Questions tagged [sparring]
Testing of techniques through practice with a partner or against an opponent.
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Is it possible to learn Martial Arts (Kung Fu in my case) effectively without sparring?
I want to enroll in a martial arts school in my neighbourhood. The lessons are given by a shaolin monk and the few lessons I followed were really intense and interesting. When I asked if we were going ...
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Is being angry a prerequisite for sparring?
My sensei says while sparring you should express your inner tiger. My understanding is that I should be savage and angry. But I don't like being angry! Is it possible to be good at sparring without ...
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Why is more time dedicated to exercises and very less for sparring? Is it for the fee?
In some forms of Karate, sparring with a partner is done just once in three months. The rest of the time is spent in strength exercises, katas, flexibility exercises and ab crunches. I've noticed this ...
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How bad is kickboxing for your brain?
I'm not asking for medical advice, I'm just asking this out of sheer curiosity:
To me it seems that kickboxing is the best kind of workout I could get, nothing else gets me in shape quite as quickly ...
user474
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Mouth guard / gum shields - tips?
I've recently starting light sparring (Muay Thai and Boxing) and use one of those single boil+bite style gum shields.
How often should I need to re-mould it as it seems to have lost it's fit after ...
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How do I improve my attack speed?
This question is a little different than a previous question on speed and footwork. Recently my sensei critiqued my sparring, saying my block and counter techniques are pretty strong, but I'm lacking ...
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Start attacking instead of blocking while sparring
I have been practicing kung fu for the past one and a half years. I can do head level basic kicks like roundhouse, side and front kicks but when I spar I don't feel like attacking the opponent. I seem ...
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Should I train differently to spar guys who are bigger than me?
I am a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I have a few tournaments coming up and I am training in my sparring techniques. I am 12 years old with 2 national sparring championships (and on the ...
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Men hitting women too hard in martial arts
I am the only woman cross training between three different schools filled with ten or so men in each. In many of my classes, if I do not fully understand a technique, they will hit me with more and ...
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Etiquette for sparring with women - How to find the balance and not do disservice?
How do I find the balance between being a jerk (i.e., one who is hitting too hard) and being someone who is doing a disservice to female sparring partners (i.e., one who avoids hitting and mostly just ...
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How does one progress from tai chi push hands to free-sparring?
A common tai chi pedagogy is to progress from forms to push hands (tui shou) to free sparring (san shou). As Ayron Howey says:
[You] cannot simply practice Tai Chi forms without other training in ...
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What are the key changes when moving from TKD-based point-break to continuous sparring?
A few years ago, my Taekwondo organization (ITF-based if that makes a difference for purposes of this question) made the shift from point-break sparring (sparring stops after one side scores, resets ...
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Should I stay in a Muay Thai gym where the fighters hit without much restraint or consideration?
I have moved cities and have found a new Muay Thai gym. The training in this gym is very different. When they train they use thai pads less often and do drills. When doing the drills they hit quite ...
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traumatic experiences causing martial arts skittishness
I am kind of new to martial arts, and have only been involved for about a year. One time when my teacher was away from class for personal reasons, a boxing ranked student of his allowed me (an 18 year ...
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How to deal with an excessively aggressive student that is turning people off sparring classes?
Okay before I get into the main question, I'll just outline the sparring structure we employ at the school where I teach.
Beginner level students do not spar at all to give them a chance to build up ...
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How to deal with an "anti-violence" instinct during sparring?
I've been taking up Tae Kwon Do for three years, but stopped since it didn't feel right for me. So I've taken up Arnis or Eskrima instead. Been doing so for three years too.
And then I realized that ...
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Harnessing emotion during sparring
I find that sometimes when I'm sparring, particularly if I'm sparring someone around my own level of ability, I can get quite riled up - particularly if I take a heavy hit. This gives me a serious ...
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Bad boxing club or wrong idea of the sport?
I have done a boxing-for-starters class in a nearby club and after that joined the club for the regular training. As I really enjoyed the sport and got into sparring the fun faded because my sparring ...
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Balancing control and intensity in sparring
At my taekwondo school, we have several levels of sparring - non-, light-, medium-, and full-contact. We do, however, have one over-riding rule: no matter the level of contact, we always endeavour to ...
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Harassment by another student
I have studied jujitsu for almost 5 years. Last year, my daughter and I started Taekwondo also. From the minute I walked through the doors, a 40ish year old man has been harassing me. Everything from ...
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How to defeat a much stronger and bigger opponent?
I'm going to be undertaking a karate competition and one of my fellow club members is also attending. They are much larger, stronger and powerful. Is there any way I have the slightest chance in ...
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Risk of brain damage in casual/moderate Muay Thai sparring
I have been training Muay Thai for about a year now, and am concerned about the risks I'm taking with regards to brain damage. I spar about once a week, and I really don't get hit that often or hard ...
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Do shin guards defeat the purpose of training?
I'm into Ninjutsu. We have just started some boxing + kicking: Gloves, mouth guards. I'm speaking "friendly" here - this is in-house sparring, not MMA competition.
So, the instructor has recommended ...
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Controlling my emotions during sparring
I'm currently a yellow belt but I'm sparring with brown, red and black belts. Of course I'm not as good as they are so during sparring I get emotional and frustrated very quickly... I know it's silly ...
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Effectiveness of low kick to inner thigh of opponent's leading leg in mauy thai boxing?
In muay thai boxing there is the low kick to the inner thigh of the opponent's leading leg as shown in : link to video
I have practised this in training and seen people with bruises from those kicks. ...
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How to deal with unfair judges
I'm in Chung-do-kwan; we practice speed, precision, strength, focus, and balance.
In last years tournament, I faced up against an opponent who probably shouldn't have even been in my group due to ...
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Overcoming fear/anxiousness and dealing with pain
I've been practicing Wing Chun (Wang Kiu lineage) for over a year now. Now problem that I find myself running into is my ingrained reactions to incoming kicks or hits. I find that I am afraid of pain ...
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Avoiding big toe skin split
While sparring and moving around on the mat a lot, halfway through the training the skin under my big toes starts splitting. At the end of the training the split can get pretty big (~1cm) which makes ...
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How do electronic sensing socks / chest protection sensors work in sport competition?
I recently read about Sockgate and was curious how the vests/socks that taekwondo sport competitors work. I understand that there are purely electronic systems and pressure based ones.
I assume that ...
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Should I avoid open-handed blocks in sparring?
I've been studying taekwondo for about 15 years, and I've always been taught to keep my fists closed tightly in sparring to reduce the chance of finger injury. Splayed fingers seems to be a common ...
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Should I wear a groin protector?
So I've been getting interested in TKD sparring, but I'm still murky on some things. I am going to get everything else, but I am still trying to decide if I should get a groin protector. I am a girl, ...
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How to benefit from sparring that is a very poor match for my training?
I've been studying Shaolin Kempo for a while now. In the dojo, we train a wide variety of hand-based strikes: various punches, shuto strikes (aka "karate chops"), hammer fist, tiger claw, grabs, palm ...
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Is it expected that all training stances/positions will have direct fighting applications?
Is it generally expected in martial arts systems that all training stances/positions (horse stances, front stances, drop stances, etc.) will have direct fighting applications?
Questions such as Is ...
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How to spar against a weaker opponent
I am taking Beginner Muay Thai classes for a couple of months now quite regularly. A few rounds of light sparring (no elbows, no knees & kicks to the head, focus on technique instead of power) ...
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What is the name of this style? (Karate maybe?)
I've seen this video around a fair bit,
but I can't find much background about who / what organization / style it is?
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Sparring against Offensive Fighters
I'm pretty decent at sparring, but I consistently struggle against power offensive fighters.
Specifically, I mean people who don't respect my punch, have natural powerful punches, and throw a barrage ...
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WTF Sport Taekwondo - Beating front-leg fighters
I've just recently begun training again for sport taekwondo - specifically sparring. I've always had a more traditional training, but these days the front-leg heavy style is what's in vogue and I have ...
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Is it advisable to try to catch a low kick to the thigh in Muay Thai?
I saw a picture of a fighter in the UK in a Muay Thai match reach down to catch the leg of the opponent throwing a kick to his thigh. I was once told that this is not advisable. In the move as he ...
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What Etiquette Should be Followed When Sparring at Another School?
In addition to sparring with practitioners of my own school/style, I’d like to spar with practitioners of different styles, as I feel this would benefit my fighting ability in the long run.
How ...
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Mouthguard for sparring with extra special gag reflex
I've just started sparring in muay thai, and yesterday nearly had a lower tooth make a break for it (yay for permanent retainers!). I have a boil-and-bite mouth guard, but I also have the world's most ...
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If yelling is so good, why MMA fighters don't yell often
In our class, the benefits of yelling/shouting, i.e. Kihap, in sparring are sometimes pointed out. If yelling is so beneficial, why MMA fighters don't yell often? Or do they?
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In which situations in Muay Thai is the 'super man' punch used and why is it more effective than the normal 'cross punch'?
The superman punch seems to be a powerful technique in Muay Thai. I have had it used on me many times by a guy who likes it. It breaks through my guard frequently from the sheer force and momentum ...
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Should I quit competitive sparring class in tae kwon do?
I'm a 14 year old girl with a second poom in WTF tae kwon do and have been doing a competitive sparring class for 2 years. Originally I joined because I wanted to try and make nationals, but though I ...
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How to get a punch through opponents guard?
What is a good strategy to land a good punch on your opponent?
I have been sparring around 5 times now with a friend, and we both have problem knowing how to attack each other. We both practice ...
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In MMA, should you try to block punches with your glove in the same way you could in Muay Thai?
I am coming from a Muay Thai style and trying out MMA. When sparring in Muay Thai I would frequently hold my glove to my face and successfully block punches. When doing this in MMA, most punches were ...
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Is it okay to spar without gloves?
I've been practicing Shotokan Karate for about 6 months. Yesterday during practice my sensei had us practice free sparing with no protective gear, not even gloves, and I got punched in the mouth and ...
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How to beat a Kickboxer with a Bruce-Lee-type stance and a Taekwondo/Karate background?
Edit 2: More information in the linked video:
How To Beat Karate/Taekwondo Fighters
Basically, keep your hands up to block the hook kick and the spinning side kick. And don't focus on catching the ...
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How can I get my training partners to be more aggressive?
I've recently began Krav Maga training and the center that I go to has a highly acclaimed instructor who is also friendly and patient. I love the art and believe it teaches very practical skills.
...
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Preventing jammed toes when throwing push kick
When I spar, I often jam my toes from throwing push-kicks (teeps). This kick is no problem for me in training, but I think the jamming happens when my partner parries or otherwise blocks my teep, and ...
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Is there a risk of brain trauma in light sparring Muay Thai?
I'm really interested in training Muay Thai, but I really want to avoid any brain trauma. If I spar only lightly (to the head) once a week, will I be able to train for years while staying healthy as I ...
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