Each school has their own particular set of sparring rules. I am curious to see what other schools allow, or disallow in their schools during sparring. These are our schools general sparring rules. No intentional striking to the face ( this does happen at least once a class on accident), no strikes below the belt area, no strikes to the back, no take downs, can only grab if a technique is executed after the grab, no open hand techniques for beginner ranks.
Sparring
- Thread starter Azulx
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Kenpo/Judo school: (very) Light contact to face, medium elsewhere. Striking until someone gets a grip, at which point both switch to grappling, unless grip is broken. This is mainly for safety, since people there were very diverse skillwise, so they didn't want someone contorting themselves to throw strikes while being thrown down.
Kempo School: Changes often. There is Sparring that focuses on self-defense, where someone is meant to act like they have a weapon that is out at the beginning or brought out during, meant to not care about own damage (this in live sparring is only for higher belts for safety), sparring hands only or feet only, sparring in enclosed area, etc. The general rules for basic sparring though is any striking is allowed, but we wear gloves, light contact to upper body and head, leg kicks allowed, technically no throws allowed, but we've never actually been yelled at for it, and one or both people sparring ends up on the ground at least once every other class.
Kempo School: Changes often. There is Sparring that focuses on self-defense, where someone is meant to act like they have a weapon that is out at the beginning or brought out during, meant to not care about own damage (this in live sparring is only for higher belts for safety), sparring hands only or feet only, sparring in enclosed area, etc. The general rules for basic sparring though is any striking is allowed, but we wear gloves, light contact to upper body and head, leg kicks allowed, technically no throws allowed, but we've never actually been yelled at for it, and one or both people sparring ends up on the ground at least once every other class.
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Rules at our school.
1. Spar to learn
2. Strikes towards the groin, knee, and back of head allowed. But these strikes cannot connect.
4. Punches and kicks to the front of the face and the head are allowed.
5. Intensity of sparring is determined by the person with the least amount of skills.
6. Must pull any punch that your partner cannot defend against. these are punches that you don't see until you get hit
7.watch for your partners safety.
8.if you don't protect your head then you'll be pulled from sparring.
9 no full sweeps at full force
1. Spar to learn
2. Strikes towards the groin, knee, and back of head allowed. But these strikes cannot connect.
4. Punches and kicks to the front of the face and the head are allowed.
5. Intensity of sparring is determined by the person with the least amount of skills.
6. Must pull any punch that your partner cannot defend against. these are punches that you don't see until you get hit
7.watch for your partners safety.
8.if you don't protect your head then you'll be pulled from sparring.
9 no full sweeps at full force
Teaching / Learning environment.
Be safe.
Communicate with your sparring partner.
Check yourself - if you're not up to sparring, bow out or don't participate.
Be safe.
Communicate with your sparring partner.
Check yourself - if you're not up to sparring, bow out or don't participate.
- Thread Starter
- #5
For this one, do you mean if someone is intentionally keeping their hands down?
- Thread Starter
- #6
Side note: I am going to assume that at everyone's school, the instructor makes sure that the student's have an understanding of safety. Also that sparring is taught as a learning experience and not as a competition. I am more interested in seeing what each school allows as techniques during sparring.
I try to use sparring to help my students to develop certain technique. For example,
- your opponent tries to throw 20 punches at your head. If he can hit your head within that initial 20 punches, he wins that round. Otherwise he loses that rounds.
- your opponent tries to throw 20 roundhouse kicks at your body. If he can hit your body within that initial 20 roundhouse kicks, he wins that round. Otherwise he loses that rounds.
- Both you and your opponent try to obtain a single leg. whoever gets that single leg first will win that round.
- Both you and your opponent try to obtain a head lock. whoever gets that head lock first will win that round.
- ...
Test this for 15 rounds and record the result.
The advantage of this kind of sparring is you can force your student to develop different techniques at different days.
Here is an example.
- your opponent tries to throw 20 punches at your head. If he can hit your head within that initial 20 punches, he wins that round. Otherwise he loses that rounds.
- your opponent tries to throw 20 roundhouse kicks at your body. If he can hit your body within that initial 20 roundhouse kicks, he wins that round. Otherwise he loses that rounds.
- Both you and your opponent try to obtain a single leg. whoever gets that single leg first will win that round.
- Both you and your opponent try to obtain a head lock. whoever gets that head lock first will win that round.
- ...
Test this for 15 rounds and record the result.
The advantage of this kind of sparring is you can force your student to develop different techniques at different days.
Here is an example.
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In my current club we have freedom to do what we want. So this is what we do. 
I may ask to go light (on head strike) or slower. (Usually fast is just fitness. And easy.)
Besides that, people have training habits. Some only boxe, few try thing not allowed on combat sports (like headbut).
These are our limitations.
I may ask to go light (on head strike) or slower. (Usually fast is just fitness. And easy.)
Besides that, people have training habits. Some only boxe, few try thing not allowed on combat sports (like headbut).
These are our limitations.
Head defence is more about footwork, distance management and head movement (and a bit of 'psychological effect'), than hands up. At least for me, against competitive opponents.
- Thread Starter
- #10
I can see if someone is exhausted, and just can't stop punches and kick from hitting him in the dome. That would be the only scenario where I feel like someone can't intelligently defend their head in stand up sparring. If it was like an MMA style sparring exercise than there are multiple variables taht can prevent you from intelligently defending yourself. I can also see fi you're a beginner and just don't understand how to block properly.
My basic rules are in two sections:
For regular practice
For regular practice
- No contact in strikes for new students (when they are striking). Progressively less-light contact as the students progress.
- For advanced students (currently, just me), all simulated strikes should make some contact (except the face/head).
- When simulating a strike that makes contact, the contact is firmer when striking a more experienced student.
- When grappling, throw at your partner's level of falling ability for safety.
- Same as above, unless gear is worn.
- With gear, all strikes become firmer. Light contact to head, very light to face.
- We don't restrict strikes to the back - those can be effective.
- Groin strikes should be simulated - strike to the thigh, etc. or no contact.
- Grappling is restrained - harder to contain direction with grappling, and we don't have much mat space.
Do you have any basic rules, for when people want to freestyle together? Or do you just pick the most applicable set of competition rules (which seems a sensible option)?
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The fighters below have an unacceptable guards for my school. Their hands are too low. If students at my school fight like this, either out of habit or intentionally, then I will remove them from sparring. A person cannot effectively defend against strikes to the head when the hands are in this position.
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- #15
I see , do you have a picture that demonstrates what the correct hand placement for your school is?
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Our main rule is that the students can only use Jow Ga. We force students to fight using Jow Ga techniques and Jow Ga movement. If we see someone doing boxing then we'll call that person out and tell them to stop boxing and do Jow Ga.
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- #17
excuse me for my ignorance, but I have no idea what Jow Ga is. My sparring stance looks similar to the picture of the TKD practitioners in your picture. I would not be able to spar at your school unless, I learned this Jow Ga.
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The guy in black (me) has correct hand placement height. It doesn't matter how low or how high my stance is, the hands have to be about this height. This height means that my arms have a shorter distance to travel in order to protect my head. I tell students that if they can see over their guard with no problem then the attack can come over the guard without problems.
When I run a sparring session - we don't grapple as part of regular sparring, we grapple separately. But I've been thinking of changing that. Why I haven't so far is I've found that once winded, they tend to go all grappling - or, perhaps better described as "stalling while grappling". But maybe that's not so bad, I'm not sure.
Sweeps are allowed and strongly encouraged. A downed fighter may be jumped on and punched or kicked within a second or two of going down.
We don't leg kick. You know why? Because we're pussies.
As for the rules, beginners are pretty much covered with kid gloves for a month or two. Everyone else, just spars. Head contact at all times, groin contact at all times. When guys in the gym ask me why groin contact is allowed I tell them, "next time you take a shower, before you get dressed, stand in front of a full length mirror, throw a slooow side kick.... and tell me about protecting your groin."
Hey, if you're going to kick, you damn well better be protecting your groin. Otherwise, you're nuts. (see what I did there?)
Levels of contact are determined by the experience and desire of the participants. Nobody fights outside their limits, nobody is taken advantage of. We have a great safety record over decades of sparring.
You are allowed to keep your hands down all you want. Good luck with that plan, but you would soon be the most popular guy in the gym, oh, you betcha'.
Sweeps are allowed and strongly encouraged. A downed fighter may be jumped on and punched or kicked within a second or two of going down.
We don't leg kick. You know why? Because we're pussies.
As for the rules, beginners are pretty much covered with kid gloves for a month or two. Everyone else, just spars. Head contact at all times, groin contact at all times. When guys in the gym ask me why groin contact is allowed I tell them, "next time you take a shower, before you get dressed, stand in front of a full length mirror, throw a slooow side kick.... and tell me about protecting your groin."
Hey, if you're going to kick, you damn well better be protecting your groin. Otherwise, you're nuts. (see what I did there?)
Levels of contact are determined by the experience and desire of the participants. Nobody fights outside their limits, nobody is taken advantage of. We have a great safety record over decades of sparring.
You are allowed to keep your hands down all you want. Good luck with that plan, but you would soon be the most popular guy in the gym, oh, you betcha'.
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Not many people know what Jow Ga is, we aren't as popular as TKD, Karate, Wing Chun, or BJJ.
You would be able to spar at the school as a guest, but as a Jow Ga student I will make you get rid of that stance. We spar with other schools and we don't care if they use their stance. We prefer that they use their own stance because it gives us a chance to fight against different fighting systems. But as a Jow Ga student, you would get lectured. If you still insisted on that stance then I would let you learn the hard way, and then give you a lecture about keeping your hands up.
For my school a high guard keeps students safe. You can see me use the high guard here.
