Sparring question

At my new TKD class we don't spar until Yellow belt. I was previously a blue belt, 8 years ago, I was quite good at the type of sparring we did, but it was more like a kind of game, no real force to the blows.

As I generally dislike patterns I'm now wondering if I should just jack it in now and start doing something like Muay Thai, Kyokushinkai or, at the Aldershot gym they do something called K1 sparring. I think it might be a bit too hardcore for me though.

In summary. Do you think it is better to spar with a higher level of contact and concentrate less on forms and patterns. Or is it better to work on fitness, conditioning and more force in sparring?

 

Depends on what you want.

In the style of Karate I do, forms were stripped away and exist only for those who want to perform them at tournaments. We have separate kumite (sparring) and kata (forms) squads. But sparring is our bread and butter. Beginners will be introduced to sparring in their very first class (albeit strictly controlled and padded up like Michelin Man). The intensity is very gradual and ties in with steadily improving levels of fitness and technique.

 

that depends, what do you want out of your training? and do you enjoy high contact sparring? TKD sparring will generally be fairly tame compared to things like Muay Thai or k1. if you like TKD, stick with it, yellow belt isnt too far off.

if youre determined to start now, ask your instructor if you can. if you tell him you where a blue belt he may make an exception.

 

I can't really say if I like high contact sparring as I have never done any.

All I really want is high fitness. Good flexibility and sparring. Not too sure about trying techniques unless you're actually trying to hit something that doesn't want to be hit.

 

TKD will fulfill those requirements. but you said there was a kyokushin dojo near you. thats some good stuff.

 

Try visiting one of the places you've mentioned and see if its for you.

 

I guess I will enquire about the K1 sparring and just continue with the TKD for now.

 

Kyokushin > TKD no matter who you vote for.

 

I did a search earlier for kyokushin schools and the closest I could find was in London. That's just too far for me to travel. Or is K1 also kyokushin? I don't know!

I thought K1 was a competition which is why I'm a little confused.

 

Admit it. It was after a Kyokushin class you changed your name to Veronica, wasn't it?

I know the feeling. I was Isabelle for a while.

Dark times.

 

K-1 was actually started by a former Kyokushin karateka, Kazuyoshi Ishii, who formed Seidokaikan in 1980 and began hosting and televising karate tournaments. He wanted to start K-1 to show the power of knockdown karate and to test it against all comers, hence why originally they often had fighters in dogi duking it out.

 

It really depends what you want to get out of your training. Heavy contact sparring is really important if you want to learn how to fight, that is why every striking art that tests themselves in full-contact competition utilises heavy sparring in their training. However, many people can find heavy contact very intimidating. If you are training with an aim of getting fitter while participating in a social environment then low contact sparring (or even two-step) should be fine. If you wish to learn how to fight then heavy sparring is an absolute necessity.

Forms and patterns are not particularly helpful if you want to learn how to fight. Most form training has very little relevance to fighting. Kyokushin is an oddity, as it is a heavy-contact art with a focus on kata as well. However, there is generally no focus on bunkai in kyokushin; and kata training is treated as completely separate from competition kumite training. Other than Kyokushin (and maybe a few other knockdown karate styles) most arts that actually compete in a full-contact environment largely dispense with forms. Even in grappling arts such as Judo, many competition-focused schools place little or no focus on the Judo kata.

 

Do you have kihon dosa, locking kata and 13 & 31 jo kata in your style of aikido as well?

It's been a little while since I did aikido, but they were a big part of it in my old dojo.

Sounds like another movie I need to pick up, I'll google fu it

Come for the conversation, stay for the history lesson - cheers Kuma, I didn't know that

It could be me being a big advocate of traditional karate over the modern variations we see spawning everywhere, but for me, that feels just wrong. I get what you're saying and there is some sense to it. But then some of the best karate-ka I have ever seen in terms of sparring were guys who practiced their kata religiously and would utilize the postures, movements and techniques without consciously thinking about them.

 

I believe both sparring and kata can exist hand in hand. Each somewhat use the other as a base. I like the traditional styles kata and I also find that a complete kata does have some useful moves to be used in certain scenarios. I find that a whole kata isn't going to be used in its entirety during a fight, if I did, that would be unrealistic and REALLY REALLY convenient. (I won't use all of pinian 6 during a fight, I would use certain parts that apply.) Forgoing kata as part of the standard curriculum of a traditional martial art is somewhat of an oddity to me.

 

I prefer light sparring early in a martial artist career than waiting for ages until you reach an advanced stage and add more strength. Light sparring benefits beginner as well as advanced practitioners and prevents possible nasty injuries that may keep the athlete outside of the practice for a while. It is possible that two martial artists, when both advanced, may increase the level of contact when sparring, but light sparring should be encouraged as soon as one feels ready.

 

I'd say it really depends on what you want from your training. Big tough guys may tell you that it's all about full contact and all else is crap, but if you are doing point sparring or low contact sparring and enjoying it, who's to tell you otherwise. If you do wanna get in some real full-contact fights and learn how to fight them, then moving on will probably suit you better. If you wanna learn how to fight, I'd say you'll need full contact at some point. If you're there for fitness and/or fun, then do whatever floats your boat and forget the guy who tells you you're wrong