# sparring in bareknuckle schools



## jarrod (Feb 14, 2009)

i'm familiar with the general tournament rules in kykushin et al, but how is day to day sparring conducted?  do students always spar bareknuckle, & are strikes to the head ever allowed?  i assume it varies from dojo to dojo, but i would appreciate if people would share their experiences at least.  i'd love to study one of these styles, but frankly i don't want to completely unlearn head punching.  it took me this long to learn how to do it!

jf


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## searcher (Feb 14, 2009)

I am not a kyokushin karateka, but I have foght in their tourneys and with their fighters. I am not sure how they do it, but when we train it is "semi-knockdown" rules. We wear hand protection, headgear, shin pads(optional), groin pretection, and a mouthpiece. Day-to-day, we all still have to work. It is kinda liek boxers and kickboxers training with gear and fighting with limited protection.


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## Blindside (Feb 14, 2009)

The school I spar with is bareknuckle all the time and they do have bad habits when it comes to head protection.  The instructors do (occasionally) throw head punches to their students to remind them about it, but overall their sparring habits are definitely ingrained to not allowing punches to the head.  While I enjoy the toughness it develops in mind and body it is missing out on a pretty big skill set.  On the other hand, I hadn't done alot of leg kicking before I started working out with them and that has been really valuable.


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## Sandstorm (Feb 14, 2009)

Backin the mid-late nineties, there was a competition called the KSBO here in the UK. Based in Nottingham, it was the UKs first real taster of the MMA/UFC style competition. When we used to prepare for the events, we would spar as we intended to fight, only with a little more restraint so as not to destroy our training partners. The only rules were no head strikes or groin shots/eye gouges etc. The only protection was a box/cup and a gumshield. Our prep consisted of loads of conditioning and sparring, as I said, with a little restraint. I am not sure what schools are around nowadays that would cover such unpadded sparring. I am all for it in my current class, but then that is more SD orientated. 
I would go check out a few Kyokushindo schools and sit on the sidelines perhaps, get an idea from third person and go from there.

Hope this helps


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## elder999 (Feb 14, 2009)

First question is, _which_ kyokushin? :lol:

Avoiding that can of worms, though,sparring contact is generally light for beginners, and full on kyokushin rules all the time for intermediates on up.Arm protectors, shin guards and cups are permitted, and that's about it for protection, generally, though you may see some schools using headgear. There is also a progressive kumite requirement for rank advancement, starting with 2 matches for 8th kyu and 10-15 for shodan.


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## searcher (Feb 14, 2009)

elder999-I wish I would have only had to deal with 10-15 matches for Shodan.


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## elder999 (Feb 15, 2009)

searcher said:


> elder999-I wish I would have only had to deal with 10-15 matches for Shodan.


 

Yeah, me too! Of course, mine was more than 30 years ago-things were different. If I were running a commercial establishment trying to train people the way I was brought up, I'd probably  have no students, except for the ones suing me! :lfao:


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## searcher (Feb 15, 2009)

elder999 said:


> Yeah, me too! Of course, mine was more than 30 years ago-things were different. If I were running a commercial establishment trying to train people the way I was brought up, I'd probably have no students, except for the ones suing me! :lfao:


 

Ditto here.    I still wear my Gi jacket that I wore the night of my Shodan test on special occasions.   And I still get asked where the blood stains came from.    When I tell them it came from my Shodan test, I have students quit.    If they are not up to it, I would rather have them leave now and continue in the sheeple ways.


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## RoninSoul (Feb 15, 2009)

At the school I attend, with the youngsters it is mandatory to wear gear. The adults it is discretionary. Funny though, it seems that those that don't do the next time.
Osu.


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## MilkManX (Mar 27, 2009)

I do Enshin and protection is optional.

We use similar rules to Kyokushin knockdown but we have sweeps and throws with one side grabs and a 5 second grab rule.

I recommend a cup at least.


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