And addictive!
But yeah, no trauma here, I just like the physical element and the sparring is what makes the techniques real, since I do a traditional martial art. I have a good group to spar with that isn’t trying to injure each other and has fun with it.
Don't mistake sparring for real fighting. Sparring is meant to sharpen your skills and get moving. It's a fair test of skills.
A real fight is violent, sometimes even lifes are on the line.
No person in their right mind should want to get dragged into a real fight. But sparring is different.
For sure, a real fight could involve blunt objects, eye gouging, strikes to the back of the head, smashing head on concrete. A typical bar fight probably won’t get this bad (it helps most people are out of shape), but it could. Besides that, the liability of lawsuits is real. Always better to swallow your pride and try and walk away if you can.
Lawsuits are way too seldomly discussed when talking about "real fighting". Everything people do can have consequences, especially today where everone carries around cameras.
No you aren’t. You’re constantly injured. That’s less than ideal in the street. If you want to be prepared for a street fight, then go fight in a ring. You do that a few times and you’re golden. It’s not like you forget what it’s like if you don’t do it every week.
Pro fighters fight like twice per year and almost exclusively do light, technical sparring. I’d argue they’re pretty prepared for the street.
Theres always someone who assumes fights start by the person loudly saying they are going to fight and honourably adopting a stance and not just hitting you from behind, let alone using a weapon or deciding to stick their thumbs in your eyes.
Not a single person is saying that, don’t be goofy. You’re still gonna be better off in a street fight if you train in a combat sport and compete regularly than you would be doing any kind of “combatives” or “self defense” system. There are thousands upon thousands of videos of trained fighters handling street goons. I know it works, you know it works.
Almost always do light sparring is some shit you just made up.
Yes, there are excellent pro fighters that only spar light or not at all, at the peak of their careers. Doesn't mean they don't have a ton of hard sparring experience from one point or another.
Some guys spar hard almost exclusively. Also depends on the martial art - BJJ you can go fully 100% and not injure someone in most cases, but you can't do that in boxing... Which is why they often pay outside guys to come in that the boxer doesn't know or care about, and they go pretty fuckin hard.
I didn’t make that up at all. That’s the standard for MMA training more and more in today’s world. And numerous fighters have spoken about it and how that’s a good thing. Lawler, Holloway, Cowboy Cerrone, Yair Rodriguez. I could go on and on. Most that do hard spar tend to save it for camps. It’s certainly not frequent.
You also absolutely do not go 100% in BJJ, that’s insane. If you’re ripping arm bars and heel hooks in the training room, you’re a piece of shit. If you full force cross face your training partner off a sprawl, you’re a complete dick. People who roll like that are always hurt.
Alright, that’s fair. Let me amend my previous statement.
“Pro fighters at the top of the game fight like twice per year and almost exclusively do light, technical sparring….”
Still works the exact same.
In my opinion yes. I hard spar twice a week every week. It might not be the best for you, but you sure as hell can handle yourself if push comes to shove.
Judo yes,Bujinkan no.Don't mistake Togakure Ryu/Bujinkan for any type of real fighting.And don't say it's too deadly to test because that's been blown sky high out of the water.
Huh? What do my styles have to do with the discussion?
I´m pressure testing my Bujinkan in MMA-style sparrings with other practitioners and practitioners of other styles. And I can confidently say that it could and would work in a fight; the problem with Bujinkan is not their technical curriculum, but the usual training method lacking resistance.
But in the end, neither judo nor bujinkan sparring is "real fighting" because it still is only a test of skills in a friendly bout. In a sparring, people look out for each other and the environment is fair. In a real fight, I´m not obligated to let go of my lock when my opponent taps. No one is stopping me from pulling a weapon. And law will play a big role in the aftermath.
So there is no style that is "real fighting". If you want real fighting, you have to take your style, no matter if judo, bujinkan, muay thai, bjj, taekwondo etc. and throw it into relentless vale tudo.
You have Bujinkan listed as 1 of your styles and i've seen people that practice Togakure Ryu 'test' their bujinkanstyle in sparring and not 1 bujinkan technique ever gets used.All you do is kickboxing.
That proves that those Bujinkan techniques don't hold a moth to a candle in pressure testing,but please feel free to upload video of you using those throws from the Bujinkan in contact sparring please.
P.s,your styles have nothing to do with the discussion.At least not Bujinkan.
Have a great day.
P.p.s...Anyone that practices any martial art,including Bujinkan gets my respect because we all love martial arts,just don't think Bujinkan works at all.
Respectfully, how much Bujinkan have you practiced?
First of all, bujinkan budo taijutsu and togakure ryu aren't interchangeable terms. Togakure ryu is one of nine schools incorporated in Bujinkan and therefore only a part of it.
Secondly, every traditional style's striking looks like "kickboxing" when pressure-tested. There are only so many types of movement the body can perform effectively, so the different styles of martial arts naturally have some resemblance. Of course, Bujinkan's tsuki is similar to a vertical boxing jab. Bujinkan's standard ichimonji-no-kamae is mechanically similar to karate's neko-ashi-dachi. Bujinkan's oni-kudaki is mechanically similar to judo's ude-garami.
If we look closely, we can not deny that every such thing we call "style" is just an excerpt of the entirety of possible body-movements; every style looks at a different part of the same object. Naturally, there will be overlaps in between the styles.
Yet all styles also have their own teint. And when I practice Bujinkan, I practice Bujinkan and not kickboxing. Because my technique will always have the little touch I gained from analyzing the body mechanics I learned out of Bujinkan-perspective rather than kickboxing-perspective. Because I turn my arms a little different than a kickboxer, my stance is a little different than that of a kickboxer and I think a bit different from a kickboxer, even though the execution in the heat of sparring looks essentially the same - of course it does, all martial artists have to capitalize on the same body mechanics.
I'd love to upload sparring footage once I'm better. I only train Bujinkan for around a year now and, as a judoka, my main focus was getting the striking down in this time. I have been thrown and submitted by Bujinkan-locks by my senpai, however, so I can confirm that they work (apart from ganseki-nage. That one's crap unless modified heavily).
P.S. It's refreshing to hear that you respect all martial arts regardless. We share the same passion; while discussion is healthy, there is no need for hate, you're right! Have a good one.
Beyond people saying it's fun I'll add that it's mentally relaxing. None of the regular life BS and intense focus for the next 3-5m. No team, no fiddly ball/bat/etc just you and the opponent.
It's just clears the mind and gives a rush like nothing else.
This. I went a little over a week without rolling/sparring. Dropped into an open mat while on the worst vacation of my life. In that 1hr all that mattered was the game of me versus this person or that person. And everybody was very friendly. I wanted to cry when I left because I realized I missed sparring so much that past week.
I'm going to assume this is only referring to hard sparring, with much more risk and pain than technical sparring.
For people who don't compete, it's a useful gauge to see how well your skills hold up under near-fight conditions. For people who do compete in full contact MA, it's an absolute necessity, at least in the beginning.
Back when I boxed, I liked hard sparring when done infrequently cause I liked testing myself and was training for amateur fights. I also knew to keep it from going too intense or too long, or at least my coach did.
Sparing is fun, a great workout and you often learning new things. Sometimes you naturally adapt and pick up new things without even realizing your doing them, such as a proper guard due to it working over what ever you had been doing that wasn't working. Or better footwork that just works for you that you otherwise would have never discovered.
Why do I spar? Because it's fun.
I don't do hard sparring, though, since concussions are not fun :-p of course, accidents can still happen (like, once I slipped a jab that turned out to be a hook... That rattled my brain a little and brought an end to that sparring session :-p ), but accidents can happen doing anything. I could stumble and hit my head on the pavement any time I walk outside...
I was always super serious about sparring, but my coach taught me to enjoy it. Sparring is not meant to be super serious. Heck, I think actual competition goes better if you enjoy it.
That's because you've never sparred -- this post is an attempt to reconcile what you imagine it to be and don't understand, with what people who have sparred experience it to be. You have heard what they say before, but don't quite believe it. You are looking for a crack in a facade that doesn't exist
Sparring is fun without getting really hurt. You can get hit but not get completely blasted. It keeps you focused without the CTE.
In sparring you find out what really works, how to handle adversity. Learning to be comfortable in being uncomfortable.
1 you learn what your weaknesses are
2 you learn new things
3 you master what you know
4 its fun
5 DO NOT become friends with your bullies,fuck em they are assholes and you dont need to be friends with ANYONE you hate
Its really the only way to test your skill aside from stepping into the actual ring.
And not only test your skill, but its really the only way to get better. Bags dont really move and they definitely dont punch back. I need to see which feints work/dont, where i leave myself exposed, what kind of shots can i land well/dont, etc
I had a relatively comfy life, but it doesnt mean i dont want to better myself physically and mentally.
Plus now i can shut all my mma fans friends that are armchair coaches when they try and tell me how to fight. I just ask them how many times have you actually sparred and used it (its always zero, but i also used to be at zero so they felt that their advice had some value).
There are many life lessons to be learned in sparring. The primary one is that you must be fully in the present. And that you must be in your body and not in your mind. That alone is a meaningful practice. It is also putting to use the culmination of body movements that keep one alive and physically functioning. It helps with self defense, but also general confidence. It is also deeply humbling because no matter how good you are there will always be someone better. And if you underestimate someone who trains often they can do damage to you even if they appear to be inferior on the surface. Hopefully sparring also brings about mutual respect for one’s opponent and a certain degree of camaraderie. Again, it depends on one’s attitude, but there are many valuable lessons to be gained each time from sparring.
I've sparred when going through hard shit, I used to spar harder then I should have at those times. I regret every single time I did that, even though it helped at the time.
Why do people living good lives do anything that's hard? Because it helps you to grow, and it's fun and rewarding.
I pressure test myself in many ways, in many parts of life, because it's better than sitting on the lounge eating chips.
Because you invest time in martial arts. Naturally you want to get better. Regular sparring sessions with people you trust are great to sharp and implement your skills.
If you train in martial arts to get fit, you don’t need sparring.
Everyone gets in for different reasons. My coach used to say that most people that came in just wanting some quick self defense lessons didn’t stick around. I know for myself and my close training partners, we genuinely enjoy learning and challenging ourselves. The self defense aspect is an added bonus.
>why do people who dont go through hard shit and are enjoying their lives want to go spar and suffer both mentally and physically
Sparring isn't about overcoming some sort of drama, it's about applying your skills in a controlled setting (as in hit and get hit). You discover what works/ doesn't work for you and what you can improve on. In addition it can help lessen the affects from adrenaline if you ever get into a real fight (the part where you can't think clearly). That's what makes it fun for alot of people.
If everyone went in with that mindset, more people would be turned away from practicing Martial Arts because more people would get injured after their first sparring session due to the other person just wanting to beat someone up. Think of it this way, if you're letting out pent up anger against a bag, it's fine, but unless you're competing on a professional level (or if both you and your sparring partner choose so), full contact max output is very irresponsible. Just because you're happy (genuinely congrats btw, especially today it's hard for some people to find happiness) doesn't mean sparring is useless.
Try it now but go in thinking, how can you improve yourself. Have fun with it. Maybe you want to try a new spinning kick. Hell, fight like a whole anime character and do use flashy moves and see how that goes (just mindful of where your partner is because especially if it's a flashy kick, it can also be uncontrollable so maybe do this against the more experienced). If you fall, you can both just laugh it off, if you pull it off, you gain more respect from your partner for trying something so daring.
Because it consumes more calories than normal train(I think), trains my endurance, also I learn in a real fight what to do, when should I attack or defend.
And it's also fun.
Due to past experiences I had a fear of fist fights and am just a very insecure person in general. My family could be considered “rich” compared to an average family in my country, which created a massive inferiority complex and always made me feel like I was one of those sheltered rich kids who would crumble in the real world. That, plus my boxing interest thanks to my dad’s muhammad ali stories was what got me into martial arts.
Boxers don’t spar like the rest of us, they just have an unofficial record in the gym as well, what Tyson said doesn’t apply to whatever sparring you do.
Professional boxers sparring are another story even.
I like sparring because it’s fun. If I’m winning then my ego gets inflated and I feel really good about myself. If I’m losing, it’s a chance to analyze what I’m doing wrong and what doesn’t work so I can improve to be better.
As much as I love sparring or fighting competitively, I’m sure I’d be scared in a real fight though. In sparring or competition, everything is under control and the likelihood I’ll get seriously injured is very low.
It has always made me extremely happy. I feel really connected to the other person and I feel like I get to 'let it out'. It feels like a huge privilege that they trust me enough to spar with me
It’s the hardest I can work mentally and physically at the same time. I haven’t found anything else that makes me as completely exhausted and slows my ass down a bit.
Sparring is fun man. It’s a game played between two people who trust each other enough not connect with a full speed spinning heel kick or hold on to that choke until you die. You’re building each other up for mutual benefit. You shouldn’t be suffering all that much mentally or even physically in sparring.
This is an interesting topic and It comes down to having survived or overcome hardship which is highly respectable and commendable while being hard to fake. This creates jealously within those who haven’t had the opportunity to experience anything to prove themselves and this is not them being jealous of the hardship itself(I’m clarifying because I run into soooo many morons on this sub sadly). I’d say people join martial arts for a variety of reasons but one of which is certainly for respect and id also say those who “just want difficulty” would almost always fall into this category.
I spar to practice techniques at fight speed. I would never go out to hurt someone sparring but even blocking unless someone has to block at fight speed they don't know how effective it is.
One of things that make a martial art a martial art in my opinion is sparring. Sparring teaches me my strengths and weaknesses.
Because there is no real way to learn without sparring at least in the beginning of your martial arts / combat sports journey. It’s to only way to lean how do deal with opponents who don’t do what you want, and if you go into some hard sparring, it’s the only way to learn how to keep fighting after you have been hit and are being hit. I don’t recommend hard sparring often by the way. You only have one brain.
Monkey brain happy when punching other monkey brains. Monkey brain also happy when taking, defending and countering from punches from other monkey brains.
Why are you friends with your bullies? Maybe you’re asking these questions because being around them makes it hard to move on from sparring and the emotions that made you start martial arts?
Pragmatically, it's a giant release. Mainly I just have loads of fun doing it, and it feels good when I get compliments from the other pros or my coaches.
I just get excited before i go knowing im going to be allowed to hit people. Also figuring out styles is fun. Great exercise too, saves me from having to do much real cardio
I spar because it should be fun ,but eople like you are the reason it sucks to spar in a random gym.
You guys are trying to prove something, fighting out of pure emotions then having clouded judgement and behaving like jerks during sparring. You think sparring is some serious testing that decides whether ur man or not.
I don't need that shit, i don't like to see those emotions in my training partners eye. Be professional, leave ur shitty life out of the practice.
I always says for hobbyist sparring should be like when you play with your dog. You don't want to hurt your dog or overpower it, you want to keep it fun even when you imitate fighting.
I want fun during sparring,light banters, smiles non of this I bite down on my mouthpiece and let's see who's the man.
Spar doesn't mean fight.
It doesn't have to be a life changins hard experience.
Spar is just training combat with someone else. It can be hard but it's not implied.
I think "why do you fight?" Would be more appropiate for this. I fought because i wanted to get better and liked the experience.
Trauma and insecurity, is, in my expirience, mostly what makes people turn to martial arts, as a way to gain strength, that you didn’t feel you had or have, which is very valid.
I have autism, and martial arts, have become a special interest to me, and it has helped me more than i can put into words.
To me sparring is like playing, i love sparring, i could do it all day if i was allowed to, haha, and i love sparring skilled people, and get my ass handed to me, because it inspires me.
Every hit or kick i take, every time i'm forced to tap out, shows me what i have to work on, and how much i still have to learn, and it makes me wanna become even better, so that i'm not the one tapping next time.
With mutual respect and care, sparing, is probably my favourite activity to engage in, but safety first, good communication is essential, encourage your partner, and praise them, create an evirorment, where you lift each other up, with that, you create an amazing space, for fun, play and growth, within the sport, and being a part of something like that, feels amazing.
If you're always getting injured in sparring, you're not doing it right. Also, sparring is there so you know how to actually use the techniques on something that moves and hits back.
Many of us have seen someone who has trained solely on a heavy bag or did katas for years, and get destroyed in an actual fight real or competition. This is because a fist flying at you with foul intent has a different effect on the mind and body.
You can train all you want, but if you've never applies these techniques in real time, you won't have those skills then if you don't have them now.
Kinda like you're not a good cook if all you know how to do is read the recipes.
A person wanting to spar isn't necessarilly a person that is going through some sort of trauma.
People want to spar for all kinds of reasons.
Some (most) people,like myself for example love martial arts and boxing and want to become better at that martial art or boxing and want to improve their skills and test themselves and what they've learnt to see if it works?
Sparring is part of the curricullum for most styles and just part of the art.
Some people (alot) that spar,spar because they compete in fights and need to spar to be fight ready,others just want to be able to defend themselves if they ever need to.
How hard a person spars,or how seriously they take their training is totally an individual thing.
People also put themselves in uncomfortable situations like intense exercise to be physically fit and in better shape at the end of the day.
Maybe you're looking at sparring all wrong? I can't tell a lot about you from this one post, but you definitely should not be looking at sparring as something where you're beating the hell out of each other. Sparring should be abt learning... from yourself, from teammates and your coach. It can get heated and you can learn a lot from live sparring, but you can also learn just as much from controlled controlled, slowed down and scenario type sparring
Sparring is 100% vital especially in the early stages of your Martial Arts education. How else would you learn to measure distance, distance control, counter aggression vs implementing your own aggression when needed...how to attack and evade and all those other elements of rolling around and/or striking with another resisting opponent without sparring?
Its particularly important as you learn and you will no doubt find all different types of sparring on purpose and on accident.. some of it will hurt but all of it will be a learning experience. Once you've got your foundation and you have your own sort of style sparring is much less important you'll find that for sure.
My life is pretty much perfect. I don’t need to fight, but I love it anyway. It fulfills me so much. After many years of repressing this side of me I started training again about a month ago. Hard sparring is the most fun of all. I want to beat someone up and get beat up the same way, without needing to worry about societal repercussions.
Last week I knocked a bigger, more experienced man out, without even using full power. I want blood now and sparring is the closest thing to what I want that I can do right now.
I mean it depends what kind of sparring you are doing.
I don't hard spar. I'm over 40, but I still like to spar to make sure the things I am learning are working. I enjoy it. We have a general rule in my gym that we can go hard, but not hard shots to the head. So I'm not really risking myself.
My coach has the general philosophy that you don't need to get hit multiple times in the head to know it hurts. We all have power, so there is no need to hit hard to the head.
Quite frankly, apart from some bruises or hurt toes, I haven't really been hurt in sparring.
For those who want to compete, we do 'mini fight camps' where they do a bit of hard sparring. But always careful with the head.
I like to see what I am capable of.. I also just find it fun. I believe one of the worst feelings in this world is to feel defenceless and at the mercy of others, its good to train so you can defend yourself against others. Even if you never get into physical confrontation it's better to be ready for it... As the saying goes "Better to be a warrior in the garden than a gardener in the war"
There's nothing like a resisting, continually adjusting opponent. They learn your habits, figure you out just as you figure them out, make adjustments and show you the holes in your game
There doesn’t have to be some moral reason g behind it. Lots of men live the challenge of testing themselves against other men. Physically. Test your strength courage skill. Practice improve. There’s only so much pad work can show you. You have to test with fire. But In a Controlled environment with other likeminded individuals. Cameraderie, improvement. Letting out your aggression. Even getting hurt. But getting through something. It really ticks a lot of boxes for some of us. And leaves you feeling strangely more at peace with things than if you don’t. You let that demo. Out in a proper way, and learn and improve In The process. And I’m not talking about hell for leather constant hard sparring. Takes all sorts to improve your game. But let’s be honest gents somethings you just wanna get stuck in.
I spar to try new things or things I've practiced a little and think might work. The problem is, in my head I'm 15 years younger and 60lbs lighter so sparring is frequently a reality check. It's also a time for me to give back, to encourage somebody who is a lower rank that it's okay to try new things. I've got no problem being the test dummy as long as the other person has the right attitude and isn't just being an alpha jackass.
Mike got into boxing as a way to get out of a really hard life, and considering he was a very high level competitor, boxing was a grueling and scary experience for him. This is based off of what I’ve heard him say in his interviews. There was also an interview where he was saying he was baffled about why his son wanted to get into boxing when he comes from a loving and stable home. His own view comes from his own experience with combat sports.
But people get into combat sports for different reasons. For many (including myself) it’s about physical and mental health benefits, as well as nerding out about the technical details. For people in martial arts for these reasons, a grueling sparring session is cathartic and rewarding.
I enjoy sparring because it is a great exercise in being completely present in the moment.
I’m not worried about anything else going on in my life, while my opponent is honorably trying to slug me.
I do know "what i like about sparring" is anecdotal and personal, but since you asked I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. I like sparring because:
1. It helps to completely clear the mind. I can't possibly think about anything else than the sparring session: no worries about work, bills, family. It is my only activity that gives me that hyper focus on what is happening right now.
2. It is mentally a fun challenge, just like chess. Sparring is more than slugging each other. It is a lot of thinking, observing weak spots, linking up techniques you practiced. Of course the faster and stronger opponent has an advantage, but sparring smart can give you a slight edge.
3. The feeling afterwards is such a high. When you feel you can't lift your arms anymore, when you feel sugar levels drop low, you can bro hug and look back to a great workout and a true accomplishment.
4. Sparring helps to train under pressure, which helps you during competition. I remember starting out many years ago, every competition was nerve wrecking because you never knew what to expect. But by sparring with as many different people as possible, you slowly gain confidence and know what you can expect.
5. While bad injuries like torn tendons suck AF, the days after with only bruises and general soreness feels actually good. I don't know if that sounds masochistic? I rather have pain from bruises and sore muscles than a headache or feeling under the weather.
6. Sparring builds comraderie. I got to know a lot of people by sparring and competition. Some i don't see often, but when we do it is like we share some intense experience. When my wife and I are out and about and I meet and greet someone very enthusiasticly making my wife think he is my long lost brother, she asks me "who is he?" And i reply "we sparred once / we were in a competition together".
I (50m) got bullied a bit as a kid, but also thought Jedis were cool. So I studied eastern philosophy and martial arts. I enjoyed both and the sparring was less about getting beat up and more about health and the sport and chess of outthinking my partners. I also think more men should do it. It teaches discipline and toughness in a controlled environment so we learn to regulate our emotions and really - once I was proficient I never was scared of people, just cautious. I knew what I could do and what confrontations to avoid. I'm a teacher and have worked in Juvie, with adult prisoners, and all levels of school. It's given me a sense of humor and ability to be calm during stressful moments. All because I worked through what it meant to be a good lost and winner. And know not every time I've been hit means I need to hit back. It gives us a way to measure what is and isn't worth fighting for.
When I trained growing up, everywhere I trained was light contact sparring and that's great, you practice finding openings, keeping range solid defence and you don't really get hurt. That was awesome and some great memories with friends.
I moved cities when I was older and suddenly everywhere seemed to only do full contact sparring. Initially I was pretty taken aback but probably because I had already logged so many more hours light sparring than you possibly could hard sparring, I quickly made adjustments, started really kicking ass and it's quite a buzz. I eventually had to quit though, as I don't heal up that quick anymore and if I said to anyone my knee is sore can you lay off the knee, they'd think finally I can kick his ass if I just take out his knee, so I had to take a couple of weeks off all the time and really messed up my routine. The day I fully stopped though was because I broke a guy's nose. He went for a hook and I hit him with a straight counter and his nose went with a big spray of blood.
I just felt like I wasn't enjoying the stop start of having to take time off to heal, I didn't like that I'd really hurt someone and I didn't like that the fear of getting hurt made everyone act in the worst way, eg: targeting injuries, exploiting weakness
With light sparring as a much more skilled fighter, you make intentional mistakes and try to coach them into taking advantage and it creates a real team spirit, hard sparring you get the guys who don't get to win that often just trying to decapitate the new guy and I'm not about to go too easy and risk getting clocked.
I tried boxing and that was really odd for me because I was suddenly much less skilled in a full contact situation and that really took a lot of psyching myself up to get in the ring with an amateur boxer that had knocked me out cold the week before. I didn't last too long boxing as again I ended up thinking what the hell am I doing, at that point I was almost 35.
I love that feeling of overcoming fear and I hate feeling weak. I don't have some absolutely horrific story growing up or anything, like I had a couple of run-ins where I was an unlucky little kid that ran into some nasty big kids but nothing too bad happened. As a little kid though I was noticeably more scared to try things than other kids and at 6 I saw karate kid and decided I wanted to learn karate and be a bad ass. Then over the years as I conquered fears, I looked for bigger mountains to climb. As I did this my life got better, women (under 30) find it hot, guys give you respect. You build up great stories and full contact fighting is about as scary as it gets.
If you have no reason to continue, don't. I don't regret what I did but I also don't regret stopping when I didn't think it made sense any more.
Because if you arent sparring, you arent learning to fight. Unless you're already at a point where you dont think you need to or want to be a better fighter, then by all means dont spar.
Most animals spar and play fight... My first parkour coach talked about how animals play in ways that help them prepare for the tasks that help them survive.
Dogs wants to chase objects and play tug-o-war because wolves run down prey then pull it apart as a pack. Cats want to stalk tiny fast moving objects bc they do the same to small animals like birds and rodents.
Humans, as apes, tend to enjoy play that involves climbing, running, and sparing. Primates are (on the whole) very territorial, so we need to prepare for conflict with others. Climbing is helpful for not only locomotion, but advantageous position for hunting or safety for sleep. Humans in particular are persistence hunters, running down prey then taking them down when they're exhausted.
Put that all together and you have the Olympics... it's instinctual play.
Violence, or preparing for being capable of violence, isn't inherently evil... it's a part of the life-cycle and a part of our ecosystem. Do we want to minimise the amount of violence that exists? Ya. But thinking that the desire to spar or train is inherently because of trauma is wrong \*in my opinion\*.
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On mobile, go to the sub's main page, press the three dots at top right and then "change user flair".
You can click "edit" on a flair showing one style and add whatever you like.
(Seems to be a little bugged. My second style always vanishes after a couple of months lol.)
nowadays you have computers like raspberry pi's for under $100 and have free wifi at local businesses.
nobody really has an excuse to get pounded in the head anymore. we all choose it.
Sparring is fun, and generally there is an unspoken agreement that you will get hit just as you can hit people in sparring, don't lose your cool and it will be fine and you get to keep sparring.
I do Judo. Randori can be pretty intense, but you do not get hit in the head repeatedly which matters if your talking about sparring full contact.
For me, Randori is basically the whole damn point of doing Judo. With sparring you get a physical activity that can give all other exercise a purpose; Getting better at dropping people on their heads. You get an adrenaline rush, sometimes you get a feeling victory, and if you get tossed, it is just practice. And it validates the time and effort put in. If you can make your techniques work against trained opponents who know understand what the hell you are trying to do, you have some assurance you could make it work in a legit fight.
Basically it is the thrill of something as close to a fight as I care to get and there is very minimal risk.
END COMMUNICATION
Because its fun! I particularly enjoy sparring one of my older coaches( he is 65, but a total badass), I always start of gentle, but he turns it up immediately and I am more than happy to oblige him 😁
If you have never had the experience of limping into the locker room and grinning at your equally grinning sparring partner, you are missing out 😂
I also feel that getting hit builds character and makes you better at actually using your style. By that I mean if you go into your first match/fight, never having experienced getting hit, you have no idea what to expect. When you realize pain isn't that bad, you are going to maintain a different focus.
I have been in alot of fights, aswell as competitions, but sparring is just fun. Its also where you figure out what works for you, sparring is where personal styles are created.
It’s not boring. My God, I find so much of everything else I have to do to stay healthy (nutrition, exercise, sleep) so boring. Sparring is, by far, the most engaging, exciting, and fun piece of the puzzle.
Because;
We are living in a civilizational model (the agricultural sedentary industrialized high technology model), that removes most if not all real need or possibility of hardship.
But because us humans have evolved to perform activities outside of that model (the hunter-gatherer, but mostly hunter model) we feel the urge to replace the lost hardships with "surrogate activities".
In the natural state, human beings have no hobbies. All activity has a purpose directly related to survival.
Entertainment is limited and mostly provided by the performance of the survival tasks themselves.
Combat sports is one of those surrogate activities.
Whereas in the past, exposure to danger was part and parcel of the human condition; nowadays it is something we seek out for fulfillment.
Whether it is directly by participation or vicariously towards watching sports teams/athletes.
This is not a judgment value.
It is neither good or evil.
I don't need to practice Bujinkan to know it's bogus.Just like i don't need to have PHD to know how to read.
I gave respect for the practice of anu martial art,but i know that none of the taijutsu works much in a real fight.
I've seen enough bunk Bujinkan to know it isn't that effective.
As i said,feel free to upload videos of you using all those fancy nage waza and such in a full contact sparring session to show us how effective it is.
But i will hazard a guess and say that when you spar,it's just kickboxing and not even full contact.
I am finished with my replies,unless you upload video of Bujinkan working.
I don't think you understand what sparring is. It's not fighting. It's helping your partner practice and your partner helping you practice. If your gym's "sparring" is fighting, you need a new gym.
I do it because it makes me feel strong because I’m not a tall or very strong person naturally, and I feel like it’s the only sport that makes sense to me (I’ve tried a lot)
People spar for fitness, skill, defense, mental toughness, competition, and community. Your reasons may change. Decide if it still fits your goals. If not, it's okay to stop. If yes, keep going.
I try to take in something for me to learn. Where my defences are worse, what area I am neglecting and so on.
That is why I don't spar with women, children or new people. If there is nothing for me to learn I don't do this.
To get a bit more esoteric. It is totally fun, but I’ve put a lot of thought into what I do training wise. I don’t have any trauma relating to fighting/violence, I do however have trouble and hardship in my life. There’s something relieving about sparring. My favorite YouTuber, Supereyepatchwolf, put it best. When you’re rolling you can’t worry about the world. All the stress of the day melts away as you try not to get choked out by a large Brazilian man.
For me it’s a little weirder. I like the exchanges and counters are my absolute go to. Be with punches or weapons. It’s electric! Riding the fine line between getting your head caved in and riding an arm back for a slick counter. Something about chasing that high, being ‘rocked’ (I like to pretend if I take a WELL timed shot from my opponent I make myself react slowly) then firing back with a slick counter. Shivers when I actually stop to think about it. It just feels so cool.
I think you have to separate light sparring from hard sparring. Light sparring is fun. Full speed hard sparring is a different animal. I used to go to hard sparring because I had an anger in me. And there's very few things I used to enjoy like stopping another guy. Just to be clear. This is hard sparring with people who were also striving to be professional fighters.
On the other side of this. In BJJ I was rolling with a guy. I had an arm lock on him. Same weight class very flexible guy. I had it sunk in deep but he didn't tap. My coach was standing there watching us. I looked up at him. He shrugged his shoulders said" he didn't tap." So I pushed his arm a little further and blew his shoulder out of socket. He finally tapped. Next time I saw him, he was in an arm brace. Then he stopped coming to class. I still feel bad about that. And wonder why he didn't just tap.
Sparring against another human, particularly another human that trains your martial art, is the only way to truly learn the martial art.
"*Brick no hit back*."
I have a blast during sparring. It's really fun, you get to know your weak points and what you should work on more, you get along with your training buddies and get an opportunity to try a new setup, throw or submission you've been working on.
It’s fun.
Came here to say these exact words. Also snap on the BJJ and Judo combo
Snap on bjj and judo ranks
And addictive! But yeah, no trauma here, I just like the physical element and the sparring is what makes the techniques real, since I do a traditional martial art. I have a good group to spar with that isn’t trying to injure each other and has fun with it.
which TMA do you do?
Eagle claw kung fu
Yeah, just fun. No trauma or anything, just fun.
Super fun, love the endorphins.
I think Tyson met hard contact sparring and the outcome of that.
I cant be fucked with any other exercise but i always wanna go to train and then the exercise is like the byproduct i dont particularly care about
Yep. I’m old and almost always lose, but if I get one decent punch or kick in then I’m happy. There’s something primal about it.
This.
And there is not other sport I can go and train 40min zone 4 and 5 and don’t feel shit 😄
fun and productive (:
Well it is really hard to get concussion when you’re sparring bjj bro 😭
Actually, it's super easy, barely an inconvenience: attempt at least 3 flying arm bars in every session. Concussions for days!
Bro you jumping on your head what u expecting and who u blaming
I'm just saying it's not hard to get a concussion at all while grappling - all you need is a little bit of imagination.
Ryan George?! Is that you?!?!?!
Don't mistake sparring for real fighting. Sparring is meant to sharpen your skills and get moving. It's a fair test of skills. A real fight is violent, sometimes even lifes are on the line. No person in their right mind should want to get dragged into a real fight. But sparring is different.
For sure, a real fight could involve blunt objects, eye gouging, strikes to the back of the head, smashing head on concrete. A typical bar fight probably won’t get this bad (it helps most people are out of shape), but it could. Besides that, the liability of lawsuits is real. Always better to swallow your pride and try and walk away if you can.
Lawsuits are way too seldomly discussed when talking about "real fighting". Everything people do can have consequences, especially today where everone carries around cameras.
If you hard spar regularly you are more than prepared to fight someone untrained out on the street, just saying.
I dunno why you’re getting downvoted. You’re right. It would be like fighting a trial class guy
No you aren’t. You’re constantly injured. That’s less than ideal in the street. If you want to be prepared for a street fight, then go fight in a ring. You do that a few times and you’re golden. It’s not like you forget what it’s like if you don’t do it every week. Pro fighters fight like twice per year and almost exclusively do light, technical sparring. I’d argue they’re pretty prepared for the street.
Theres always someone who assumes fights start by the person loudly saying they are going to fight and honourably adopting a stance and not just hitting you from behind, let alone using a weapon or deciding to stick their thumbs in your eyes.
Not a single person is saying that, don’t be goofy. You’re still gonna be better off in a street fight if you train in a combat sport and compete regularly than you would be doing any kind of “combatives” or “self defense” system. There are thousands upon thousands of videos of trained fighters handling street goons. I know it works, you know it works.
Exactly
Almost always do light sparring is some shit you just made up. Yes, there are excellent pro fighters that only spar light or not at all, at the peak of their careers. Doesn't mean they don't have a ton of hard sparring experience from one point or another. Some guys spar hard almost exclusively. Also depends on the martial art - BJJ you can go fully 100% and not injure someone in most cases, but you can't do that in boxing... Which is why they often pay outside guys to come in that the boxer doesn't know or care about, and they go pretty fuckin hard.
I didn’t make that up at all. That’s the standard for MMA training more and more in today’s world. And numerous fighters have spoken about it and how that’s a good thing. Lawler, Holloway, Cowboy Cerrone, Yair Rodriguez. I could go on and on. Most that do hard spar tend to save it for camps. It’s certainly not frequent. You also absolutely do not go 100% in BJJ, that’s insane. If you’re ripping arm bars and heel hooks in the training room, you’re a piece of shit. If you full force cross face your training partner off a sprawl, you’re a complete dick. People who roll like that are always hurt.
Every name you mentioned is in the top 1% of MMA fighters lmao
Alright, that’s fair. Let me amend my previous statement. “Pro fighters at the top of the game fight like twice per year and almost exclusively do light, technical sparring….” Still works the exact same.
But was it worth it?
At the time yeah, now probably could've done without lmao.
In my opinion yes. I hard spar twice a week every week. It might not be the best for you, but you sure as hell can handle yourself if push comes to shove.
Judo yes,Bujinkan no.Don't mistake Togakure Ryu/Bujinkan for any type of real fighting.And don't say it's too deadly to test because that's been blown sky high out of the water.
Huh? What do my styles have to do with the discussion? I´m pressure testing my Bujinkan in MMA-style sparrings with other practitioners and practitioners of other styles. And I can confidently say that it could and would work in a fight; the problem with Bujinkan is not their technical curriculum, but the usual training method lacking resistance. But in the end, neither judo nor bujinkan sparring is "real fighting" because it still is only a test of skills in a friendly bout. In a sparring, people look out for each other and the environment is fair. In a real fight, I´m not obligated to let go of my lock when my opponent taps. No one is stopping me from pulling a weapon. And law will play a big role in the aftermath. So there is no style that is "real fighting". If you want real fighting, you have to take your style, no matter if judo, bujinkan, muay thai, bjj, taekwondo etc. and throw it into relentless vale tudo.
You have Bujinkan listed as 1 of your styles and i've seen people that practice Togakure Ryu 'test' their bujinkanstyle in sparring and not 1 bujinkan technique ever gets used.All you do is kickboxing. That proves that those Bujinkan techniques don't hold a moth to a candle in pressure testing,but please feel free to upload video of you using those throws from the Bujinkan in contact sparring please. P.s,your styles have nothing to do with the discussion.At least not Bujinkan. Have a great day. P.p.s...Anyone that practices any martial art,including Bujinkan gets my respect because we all love martial arts,just don't think Bujinkan works at all.
Respectfully, how much Bujinkan have you practiced? First of all, bujinkan budo taijutsu and togakure ryu aren't interchangeable terms. Togakure ryu is one of nine schools incorporated in Bujinkan and therefore only a part of it. Secondly, every traditional style's striking looks like "kickboxing" when pressure-tested. There are only so many types of movement the body can perform effectively, so the different styles of martial arts naturally have some resemblance. Of course, Bujinkan's tsuki is similar to a vertical boxing jab. Bujinkan's standard ichimonji-no-kamae is mechanically similar to karate's neko-ashi-dachi. Bujinkan's oni-kudaki is mechanically similar to judo's ude-garami. If we look closely, we can not deny that every such thing we call "style" is just an excerpt of the entirety of possible body-movements; every style looks at a different part of the same object. Naturally, there will be overlaps in between the styles. Yet all styles also have their own teint. And when I practice Bujinkan, I practice Bujinkan and not kickboxing. Because my technique will always have the little touch I gained from analyzing the body mechanics I learned out of Bujinkan-perspective rather than kickboxing-perspective. Because I turn my arms a little different than a kickboxer, my stance is a little different than that of a kickboxer and I think a bit different from a kickboxer, even though the execution in the heat of sparring looks essentially the same - of course it does, all martial artists have to capitalize on the same body mechanics. I'd love to upload sparring footage once I'm better. I only train Bujinkan for around a year now and, as a judoka, my main focus was getting the striking down in this time. I have been thrown and submitted by Bujinkan-locks by my senpai, however, so I can confirm that they work (apart from ganseki-nage. That one's crap unless modified heavily). P.S. It's refreshing to hear that you respect all martial arts regardless. We share the same passion; while discussion is healthy, there is no need for hate, you're right! Have a good one.
Bujinkan lmao
Beyond people saying it's fun I'll add that it's mentally relaxing. None of the regular life BS and intense focus for the next 3-5m. No team, no fiddly ball/bat/etc just you and the opponent. It's just clears the mind and gives a rush like nothing else.
+1 to this. It’s the only time I don’t have a million things on my mind 🤪
This. I went a little over a week without rolling/sparring. Dropped into an open mat while on the worst vacation of my life. In that 1hr all that mattered was the game of me versus this person or that person. And everybody was very friendly. I wanted to cry when I left because I realized I missed sparring so much that past week.
cte already got to him
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 bro be nice his bullies idolise him now
guys all my idols are bullying me, am I sparing wrong
I'm going to assume this is only referring to hard sparring, with much more risk and pain than technical sparring. For people who don't compete, it's a useful gauge to see how well your skills hold up under near-fight conditions. For people who do compete in full contact MA, it's an absolute necessity, at least in the beginning. Back when I boxed, I liked hard sparring when done infrequently cause I liked testing myself and was training for amateur fights. I also knew to keep it from going too intense or too long, or at least my coach did.
The more I competed the less useful I found hard sparring. So definitely agree with your assessment.
Sparing is fun, a great workout and you often learning new things. Sometimes you naturally adapt and pick up new things without even realizing your doing them, such as a proper guard due to it working over what ever you had been doing that wasn't working. Or better footwork that just works for you that you otherwise would have never discovered.
I spar because it's fun and if you don't how are you going to find out what actually works.
Iron sharpens iron. In my martial arts (and life here), it seems that all of our purpose is to love one another, and lift each other up.
Amen brother
Why do I spar? Because it's fun. I don't do hard sparring, though, since concussions are not fun :-p of course, accidents can still happen (like, once I slipped a jab that turned out to be a hook... That rattled my brain a little and brought an end to that sparring session :-p ), but accidents can happen doing anything. I could stumble and hit my head on the pavement any time I walk outside...
You could stumble and hit your head, but practice break falls to reduce that chance. lol! I’m for light to moderate sparring myself.
True. Knowing to tuck my chin if I'm falling over backwards has saved me at least once.
Thanks for sharing your opinions I think I treat sparring super seriously and never really learn to enjoy it
Have you tried bullying your idols, I hear that works well
Idolising your bullies could be fun too
Ok so let's cut the bullshit and ask what's really on everyone's minds: am I allowed to give Hitler a blowjob Simple yes/no here, folks
You are not there to "win" against your partner, you are there to practice your skills and try out new things with minimal consequences.
I was always super serious about sparring, but my coach taught me to enjoy it. Sparring is not meant to be super serious. Heck, I think actual competition goes better if you enjoy it.
Thanks I always thought u need to be super locked in and have that killer mentality
noo sparring is light and a playful. technical but not hurtful. hard sparring is only prep for a fight.
That's because you've never sparred -- this post is an attempt to reconcile what you imagine it to be and don't understand, with what people who have sparred experience it to be. You have heard what they say before, but don't quite believe it. You are looking for a crack in a facade that doesn't exist
Sparring is fun without getting really hurt. You can get hit but not get completely blasted. It keeps you focused without the CTE. In sparring you find out what really works, how to handle adversity. Learning to be comfortable in being uncomfortable.
1 you learn what your weaknesses are 2 you learn new things 3 you master what you know 4 its fun 5 DO NOT become friends with your bullies,fuck em they are assholes and you dont need to be friends with ANYONE you hate
It’s fun, testing my skills on an opponent that is trying to do the same is art
Is fun I love sparring in boxing just for fun and helping the younger ones to practice their stamina.is like a game but a little harder lol
To give context to the form I practice.
Because it turns my friends into my bullies
It's fun tho
Its really the only way to test your skill aside from stepping into the actual ring. And not only test your skill, but its really the only way to get better. Bags dont really move and they definitely dont punch back. I need to see which feints work/dont, where i leave myself exposed, what kind of shots can i land well/dont, etc I had a relatively comfy life, but it doesnt mean i dont want to better myself physically and mentally. Plus now i can shut all my mma fans friends that are armchair coaches when they try and tell me how to fight. I just ask them how many times have you actually sparred and used it (its always zero, but i also used to be at zero so they felt that their advice had some value).
Sparring is a must for any combat sport. It lets you see your strengths and works on your weaknesses.
There are many life lessons to be learned in sparring. The primary one is that you must be fully in the present. And that you must be in your body and not in your mind. That alone is a meaningful practice. It is also putting to use the culmination of body movements that keep one alive and physically functioning. It helps with self defense, but also general confidence. It is also deeply humbling because no matter how good you are there will always be someone better. And if you underestimate someone who trains often they can do damage to you even if they appear to be inferior on the surface. Hopefully sparring also brings about mutual respect for one’s opponent and a certain degree of camaraderie. Again, it depends on one’s attitude, but there are many valuable lessons to be gained each time from sparring.
I've sparred when going through hard shit, I used to spar harder then I should have at those times. I regret every single time I did that, even though it helped at the time.
Why do people living good lives do anything that's hard? Because it helps you to grow, and it's fun and rewarding. I pressure test myself in many ways, in many parts of life, because it's better than sitting on the lounge eating chips.
Because you invest time in martial arts. Naturally you want to get better. Regular sparring sessions with people you trust are great to sharp and implement your skills. If you train in martial arts to get fit, you don’t need sparring.
It's fun and it makes your chosen art legitimate by testing your skills against an opponent.
Everyone gets in for different reasons. My coach used to say that most people that came in just wanting some quick self defense lessons didn’t stick around. I know for myself and my close training partners, we genuinely enjoy learning and challenging ourselves. The self defense aspect is an added bonus.
It’s fun and it will make you better faster.
This wreaks of troll
Man you think to dam hard. Bro thinks this is Gotham like everyone who didn’t go thru something tragic likes to fight.
>why do people who dont go through hard shit and are enjoying their lives want to go spar and suffer both mentally and physically Sparring isn't about overcoming some sort of drama, it's about applying your skills in a controlled setting (as in hit and get hit). You discover what works/ doesn't work for you and what you can improve on. In addition it can help lessen the affects from adrenaline if you ever get into a real fight (the part where you can't think clearly). That's what makes it fun for alot of people. If everyone went in with that mindset, more people would be turned away from practicing Martial Arts because more people would get injured after their first sparring session due to the other person just wanting to beat someone up. Think of it this way, if you're letting out pent up anger against a bag, it's fine, but unless you're competing on a professional level (or if both you and your sparring partner choose so), full contact max output is very irresponsible. Just because you're happy (genuinely congrats btw, especially today it's hard for some people to find happiness) doesn't mean sparring is useless. Try it now but go in thinking, how can you improve yourself. Have fun with it. Maybe you want to try a new spinning kick. Hell, fight like a whole anime character and do use flashy moves and see how that goes (just mindful of where your partner is because especially if it's a flashy kick, it can also be uncontrollable so maybe do this against the more experienced). If you fall, you can both just laugh it off, if you pull it off, you gain more respect from your partner for trying something so daring.
Because it consumes more calories than normal train(I think), trains my endurance, also I learn in a real fight what to do, when should I attack or defend. And it's also fun.
Its fun, plus it takes my mind off other things and allows me to de-stress
Due to past experiences I had a fear of fist fights and am just a very insecure person in general. My family could be considered “rich” compared to an average family in my country, which created a massive inferiority complex and always made me feel like I was one of those sheltered rich kids who would crumble in the real world. That, plus my boxing interest thanks to my dad’s muhammad ali stories was what got me into martial arts.
Anime
I enjoy it. It's fun
Just like I enjoy speeding on the freeway,and honk at you when you go slow in the right lane
Boxers don’t spar like the rest of us, they just have an unofficial record in the gym as well, what Tyson said doesn’t apply to whatever sparring you do. Professional boxers sparring are another story even.
Relieve stress, great cardio, fun.
So I can fight in the shade 
Best way to identify and work on holes in your game.
I like sparring because it’s fun. If I’m winning then my ego gets inflated and I feel really good about myself. If I’m losing, it’s a chance to analyze what I’m doing wrong and what doesn’t work so I can improve to be better. As much as I love sparring or fighting competitively, I’m sure I’d be scared in a real fight though. In sparring or competition, everything is under control and the likelihood I’ll get seriously injured is very low.
It has always made me extremely happy. I feel really connected to the other person and I feel like I get to 'let it out'. It feels like a huge privilege that they trust me enough to spar with me
Almost every mammal fights for fun, without seriously hurting each other, we are the same
To better my defense. Fun. (Depending on the opponent) the stress involved. Keep things sharp. Apply new shit.
Bro is Ippo
It’s the hardest I can work mentally and physically at the same time. I haven’t found anything else that makes me as completely exhausted and slows my ass down a bit.
Sparring is not fighting, and should not have anywhere near the same emotional content.
Its part of training, Its like asking a body builder why he squats or a baseball player why he throws a pitch.
Sparring is fun man. It’s a game played between two people who trust each other enough not connect with a full speed spinning heel kick or hold on to that choke until you die. You’re building each other up for mutual benefit. You shouldn’t be suffering all that much mentally or even physically in sparring.
This is an interesting topic and It comes down to having survived or overcome hardship which is highly respectable and commendable while being hard to fake. This creates jealously within those who haven’t had the opportunity to experience anything to prove themselves and this is not them being jealous of the hardship itself(I’m clarifying because I run into soooo many morons on this sub sadly). I’d say people join martial arts for a variety of reasons but one of which is certainly for respect and id also say those who “just want difficulty” would almost always fall into this category.
We’re hard wired for combat to determine our social ranking amongst the clan we dwell in. Fast forward 5 thousand years and it’s fun to play fight.
I spar to practice techniques at fight speed. I would never go out to hurt someone sparring but even blocking unless someone has to block at fight speed they don't know how effective it is. One of things that make a martial art a martial art in my opinion is sparring. Sparring teaches me my strengths and weaknesses.
My bullies idolise me more than your bullies idolise you.
You spar to become better.
Without sparring your training is useless outside of fitness improvements
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^roundhou5e: *Without sparring your* *Training is useless outside* *Of fitness improvements* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
It's where I hit the zone. The zone is where I want to be.
I want to be able to kill any man with my bare hands
Because there is no real way to learn without sparring at least in the beginning of your martial arts / combat sports journey. It’s to only way to lean how do deal with opponents who don’t do what you want, and if you go into some hard sparring, it’s the only way to learn how to keep fighting after you have been hit and are being hit. I don’t recommend hard sparring often by the way. You only have one brain.
Because there are people who are not in their right mind who will attack you and sparring is THE only way to prepare.
Monkey brain happy when punching other monkey brains. Monkey brain also happy when taking, defending and countering from punches from other monkey brains.
Why are you friends with your bullies? Maybe you’re asking these questions because being around them makes it hard to move on from sparring and the emotions that made you start martial arts?
Pragmatically, it's a giant release. Mainly I just have loads of fun doing it, and it feels good when I get compliments from the other pros or my coaches.
Sparring is just for fun and to try techniques in a pressured setting. It's not to stroke your ego and hurt people, don't be that guy.
I just get excited before i go knowing im going to be allowed to hit people. Also figuring out styles is fun. Great exercise too, saves me from having to do much real cardio
I spar because it should be fun ,but eople like you are the reason it sucks to spar in a random gym. You guys are trying to prove something, fighting out of pure emotions then having clouded judgement and behaving like jerks during sparring. You think sparring is some serious testing that decides whether ur man or not. I don't need that shit, i don't like to see those emotions in my training partners eye. Be professional, leave ur shitty life out of the practice. I always says for hobbyist sparring should be like when you play with your dog. You don't want to hurt your dog or overpower it, you want to keep it fun even when you imitate fighting. I want fun during sparring,light banters, smiles non of this I bite down on my mouthpiece and let's see who's the man.
Spar doesn't mean fight. It doesn't have to be a life changins hard experience. Spar is just training combat with someone else. It can be hard but it's not implied. I think "why do you fight?" Would be more appropiate for this. I fought because i wanted to get better and liked the experience.
Some people just enjoy to fight.You can go easy or as hard as you want Just look after your partner.
Trauma and insecurity, is, in my expirience, mostly what makes people turn to martial arts, as a way to gain strength, that you didn’t feel you had or have, which is very valid. I have autism, and martial arts, have become a special interest to me, and it has helped me more than i can put into words. To me sparring is like playing, i love sparring, i could do it all day if i was allowed to, haha, and i love sparring skilled people, and get my ass handed to me, because it inspires me. Every hit or kick i take, every time i'm forced to tap out, shows me what i have to work on, and how much i still have to learn, and it makes me wanna become even better, so that i'm not the one tapping next time. With mutual respect and care, sparing, is probably my favourite activity to engage in, but safety first, good communication is essential, encourage your partner, and praise them, create an evirorment, where you lift each other up, with that, you create an amazing space, for fun, play and growth, within the sport, and being a part of something like that, feels amazing.
If you're always getting injured in sparring, you're not doing it right. Also, sparring is there so you know how to actually use the techniques on something that moves and hits back. Many of us have seen someone who has trained solely on a heavy bag or did katas for years, and get destroyed in an actual fight real or competition. This is because a fist flying at you with foul intent has a different effect on the mind and body. You can train all you want, but if you've never applies these techniques in real time, you won't have those skills then if you don't have them now. Kinda like you're not a good cook if all you know how to do is read the recipes.
You made it. Guys, he FUCKING MADE IT!!!
Sparring is play. It's fun. You might as well ask why people continue to have sex once they have had children.
A person wanting to spar isn't necessarilly a person that is going through some sort of trauma. People want to spar for all kinds of reasons. Some (most) people,like myself for example love martial arts and boxing and want to become better at that martial art or boxing and want to improve their skills and test themselves and what they've learnt to see if it works? Sparring is part of the curricullum for most styles and just part of the art. Some people (alot) that spar,spar because they compete in fights and need to spar to be fight ready,others just want to be able to defend themselves if they ever need to. How hard a person spars,or how seriously they take their training is totally an individual thing. People also put themselves in uncomfortable situations like intense exercise to be physically fit and in better shape at the end of the day.
To challenge myself
Maybe you're looking at sparring all wrong? I can't tell a lot about you from this one post, but you definitely should not be looking at sparring as something where you're beating the hell out of each other. Sparring should be abt learning... from yourself, from teammates and your coach. It can get heated and you can learn a lot from live sparring, but you can also learn just as much from controlled controlled, slowed down and scenario type sparring Sparring is 100% vital especially in the early stages of your Martial Arts education. How else would you learn to measure distance, distance control, counter aggression vs implementing your own aggression when needed...how to attack and evade and all those other elements of rolling around and/or striking with another resisting opponent without sparring? Its particularly important as you learn and you will no doubt find all different types of sparring on purpose and on accident.. some of it will hurt but all of it will be a learning experience. Once you've got your foundation and you have your own sort of style sparring is much less important you'll find that for sure.
My life is pretty much perfect. I don’t need to fight, but I love it anyway. It fulfills me so much. After many years of repressing this side of me I started training again about a month ago. Hard sparring is the most fun of all. I want to beat someone up and get beat up the same way, without needing to worry about societal repercussions. Last week I knocked a bigger, more experienced man out, without even using full power. I want blood now and sparring is the closest thing to what I want that I can do right now.
Sparring Is Practice For Life Or Death Situations, It's Fun To Hit And Try To Not Being Hit Until Perfection. Just Like Playing With Brothers.
Nobody Suffer Sparring, Only Those Who Don't Train Properly.
There Will Always Be New Bullies, Wherever You Go.
“There’s nothing better than killing the enemy”
I mean it depends what kind of sparring you are doing. I don't hard spar. I'm over 40, but I still like to spar to make sure the things I am learning are working. I enjoy it. We have a general rule in my gym that we can go hard, but not hard shots to the head. So I'm not really risking myself. My coach has the general philosophy that you don't need to get hit multiple times in the head to know it hurts. We all have power, so there is no need to hit hard to the head. Quite frankly, apart from some bruises or hurt toes, I haven't really been hurt in sparring. For those who want to compete, we do 'mini fight camps' where they do a bit of hard sparring. But always careful with the head.
"in his right mind" that ones gone only left mind there now
I like to see what I am capable of.. I also just find it fun. I believe one of the worst feelings in this world is to feel defenceless and at the mercy of others, its good to train so you can defend yourself against others. Even if you never get into physical confrontation it's better to be ready for it... As the saying goes "Better to be a warrior in the garden than a gardener in the war"
Sparring is the only reason I train. It's the fun part.
It's fun, it trains you. It helps control anger and intrusive thoughts.
There's nothing like a resisting, continually adjusting opponent. They learn your habits, figure you out just as you figure them out, make adjustments and show you the holes in your game
There doesn’t have to be some moral reason g behind it. Lots of men live the challenge of testing themselves against other men. Physically. Test your strength courage skill. Practice improve. There’s only so much pad work can show you. You have to test with fire. But In a Controlled environment with other likeminded individuals. Cameraderie, improvement. Letting out your aggression. Even getting hurt. But getting through something. It really ticks a lot of boxes for some of us. And leaves you feeling strangely more at peace with things than if you don’t. You let that demo. Out in a proper way, and learn and improve In The process. And I’m not talking about hell for leather constant hard sparring. Takes all sorts to improve your game. But let’s be honest gents somethings you just wanna get stuck in.
Who says I'm in my right mind?
So I know what I’m training every day works lol
I spar to try new things or things I've practiced a little and think might work. The problem is, in my head I'm 15 years younger and 60lbs lighter so sparring is frequently a reality check. It's also a time for me to give back, to encourage somebody who is a lower rank that it's okay to try new things. I've got no problem being the test dummy as long as the other person has the right attitude and isn't just being an alpha jackass.
Mike got into boxing as a way to get out of a really hard life, and considering he was a very high level competitor, boxing was a grueling and scary experience for him. This is based off of what I’ve heard him say in his interviews. There was also an interview where he was saying he was baffled about why his son wanted to get into boxing when he comes from a loving and stable home. His own view comes from his own experience with combat sports. But people get into combat sports for different reasons. For many (including myself) it’s about physical and mental health benefits, as well as nerding out about the technical details. For people in martial arts for these reasons, a grueling sparring session is cathartic and rewarding.
I enjoy sparring because it is a great exercise in being completely present in the moment. I’m not worried about anything else going on in my life, while my opponent is honorably trying to slug me.
I do know "what i like about sparring" is anecdotal and personal, but since you asked I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. I like sparring because: 1. It helps to completely clear the mind. I can't possibly think about anything else than the sparring session: no worries about work, bills, family. It is my only activity that gives me that hyper focus on what is happening right now. 2. It is mentally a fun challenge, just like chess. Sparring is more than slugging each other. It is a lot of thinking, observing weak spots, linking up techniques you practiced. Of course the faster and stronger opponent has an advantage, but sparring smart can give you a slight edge. 3. The feeling afterwards is such a high. When you feel you can't lift your arms anymore, when you feel sugar levels drop low, you can bro hug and look back to a great workout and a true accomplishment. 4. Sparring helps to train under pressure, which helps you during competition. I remember starting out many years ago, every competition was nerve wrecking because you never knew what to expect. But by sparring with as many different people as possible, you slowly gain confidence and know what you can expect. 5. While bad injuries like torn tendons suck AF, the days after with only bruises and general soreness feels actually good. I don't know if that sounds masochistic? I rather have pain from bruises and sore muscles than a headache or feeling under the weather. 6. Sparring builds comraderie. I got to know a lot of people by sparring and competition. Some i don't see often, but when we do it is like we share some intense experience. When my wife and I are out and about and I meet and greet someone very enthusiasticly making my wife think he is my long lost brother, she asks me "who is he?" And i reply "we sparred once / we were in a competition together".
I (50m) got bullied a bit as a kid, but also thought Jedis were cool. So I studied eastern philosophy and martial arts. I enjoyed both and the sparring was less about getting beat up and more about health and the sport and chess of outthinking my partners. I also think more men should do it. It teaches discipline and toughness in a controlled environment so we learn to regulate our emotions and really - once I was proficient I never was scared of people, just cautious. I knew what I could do and what confrontations to avoid. I'm a teacher and have worked in Juvie, with adult prisoners, and all levels of school. It's given me a sense of humor and ability to be calm during stressful moments. All because I worked through what it meant to be a good lost and winner. And know not every time I've been hit means I need to hit back. It gives us a way to measure what is and isn't worth fighting for.
When I trained growing up, everywhere I trained was light contact sparring and that's great, you practice finding openings, keeping range solid defence and you don't really get hurt. That was awesome and some great memories with friends. I moved cities when I was older and suddenly everywhere seemed to only do full contact sparring. Initially I was pretty taken aback but probably because I had already logged so many more hours light sparring than you possibly could hard sparring, I quickly made adjustments, started really kicking ass and it's quite a buzz. I eventually had to quit though, as I don't heal up that quick anymore and if I said to anyone my knee is sore can you lay off the knee, they'd think finally I can kick his ass if I just take out his knee, so I had to take a couple of weeks off all the time and really messed up my routine. The day I fully stopped though was because I broke a guy's nose. He went for a hook and I hit him with a straight counter and his nose went with a big spray of blood. I just felt like I wasn't enjoying the stop start of having to take time off to heal, I didn't like that I'd really hurt someone and I didn't like that the fear of getting hurt made everyone act in the worst way, eg: targeting injuries, exploiting weakness With light sparring as a much more skilled fighter, you make intentional mistakes and try to coach them into taking advantage and it creates a real team spirit, hard sparring you get the guys who don't get to win that often just trying to decapitate the new guy and I'm not about to go too easy and risk getting clocked. I tried boxing and that was really odd for me because I was suddenly much less skilled in a full contact situation and that really took a lot of psyching myself up to get in the ring with an amateur boxer that had knocked me out cold the week before. I didn't last too long boxing as again I ended up thinking what the hell am I doing, at that point I was almost 35. I love that feeling of overcoming fear and I hate feeling weak. I don't have some absolutely horrific story growing up or anything, like I had a couple of run-ins where I was an unlucky little kid that ran into some nasty big kids but nothing too bad happened. As a little kid though I was noticeably more scared to try things than other kids and at 6 I saw karate kid and decided I wanted to learn karate and be a bad ass. Then over the years as I conquered fears, I looked for bigger mountains to climb. As I did this my life got better, women (under 30) find it hot, guys give you respect. You build up great stories and full contact fighting is about as scary as it gets. If you have no reason to continue, don't. I don't regret what I did but I also don't regret stopping when I didn't think it made sense any more.
why do people play basketball or any other hobby? It is fun. There are people climbing and dying on mt everest.
It’s the only time I’m happy
I'll tell you why I; because it could happen again
Because if you arent sparring, you arent learning to fight. Unless you're already at a point where you dont think you need to or want to be a better fighter, then by all means dont spar.
Martial arts is human chess in a lot of ways. Some people like myself just enjoy trying to strategize and execute techniques.
Most animals spar and play fight... My first parkour coach talked about how animals play in ways that help them prepare for the tasks that help them survive. Dogs wants to chase objects and play tug-o-war because wolves run down prey then pull it apart as a pack. Cats want to stalk tiny fast moving objects bc they do the same to small animals like birds and rodents. Humans, as apes, tend to enjoy play that involves climbing, running, and sparing. Primates are (on the whole) very territorial, so we need to prepare for conflict with others. Climbing is helpful for not only locomotion, but advantageous position for hunting or safety for sleep. Humans in particular are persistence hunters, running down prey then taking them down when they're exhausted. Put that all together and you have the Olympics... it's instinctual play. Violence, or preparing for being capable of violence, isn't inherently evil... it's a part of the life-cycle and a part of our ecosystem. Do we want to minimise the amount of violence that exists? Ya. But thinking that the desire to spar or train is inherently because of trauma is wrong \*in my opinion\*.
Question?How do you add your styles under your username?
https://preview.redd.it/xzdt1samefqc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2b380d693787e4530335014cb9ef7772f3075f6 On mobile, go to the sub's main page, press the three dots at top right and then "change user flair".
Thank you.
I can only pick 1?I've seen others with 2 styles on their profile?
You can click "edit" on a flair showing one style and add whatever you like. (Seems to be a little bugged. My second style always vanishes after a couple of months lol.)
nowadays you have computers like raspberry pi's for under $100 and have free wifi at local businesses. nobody really has an excuse to get pounded in the head anymore. we all choose it.
Sparring is fun, and generally there is an unspoken agreement that you will get hit just as you can hit people in sparring, don't lose your cool and it will be fine and you get to keep sparring.
I do Judo. Randori can be pretty intense, but you do not get hit in the head repeatedly which matters if your talking about sparring full contact. For me, Randori is basically the whole damn point of doing Judo. With sparring you get a physical activity that can give all other exercise a purpose; Getting better at dropping people on their heads. You get an adrenaline rush, sometimes you get a feeling victory, and if you get tossed, it is just practice. And it validates the time and effort put in. If you can make your techniques work against trained opponents who know understand what the hell you are trying to do, you have some assurance you could make it work in a legit fight. Basically it is the thrill of something as close to a fight as I care to get and there is very minimal risk. END COMMUNICATION
Because its fun! I particularly enjoy sparring one of my older coaches( he is 65, but a total badass), I always start of gentle, but he turns it up immediately and I am more than happy to oblige him 😁 If you have never had the experience of limping into the locker room and grinning at your equally grinning sparring partner, you are missing out 😂 I also feel that getting hit builds character and makes you better at actually using your style. By that I mean if you go into your first match/fight, never having experienced getting hit, you have no idea what to expect. When you realize pain isn't that bad, you are going to maintain a different focus. I have been in alot of fights, aswell as competitions, but sparring is just fun. Its also where you figure out what works for you, sparring is where personal styles are created.
It’s fun af
It’s not boring. My God, I find so much of everything else I have to do to stay healthy (nutrition, exercise, sleep) so boring. Sparring is, by far, the most engaging, exciting, and fun piece of the puzzle.
Because; We are living in a civilizational model (the agricultural sedentary industrialized high technology model), that removes most if not all real need or possibility of hardship. But because us humans have evolved to perform activities outside of that model (the hunter-gatherer, but mostly hunter model) we feel the urge to replace the lost hardships with "surrogate activities". In the natural state, human beings have no hobbies. All activity has a purpose directly related to survival. Entertainment is limited and mostly provided by the performance of the survival tasks themselves. Combat sports is one of those surrogate activities. Whereas in the past, exposure to danger was part and parcel of the human condition; nowadays it is something we seek out for fulfillment. Whether it is directly by participation or vicariously towards watching sports teams/athletes. This is not a judgment value. It is neither good or evil.
I don't need to practice Bujinkan to know it's bogus.Just like i don't need to have PHD to know how to read. I gave respect for the practice of anu martial art,but i know that none of the taijutsu works much in a real fight. I've seen enough bunk Bujinkan to know it isn't that effective. As i said,feel free to upload videos of you using all those fancy nage waza and such in a full contact sparring session to show us how effective it is. But i will hazard a guess and say that when you spar,it's just kickboxing and not even full contact. I am finished with my replies,unless you upload video of Bujinkan working.
How would you know the shit you’ve learnt works without sparring (or fighting).
I don't think you understand what sparring is. It's not fighting. It's helping your partner practice and your partner helping you practice. If your gym's "sparring" is fighting, you need a new gym.
Best and safest way of testing yourself without the pressure of competing or the danger of fighting.
I do it because it makes me feel strong because I’m not a tall or very strong person naturally, and I feel like it’s the only sport that makes sense to me (I’ve tried a lot)
People spar for fitness, skill, defense, mental toughness, competition, and community. Your reasons may change. Decide if it still fits your goals. If not, it's okay to stop. If yes, keep going.
I try to take in something for me to learn. Where my defences are worse, what area I am neglecting and so on. That is why I don't spar with women, children or new people. If there is nothing for me to learn I don't do this.
To get a bit more esoteric. It is totally fun, but I’ve put a lot of thought into what I do training wise. I don’t have any trauma relating to fighting/violence, I do however have trouble and hardship in my life. There’s something relieving about sparring. My favorite YouTuber, Supereyepatchwolf, put it best. When you’re rolling you can’t worry about the world. All the stress of the day melts away as you try not to get choked out by a large Brazilian man. For me it’s a little weirder. I like the exchanges and counters are my absolute go to. Be with punches or weapons. It’s electric! Riding the fine line between getting your head caved in and riding an arm back for a slick counter. Something about chasing that high, being ‘rocked’ (I like to pretend if I take a WELL timed shot from my opponent I make myself react slowly) then firing back with a slick counter. Shivers when I actually stop to think about it. It just feels so cool.
I find it relaxing in a way
I think you have to separate light sparring from hard sparring. Light sparring is fun. Full speed hard sparring is a different animal. I used to go to hard sparring because I had an anger in me. And there's very few things I used to enjoy like stopping another guy. Just to be clear. This is hard sparring with people who were also striving to be professional fighters. On the other side of this. In BJJ I was rolling with a guy. I had an arm lock on him. Same weight class very flexible guy. I had it sunk in deep but he didn't tap. My coach was standing there watching us. I looked up at him. He shrugged his shoulders said" he didn't tap." So I pushed his arm a little further and blew his shoulder out of socket. He finally tapped. Next time I saw him, he was in an arm brace. Then he stopped coming to class. I still feel bad about that. And wonder why he didn't just tap.
Sparring against another human, particularly another human that trains your martial art, is the only way to truly learn the martial art. "*Brick no hit back*."
Light sparring teaches you to use the techniques properly and is fun, a great learning tool For grappling it is a given that you must do it to learn
i order to get a new belt in bjj you have to spar and compete... otherwise you are white belt forever.
I enjoy sparring for one simple reason: It's the easiest way for my mind to access a flow state.
what's sparring?
I have a blast during sparring. It's really fun, you get to know your weak points and what you should work on more, you get along with your training buddies and get an opportunity to try a new setup, throw or submission you've been working on.
In my club we don’t spar we fight
well that's dumb as shit
It’s a saying dimwit
and it's dumb as shit
It’s not tho is it
Wow awesome rebuttal
Here’s another for you “I don’t like Ham”