Don't Like Sparring?

i know what you mean .....i like tennis....but i hate having to hit that little yellow ball

 

I really like sparring. I like the intensity and the strategy. As far as getting hit, it builds my confidence. When I get hurt in class and continue fighting, I feel stronger. The only thing I find frustrating is being really small. I can usually handle beginners (unless they are gigantic), but once people get some experience they are difficult to deal with.

 

I totally agree. I also find that it is more fun for me to spar lower belts if I adapt to them. Like, I usually will only use my left leg with anyone below red. The key for the higher belt is to be subtle about it. If I feel like I'm being patronized, that is also not fun.

Right on. I've often thought one has to be a bit of a sado-masochist to enjoy MA.

But recently I've met all sorts of people who really enjoy MA and aren't. I'm just wondering if there is another way and how I can understand it better so that I can train better with all types.

 

I only like it when my body is working for me. If I'm injured (which is the norm), then I spend more time worrying about what I'm doing to myself than I do getting on with the job in hand.
However, in line with what others have said, there is no point in doing MA if you aren't going to spar. Without sparring, it's just a variation on doing a dance.

 

I currently train at two different MA schools. In my Judo/JuJutsu school, self-defense is the primary objective. Many of them are police officers, or serving in the coast guard.

In my TKD school, a lot of people are there to get in shape and have a social outlet, while learning some self-defense. Since most of them have never been in a fight, or physically attacked, they don't realize the importance of contact, pain tolerance, breathing, and timing, in a self-defense situation.

 

I think getting hit hard for the first time in sparring is a real wake up call. It lets you know if you're really ready to this art. Some get hit and walk away, others shake it off and try and not get caught again. I'm a super heavyweight boxer with my first bout approaching soon. I got caught with a massive straight left from my southpaw fellow super heavy sparring partner. It was straight down the middle on the nose. I had dried blood in my nose for the next few days. It's easy for the negative thinking to start taking over at that point when you're in pain, but you have to shake it off and think positively and tell yourself to get back in their and rumble!

If someone walks away I don't think it makes them any less of a person because at least they had the guts to at least try it.

Sparring is essential to improving your skills and sharpness in all art forms in my opinion.

 

I hate sparring if I haven't done it in a while. Being tentative is a sure fire way to get kicked in the head. I don't mind being punched in the face, I just hate when they get their foot from the floor to my head with out me even flinching.

 

When I first started karate, I used to get nervous before the sparring. I used to want to get the better of everyone and I knew it wasn’t going to be the case. So I guess it was my ego and i knew it was going to take a smacking.

Now I just use it as a training tool, I’ll spar one guy and ill look to be more defensive, then the next guy I’ll do more kicking, the next more punching or more be more aggressive etc…

It’s not about winning; no one really likes the guy who goes at it to be the club sparring champion. It’s about learning, I still get nervous before, but once your in the thick of it, you go into your own little world, and any troubles in life are forgotten for the moment.

 

When I first began sparring in Hapkido, I didn't really enjoy it. My excuse was that it was "only kicking and punching" since we couldn't use any of the jointlocking techniques we learn. I have since come to realize that is a naive way of thinking.

Now, I realize there is a lot of benefit in being able to kick and punch well, so I enjoy it more. I have experienced the "getting punched in the face" moment and it is humbling, but in the end, I think it has made me a better martial artist. (I still wish our instructor would let us incorporate takedowns into our sparring, however.)

 

I've not done any significant sparring now for months. Unbelievable since it has been my favorite part for years.

And, frankly, after so long off, I'm a bit nervous, too! Especially because my control won't be what is was and the folk in the new class aren't used to any contact at all... I hate hurting or scarring other people.

 

So far, I think the thread supports your hypothesis. Most have said they hate it/love it, but still do it because they feel they need it, etc. One of the main reasons for this seems to be, it helps us get over our fear of being hit.

I'm one in the monority who dislikes sparring. This is for two reasons. 1) In my mispent youth, I was hit and also hit others (without gear ) far more than I like to remember. I really have very little fear of getting hit anymore (and there are quite a few poeple like this out there). And 2) Sparring requires an understanding between the two contestants, such as: what targets are allowed, how hard they're going to go, and how much ego is going to be involved. Ideally, of course, it would be a good contest where both learn, no one gets really hurt, and egos are kept in check.

But my experience with sparring in MA studios (which is not other people's experience, I realize--just my take, which is what the OP asked for) is that my sparring opponents were usually not on the same page with me. And if the instructor (whoever it may have been at the time) wasn't *on it*, or didn't care, I would end up with one of two choices: just let the other guy go harder than agreed or strike targets that were off limits; or, to strike back with a hard shot of my own, and possibly hurt him (which I have never done).

I'm not advocating my way for everyone. But at the same time, I'd like to see some acknowledgment of the kinds of martial artists that had significant street experience before starting formal martial arts. SGM Ed Parker had many of these in the early days. Lots of bikers and street fighters came to learn, and so everyone knew how to fight. It was just a matter of refining their skills. In my own experience, kung fu san soo attracts many of the same kind of people.

 

As a male, I may not have a clue here, but I think your intial reaction was correct. The answer is obviously to find a sparring-oriented grappling dojo. Not to be flip, but Judo groundwork sometimes seems a lot like, let's say, the kind of attack that young women should be training against. BJJ may be even more on the mark.

 

right on-you learn from sparring almost anyone, whether they are better, worse, or comparable to you. You just learn different things from working with different people.

I love sparring, even though I am not very good (currently applying my crappy abilities to boxing and Judo, having also spent some time in a sparring-oriented Kempo style). In earlier times I also tried a couple of styles that either held back sparring until senior grades or had very unrealistic sparring. It was pretty obvious that, whatever I was getting out of it, I wasn't learning to fight.

I've long gotten over the nervous stomach, heart pounding kind of fear about sparring, but I'm afraid of it on an analytical level. I don't at all mind a little pain or even a minor injury and I'm not really worried about my face for reasons that would be obvious to anyone who met me in person. However, the reality is that the two things you should worry about in MA are a) brain damage from head blows and b) broken neck or back from a fall. These things are only going to happen in sparring or competition.

 

I chose MA largely because of the sparring and at first I really didn't like it! I knew Muay Thai would train me hard - get in shape fast, learn a few effective strikes, and very importantly, start sparring early.

BUT...I was 24 and hadn't been in anything like a proper fight since I was maybe 13. I wanted a coach to make me spar. And now I'm glad they did.

Lost track of who said it earlier in the thread, but that first punch to the face really is a wake-up call. Massive adrenaline rush. A big ego-check - I didn't really have a big fighting ego, but I thought I'd learned some moves.
Gradually though I started getting more into it. Helped a lot by rolling admission to our gym, so not only are you technically getting better, but less experienced people start turning up, which is reassuring.

Our gym was also very good for open practice times, when you might be training for your first belt and someone who's been training there for years offers to spar with you. Then it gets scary again, because if they want they can walk all over you, but because they know you're learning, they usually offer tips, show you ways to get out of something or make use of a move you hadn't seen.

It was very scary early on. As for the 'losing' at sparring, I would say it's frustrating. You know you should be able to get a hit in, and block those fast kicks. Somehow the other guy just seems faster. You can come away feeling like you didn't learn anything. Which I guess really is losing in sparring. But winning is when you hit them more

 

To be perfectly honest, I really don't like sparring... and I'm not sure why. It's not the getting hit - I grew up with 4 brothers, getting hit was just part of life

I think a lot of it is my competitiveness, which always seems to get the better of me... there's also the fact that I'm the only girl in my dojang (we've had a few come & go, but I'm the only regular), so I'm always going up against guys who are faster, stronger, taller, etc. Which tends to get old. And then I go to tournaments, & spar against other women (who are all younger than me)... and I've come to the realization that women spar very different than men do.

There's also the inevitable guy who has no control, and as Murphy would have it, he's always twice my size & hits like a ton of bricks. Really not fun. Except when they forget to guard their head & I paint them

Now, don't get me wrong. I do like sparring, too. I love the rush, the adrenaline. I really enjoy sparring a partner I'm well matched too, & I love the challenge that everything I don't like about sparring presents. So ultimately, I can't say I hate it, but I can't say I love it either...

 

Sums up my feelings. I also really don't like feeling all the strains afterwards. It's just irritating trying to move and it being really uncomfortable.

 

Personally I love sparring as long as I'm in the mood. I don't mind if it's someone much more adapt in the art, I actually prefer it that way (I learn a lot faster going against someone in 5 minutes then going over a technique for an hour.)

However it does cause complications. I gave my friend a kidney shot when he got to fist aggressive. He didn't talk to me after the class >_>

 

Sparring is cool.I sparred with the NZ ITF junior champ last night {because noone else would}, two 2minute rounds.I only managed to get one punch in the face which I was pleased about.I landed alot of good kicks and punches, he did as well but we both are pretty good at blocking and moving.He did catch me with a good back kick to the chest,man he kicks FAST.{Bring my camera next time }

Losing is a positive thing for me because like slip has said its about learning.
Ego is a big hold you back factor in MAts, I dont care if I lose as long as I learnt something out of it and dont make that mistake again.
Go hard spar your ass off.

 

i always tell my partners....not to say sorry if i get hit...it's always my fault...and i need to learn and improve some more so i'll see it next time (unless i get hit with something else)

 

Spot on.

I went through phases in regards my enjoyment of sparring. As a beginner I quite liked it, granted I didn't really know what I was doing. Then you progress a little and realise what end of the spectrum you are at, you realise you are tense, awkward in your foot work, slow and inaccurate in your techniques and that you can't block/avoid for crap (at least I did).

So I stripped myself back to basics re-trained myself and worked from the ground up. You can be shown how to stand, how to punch, how to move but putting it into practice is a different ball game. Just thinking out loud but I think that can be a problem when trying to find your comfort zone in sparring there has to be a balance between tailoring yourself to a style and a style to yourself.

To find out the right way for me I tried out all the wrong ways first, that's what I see sparring/training as, trial and error. I hope I continue to screw up for many more years