All about sparring in martial arts

Sparring in martial arts

Sparring is something that most martial arts use.  There are other sports, such as boxing and wrestling that use sparring as well.  It is a very useful practice, helping students put the techniques they've learnt into practice.  By sparring against other people, students refine their movements and become more apt at performing the techniques quickly and efficiently.

If you are studying martial arts in a dojo, you may find sparring to be very exciting as well as beneficial to your training.  The instructors and teachers will be there watching and guiding students, making sure even one is sparring within the rules.  Students may use full body gear, including a mouth guard or head gear, groin guard, arm and leg protection,  depending on which martial art they study, to ensure safety during practice.

Depending on your skill level and martial art you are studying, you may end up using a minimum of protective gear.  Students that are very skilled may not need protective equipment, as they are good enough with sparring and their techniques that they can go a few rounds with other skilled students and not make any type of contact at all. Other martial arts though, insist on full protective gear all the time.

Martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, that focus on grappling, make the most use of sparring, as it is needed to properly execute the techniques.  Martial arts that focus mainly on grappling use joint locks and submission techniques, which will need to be practiced quite a bit before they can be used effectively during a competition or even as self defense.

During sparring, students go back and forth, competing with each other and testing each other.  The rounds will vary, although most last several minutes.  Students will also receive help and insight from their instructors to let them know how they are doing and if they need to change anything they're doing.  This also gives instructors the chance to see just how well you are progressing in training and what areas you need to work more on.

Sometimes, sparring is done by yourself, without anyone else working with you.  If you are sparring by yourself, you’ll use equipment such as punching bags, tackling dummies, or other forms of equipment that will help you with your martial art.  The foam or rubber dummies are most often used with grappling techniques or punching on the ground, as they represent the opponent that you are trying to pummel into submission.  If you have forgotten your protective gear for a lesson, you may not allowed to spar against a live opponent.

Sparring happens in children's martial arts classes too, and it's entertaining to see the little ones valiantly trying to put all their protective gear in place, and then dart about the room trying out their latest moves. Instructors will be close at hand to ensure everyone's 'playing' by the rules.

Sparring is one of the skills that is often displayed in competitions, students of a similar rank will be paired together and points given to each student depending on points they gain against the other student. Sparring is also used as part of the grading up system, if your are trying to gain your next belt, you will required to show particular skills in sparring against other students.

All in all, sparring is an excellent way to practice the skills you have learned against equipment or other students.  Students generally enjoy sparring against, especially once they are at a higher level of skill.  You can use sparring to your advantage, learning what others do and how they react to your movements and techniques.  The longer you spar and practice your moves - the better you will get in your training, speed, and the execution of your skills.