Different Ways To Spar

"Martial arts is not about fighting, it's about building character"

-Bo Bennett

 

"The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle."

-Unknown

 

"You can only fight the way you practice."

-Miyamoto Musashi

 

"Warriors do not win battles by beating their heads against walls, but by overtaking them. Warriors jump over walls; They don't demolish them."

-Carlos Castaneda

 



 

 

 



 

In my two decades of martial arts I have found many ways of sparring, as disparate as there are forms of fighting.

 

But in essence there are commonalities between them all. It is a method of practicing the techniques learned for engagement against another. There are varying levels of contact, from none to deadly and an infinite medium between the two. Some will utilize the techniques learned, whereas others have nothing at all to do with the 'traditional' techniques being taught.

 

 

I consider self-defense to be a type of sparring. I will highlight the different forms which I can in this article. Practicing them all will allow one to train techniques for different situations, as well as different ways to train and focus on specific applications and situations.

 

 

The most basic is the one step, the first I came across. Predominant in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do it is a one on one situation, one person initiates a specific technique, and the defender will then react with a specific, predetermined response to counter it.

 

 



 

 

The next and most similar is self-defense. These take techniques and apply them to situational attacks, such as an oncoming punch or kick, grab or throw.

 

 

I have seen these used from a simple set-up where one has choreographed the techniques ahead of time... to someone getting attacked at a belt test at any time, randomly, such as when retrieving a mat, doing push-ups, or even in the middle of the form. There are always varying extremes in any kind of contact situation, especially concerning intensity.

 

 

The next is shadow-boxing, where one imagines a fighter of varying height and distance, and then engages them as if they were real. I personally usually picture myself and attack that.

 

 

The next is three step sparring, more commonly found in Tae Kwon Do. Another form, known as five step fighting is demonstrated below it. This is where one side attacks three to five times (or more depending on the style and room to practice in) with one side first attacking and the other defending. Then the defending side initiates five attacks. Depending on the style one will advance or back up with each attack.

 

 

 

Five step sparring:

 

 

The next form is the most common; it is a one on one. Here are a few videos to give you an example.

 

One often uses armor of a type, or padding, to protect oneself. There are a few styles where it is absolutely mandatory, but this is open to debate. Some schools make people use them at all times, especially in 'lawsuit-happy' countries. Others stop the usage at an early to middle stage in the martial practice, to ensure one develops durability for combat which will take place on the street.

 

 

One thing I must stress is that more often than not, while sparring prepares one for the street, fighting on the street is nothing like sparring. Sparring usually has rules, and true self-defense confrontation draws pretty much from all elements and forms of sparring as I list above and below; from shadow-boxing to self-defense to fighting multiple people.

 

 

There is light contact, where one uses control to avoid heavy impacts, or even avoiding striking altogether. I believe it a sign of martial skill to fight heavy, fast, with power, but touch as light as a feather.

 

 

I gaurantee others will not agree on that. And certain styles abjectly refuse to engage in sparring like that. In Krav Maga for example, when you spar, you get hurt. Usually no ifs ands or buts. But then I look at martial styles such as Aikido, where a person can get flung or disabled, and the abject goal is to do so without harming them.

 

 

Aikido- deliberate responses to leave opponent unharmed.

 



 

Very light contact to no contact;

 

Sorry for the music.

 

 

Medium contact;

Heavy contact;

 

I have to emphasize that when sparring 'hard' there is a fine line between going intensely and abjectly attempting to hurt the other. And often when others do spar, that is eventually what it becomes. Unless it is for testing purposes or fighting in the ring, I find its engagement brutal in an animalistic sense. Every martial artist MUST know how to of course, that is how it will be when actually attacked, but when that is how every sparring session is I find it brutesque. A strong martial artist should be able to overcome their opponent without hurting them. Hence why it is called an 'art' and not butcher fighting.

 

An exception to this rule of thumb for me is such as kendo, where every strike will hurt. But when weapons come into play there are only two extremes; not hitting the other or deflecting it, and direct contact.

 

 

 

The next form of sparring is that of multiples. Ultimately there are a few things to remember when being attacked on the street; chances are it will be while you are either walking or sitting (as those are the positions we are most often in) and it is as likely you will be attacked by a single person as it is to be by many.

 

 

 

I opted to use my 1st dan exam because I think it best describes how multiple fighting can go. I have seen it range from one person, to one hundred, such as in the Kumite;

 

I admit I would like to train and attempt it.

 

 

An interesting form of 'sparring' is a well choreographed demonstration such as in wushu.

 

All of the above methods of sparring can be incredibly useful in developing your martial arts. Sparring is the ONLY way one can learn how to de-program instincts while developing instinctual responses. Such ability can make the difference between life or death on the street.

 

But I have a few things I would like to say about sparring. If you hurt your partner, chances are they will not want to train with you again, depending on the culture of your school and relationship with them.

 

If you spar to prove something, you are only lighting your own ego to explode when someone beats you.

 

Sparring is not about hurting the other; it is about learning how to use your techniques.

 

Further, you prove nothing by sparring. Even if the best fighter in your school, you are really the best 'sparrer'. Real fighting only takes place when either objective winning or surviving takes place, such as in competitions or on the street when our lives are potentially at stake. And even with competition, there are rules and ultimately being the best fighter in the world means nothing on the street, save that one is more likely to be able to handle the given situation.

 

 

 

 

"While men compete in war, there will be warriors. While there are warriors, there will be princes among warriors. Among the princes will be kings, and among the kings will be emperors."

-David Gemmell

 

"He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty"

-Lao Tzu