bad sparring partner! help!

[Giorgio]

hey there, guys, having a bit of trouble at my local gym... I just moved there from another gym, so i'm just getting to know everyone. Mostly everyone's very friendly, focused but laid-back about it. As they say 'we're not getting paid to get hurt while training' but when we do rotation sparring, where we spar against everyone in the gym one after the other, I come up against this polish guy who's giving me trouble.

We're told to spar at 20-30% power, just to get the technique and speed right, and as to not damage each other with elbows and knees (sorry, we're not tough enough to take full contact knees and elbows yet) but this one guy just comes at me 100% and goes for the knockout. I've tried telling him to cool off and to take it easy, but he just calls me a *****. honestly I don't want to retaliate and elbow him in the face hard, since I don't want to start a fight at my new gym.

Here's where it really gets sticky though. I WOULD talk to the head coach about it, but he and this guy are good friends, as they're both polish. So I'm not sure what i should do.

Any advice?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Sounds like he's one of those has to do it full impact or it' no good types.

Your options are:
- Refuse to work with him
- Tell the coach
- Leave
- Suck it up and give it back full bore too.

Best of luck.

 

[Sam]

Ouch. The fact that they are friends definitely makes things difficult. You have a responsibility as a student to let the head instructor know, though. It would be unfair to the instructor, if he didn't know, and you left, without you giving him a chance to fix the situation. I would just try and be careful to word it in such a way as you don't sound acusatory.

Maybe you could tell the head instructor that you're not comfortable with that level of contact, rather than "So and so is a bloody idiot", even if the later is closer to the truth.

 

[bydand]

I totally agree with Sam's answer. If it still persists though, as unlikely as it sounds, you have the advantage here. If the person comes at you after talking with the instructor, take him OUT, as in out-cold. He will be thinking "me 100%, you 30-40%" then pack up and walk out, because it will be obvious that the instructor isn't in control of his class. You might be suprised though and a little talk with the instructor may make a night and day difference in your training. Good Luck!!!

 

[wee_blondie]

How about a more subtle approach? Tell the guy that you recognise his powerful strikes and would like to be able to hit like that (a bit of ego-boosting may encourage him to ease off if he thinks you look up to him). At the same time you can talk to your instructor and say that you aren't ready for 100% contact. Any teacher worth his salt will then ask your sparring partner to slow up and go lighter so that you can enjoy and learn from it. I certainly wouldn't start to hit back harder as this could easily escalate the situation, also if you hit him hard, you lose your right to complain about being hit (live by the sword....)

However you decide to handle it, make sure you stay calm about the whole thing and avoid any hard feelings developing. Good luck!

 

[Touch Of Death]

hey there, guys, having a bit of trouble at my local gym... I just moved there from another gym, so i'm just getting to know everyone. Mostly everyone's very friendly, focused but laid-back about it. As they say 'we're not getting paid to get hurt while training' but when we do rotation sparring, where we spar against everyone in the gym one after the other, I come up against this polish guy who's giving me trouble.

We're told to spar at 20-30% power, just to get the technique and speed right, and as to not damage each other with elbows and knees (sorry, we're not tough enough to take full contact knees and elbows yet) but this one guy just comes at me 100% and goes for the knockout. I've tried telling him to cool off and to take it easy, but he just calls me a *****. honestly I don't want to retaliate and elbow him in the face hard, since I don't want to start a fight at my new gym.

Here's where it really gets sticky though. I WOULD talk to the head coach about it, but he and this guy are good friends, as they're both polish. So I'm not sure what i should do.

Any advice?

Leave the school.

 

[Granto]

pull guard, switch to side, switch to mount, figure four both of his arms, ignore his taps.

jk

 

[Jonathan]

Personally, I'd talk to the instructor anyhow. It may be that the friend thinks he can get away with it, and simply was never called on it. If the instructor does nothing, leave the school. Then, post about your experiences on forums like this- schools like that can do without more people getting pulled in. Instructors who can't (or won't) control their classes are not instructors; they're facilitators.


Part of me, though, has this to say (JOKINGLY!):

Bring a bat. Use it only when you're about to spar with the guy.

When asked why you're doing that, simply answer "Escalation of force." Then mention something about him 'not being up to it'.

 

[CoryKS]

If you've been specifically told to spar at 20-30%, that means that the instructor recognizes there is a safety issue with going full contact. Talk to him about it. You're there for your training, you decide how hard a hit you can take. That is not your sparring partner's decision to make, and he absolutely should not be resorting to name-calling if you want to tone it down.