Student sparring

[ccultrara]

Well tonight in my classes we worked on sparring WTF style and were oddnumbered. So i jumped in and worked with a few students and man did it feel good as i don't get to spar as much anymore. Any other instructors spar with their students to get a little workout in?

 

[ralphmcpherson]

At our club instructors dont spar at all, fortunately Im not an instructor though.

 

[ccultrara]

Usually we don't but as i said our number was odd. I guess you can call it even more of hands on teaching

 

[ATC]

All of our instructors get in and mix it up all the time. Why wouldn't an instructor?

 

[ccultrara]

I believe in it a lott

 

[CrimsonPhoenix]

I'm not an instructor, but from my point of view, there's a whole other dynamic that comes into play when there's both student/instructor sparring and student/student sparring. When sparring my instructors, there's years and years of experience that I can glean from and use to improve myself.

At my school, there aren't any higher ranked kyu students than myself, so to spar someone with more experience, I spar my instructors frequently. I feel that I learn so much more about strategy when I spar black belts, and of course there's that instantaneous feedback when I screw up.

 

[chungdokwan123]

My instructors don't spar with us often, but now and then they do. Let me tell you......it's a real treat for us when they do!

Honestly, I think instructors should spar with their students now and then. It reinforces their credibility with their students....the respect level stays high.

 

[seasoned]

They don't have to be out there all the time, but it is an excellent way to gage a students ability and their attitude.:asian:

 

[l_uk3y]

Personally I encourage instructors to join in sparring with students. Not necessarily every time. But at least every now and then. You are teaching your particular system (doesn't matter which). To see someone with much more experience in how to use the techniques they have been shown will help open their eyes to how to actually implement what they have learned as well as the strategies involved that they may not have thought of without seeing an instructor level spar.

I spar with my Wing Chun students (very small class though) in 2 diff methods. Sometimes I will spar purely with WC with the goal being to get a bit more "feel" for how they are progressing. I also search for openings. If I find one, I keep attacking the same opening until they learn to close it and react accordingly.

The second method is to spar with them not using WC at all. Using a mixture of techniques from basic jabs and hooks to hook kicks and spinning back kicks occasionally trying to sneak in a clinch or something completely made up.

The number one reason I spar with my WC students is to help find their weaknesses and develop them. The primary goal of teaching really.


At my Hapkido school. I love sparring against our instructor. He did a lot of TKD competition when he was younger and as such is a very intelligent sparrer. I find it a real challenge to try and close him to WC striking range and find I end up getting caught trading kicks which is far from my strength. That is experience I would not get if he didn't spar and I only ever got to spar students of the same rank.


Cheers.

Luke

 

[terryl965]

I believe sparring with students is great, it allows the student to see what can really be done with proper techniques. Now alot of instructor I know do not spar for one reason or another.

 

[B'Dragon]

Guess that is a difference in Aikido. When ever I wanted hands on with the instructor when they were close by I could say "onegashimas" (roughly translates "Please teach me") and they would throw me using the current technique. I agree with the above posts that instructor hands on training is invalueable! I could not only how the throw felt, but I could strive to get the same feeling in my throws.

Then there is also the occasional randori (usually during open house demonstrations), sheer panic and terror while at the same time using committed atacks and staying right in the moment!

I luckily got a fair amount of that from my teacher over the years of training. I in turned learned to do the same in the classes I taught from time to time.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Sparring limits my ability to teach to one student at a time. Works OK occasionaly. But if I observe my students sparring I am able to analyze and help several at a time.

 

[Stac3y]

Instructors in my school both observe students sparring with one another and make the rounds to spar with each student (especially the lower belts) to assess how they are doing and instruct on specific techniques and skills.

 

[rip_dorey]

Instructors should spar with their students, otherwise students do not know how to move, kick and behave during sparring. I guess it is an instructors god damn job...

 

[Earl Weiss]

Instructors should spar with their students, otherwise students do not know how to move, kick and behave during sparring. I guess it is an instructors god damn job...

Do you think boxing coaches like Angelo Dundee ad Cus D'Amato sparred with their Boxers?

 

[dancingalone]

Do you think boxing coaches like Angelo Dundee ad Cus D'Amato sparred with their Boxers?

Those trainers hired sparring partners for their boxers.

It's different for everyone. In my case, I am still the best at sparring in my dojo. As such, it's my duty to pull out the pads from time to time to challenge my higher ranks and MAKE THEM BETTER. It's one thing to coach a student with words during a time out - it's another to show them in person physically that their bad habits make them vulnerable.

There are no absolutes. Obviously D'Amato couldn't spar with Mike Tyson and he was still a top boxing coach. However if you can, I think there is value in working with your students yourself. Besides sparring is fun, and even teachers need to stay on top of their skills themselves. Why not get in a few rounds during class yourself?

 

[ATC]

Do you think boxing coaches like Angelo Dundee ad Cus D'Amato sparred with their Boxers?

Not quite apples to apples comparison here. At some point we will get old and stop sparring with students, but until then make sure you have your mouth piece in.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I think thats the reason instructors at our club dont spar. The majority of instructors at our club are 6th or 7th dan and are well into their 50's or 60's and most are riddled with injuries from years of hard training. There would be little to be achieved by them jumping in the ring to spar a 23 year old 3rd dan in the prime of their life. I guess if we had younger instructors they might have a go but that is a huge minority where I train.

 

[searcher]

I spar with my students, as does each other instructor in my school. It is essential to maintian our own skills as an instructor. IMO, it is the only way to push the students to get better.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Those trainers hired sparring partners for their boxers.

It's different for everyone. In my case, I am still the best at sparring in my dojo. As such, it's my duty to pull out the pads from time to time to challenge my higher ranks and MAKE THEM BETTER. It's one thing to coach a student with words during a time out - it's another to show them in person physically that their bad habits make them vulnerable.

There are no absolutes. Obviously D'Amato couldn't spar with Mike Tyson and he was still a top boxing coach. However if you can, I think there is value in working with your students yourself. Besides sparring is fun, and even teachers need to stay on top of their skills themselves. Why not get in a few rounds during class yourself?

My post was in response to Rip's which seemed to indicate that an instructor is not doing his job if they did not spar with the studenst. My point was there are lots of ways to get the job done and provided some examples.

This did not advocate any contrary position with regard to instructors not sparring ith students. It is great if you can and if it serves a purpose. It's also great that you are the best and able to provide appropriate feedback. Will you still be the best in 10,20, or 30 years? I have had some great instructors over 70, and over 80. I would not expect them to spar, nor imply that they failed to do their job if they did not.