like you, then go easier.

 

[Blindside]

I advocate fighting at a slightly higher level then the person with less experience. It does a white belt little good to be blitzed by a high-level belt going full out, neither side learns from it. I try to avoid talking during the match, but if I am continuously bouncing jabs off of someones face, I would make a mention to them about distancing or their gaurd, or whatever the issue is.

When my BJJ instructor rolled with us he would give us openings to see if we recognized them, and then would allow the technique to begin and then counter it. When we got better those nice openings disappeared.

Lamont

 

[fissure]

I advocate fighting at a slightly higher level then the person with less experience

This is the route I take.Don't overwhelm them but give them a serious challenge, force them to get better without turning them into a punching bag.

 

[theneuhauser]

The topics been pretty well covered here so far. I would add with an analogy. All learning is done in stages, consider rock climbing. Climbers get better in increments. sport climbers use a 14 point difficulty scale, and each point has 4 sublevels(a,b,c and d). everyone starts out at a different level of ability, and from there on out it's little baby steps as you work your way up. angles get steeper, footwork gets more intricate, handholds demand more power, even the strategies increase in complexity. but if a competent level 10 climber were to attempt a 14 difficulty route, that person would fly off the wall before you could blink, not only that, but the climber would be at a mental disadvantage if ever he/she attempted that very same route again.

if you train someone below your level, remember you are acting as their instructor. and an instructor's purpose is to aid the student in their growth, not to blow them off the mountain.

 

[Chronuss]

Originally posted by theneuhauser

if you train someone below your level, remember you are acting as their instructor. and an instructor's purpose is to aid the student in their growth, not to blow them off the mountain. [/B]

this is well said. when I spar someone at a lower rank than myself, I bring myself down to their skill level so they don't get psyched. let them practice their blocking and countering as well as attacking. if you just block all of their attacks and let them get nothing in, their self confidence and self esteem will diminish, and they will feel that it is not worth it. allow them to see the openings and help them with their attacking and countering, but don't don't baby them and tell them what to do, let them see it for themselves.

 

[bscastro]

I agree with others that you should not take it too easy, but also not go too hard. Sometimes, when sparring younger (in rank or skill) students, I'll try to work on a specific move for myself. That way, I am not going all-out against them, and I am improving myself by trying to utilize a limited set of tools. For example, I might just try to work on entering without kicking, or against someone much less skilled, I might just try using a jab or front kick. There are other ways to decrease resistance, but basically you have to spar I think slightly stronger than your partner in order to help them adapt and improve. Just like lifting, if they're lifting what they can lift easily, they're not getting stronger, but if they can't get the bar off their chest or off the rack, they won't improve either.

Bryan