The first time you spar was a "tester"...trust me. You are right that you want to correct bad habits early - that wasn't at all what I was saying. I was saying that you need to respect your teacher's knowledge and the first time he had you spar, it's ok to make mistakes. He will start correcting them very soon.
About being "lied to", lets put it this way. When I have one of my students spar for the first time, I will try to motivate the student by giving all kinds of encouragement. To say, "you move awful" or "you are not doing well" is rediculous. It's the first time he/she is sparring!!!!!
A student with no sparring and very littlle martial arts experience should NOT question his/her instructor's knowledge about how he/she is conducing a class. This shows a lack of respect. If you have an issue with soemthing, talk to the instructor alone after class time.
Sparring has to be one of the hardest things to teach, for many reasons. Often what the person sees and perceives in the ring is very different from what is actually taking place. I see sparring a lot like a poker game; meaning there is a deep psychological aspect to it. Keeping the "poker face" in the ring is one of many skills that must be learned. Veterans know not to show if they were hit, or disappointed if a combo didnt work. Veterans always have a collected look about them. That can be very disconcerting to a novice. To prevent the newbie from underestimating their abilities, in the beginning, simple encouragement outweighs the need for constructive criticism (emphasis on constructive). When I was working with kids, teaching them to spar I cant count the number of times that I had to encourage them after a clash because they felt that they got more than they gave. Until a person learns their effective ranges, and how to recognize openings, and when they have struck a solid hit they are easily intimidated in the ring. It takes hours of ring time, lots of advice, and objective feedback from someone outside the ring to develop sparring skills.
