lordsesshomaru
New member
I've done martial arts for a while now, and I enjoy sparring. I spar with my classmates, and some of my friends who are interested in the martial arts. However, the more I spar, the more I realize that we limit ourselves in an actual situation.
In my style, when we spar, we only wear foot and hand pads. As such, we are told to pull back every strike. Sensei says if we show our opponent that we could have hit him, but do not, it is the same as hitting him. I agree with that, but I think it breeds bad habits.
When we spar, it almost seems like there is a certain etiquette. We are discouraged from doing any "dangerous" techniques such as most spinning/jumping techniques, which is understandable, as they are hard to control, and pack a lot of power. Also, if we successfully execute our combination on the opponent, we are taught to let him regain his composure before continuing.
I've already noticed bad habits when I spar with my friends who have no training. I subconsciously pull back on almost every technique, even though I do not intend to. I also do not like to use most of my techniques as they have power, but lack control. Hell, I don't even like hitting them in the head while they have no qualms about doing that to me.
I guess my ultimate point is in an actual fight, the opponent will not observe the same rules as you do when you spar. They will not pull back. They have no qualms about groin shots, or any other dirty trick. If they hit you, they will keep on coming and will not let you regain your composure. That is why I am afraid that I will lose when it comes to an actual fight. They will come at me with no training, but no limitations on what they can do. I just hope that my adrenaline will force me to forget my own.
I guess my ultimate question is do you think that all this sparring and competition breeds bad habits in an actual combat situation? I feel that I am more inclined to go with Bruce Lee's combat realism philosophy in JKD now that I have had more experience in which both participants hit hard, but wear full body pads as well, getting rid of this holding back stuff.
Also, is there anyway to find out how you would react in a street fight safely?
I mean, the restrictions are there for our own safety I suppose. Even above black belt ranks, spinning kicks, full force hits, and anything that you cannot control 100% are discouraged. Safety is kinda big with us.
In my style, when we spar, we only wear foot and hand pads. As such, we are told to pull back every strike. Sensei says if we show our opponent that we could have hit him, but do not, it is the same as hitting him. I agree with that, but I think it breeds bad habits.
When we spar, it almost seems like there is a certain etiquette. We are discouraged from doing any "dangerous" techniques such as most spinning/jumping techniques, which is understandable, as they are hard to control, and pack a lot of power. Also, if we successfully execute our combination on the opponent, we are taught to let him regain his composure before continuing.
I've already noticed bad habits when I spar with my friends who have no training. I subconsciously pull back on almost every technique, even though I do not intend to. I also do not like to use most of my techniques as they have power, but lack control. Hell, I don't even like hitting them in the head while they have no qualms about doing that to me.
I guess my ultimate point is in an actual fight, the opponent will not observe the same rules as you do when you spar. They will not pull back. They have no qualms about groin shots, or any other dirty trick. If they hit you, they will keep on coming and will not let you regain your composure. That is why I am afraid that I will lose when it comes to an actual fight. They will come at me with no training, but no limitations on what they can do. I just hope that my adrenaline will force me to forget my own.
I guess my ultimate question is do you think that all this sparring and competition breeds bad habits in an actual combat situation? I feel that I am more inclined to go with Bruce Lee's combat realism philosophy in JKD now that I have had more experience in which both participants hit hard, but wear full body pads as well, getting rid of this holding back stuff.
Also, is there anyway to find out how you would react in a street fight safely?
I mean, the restrictions are there for our own safety I suppose. Even above black belt ranks, spinning kicks, full force hits, and anything that you cannot control 100% are discouraged. Safety is kinda big with us.