Contact in training...yes or no?

[DeLamar.J]

I think the only reason for no contact would be to break in a shy student. I have seen alot of people drop out there first day because of too much contact. Some of these people would have made great students, exept they were spooked. I think that part being a martial artist, is to be able to understand the personality of each student, and then give them what they need individually, to progress.
Of course contact is needed if they are going to go anywhere, but if they stick with it, and you know how to treat them properly according to there personality, they will be begging for contact.

 

[beauty_in_the_sai]

As a side question, how do you all handle contact when female students are involved? Do you let the women hit each other? Do you put them up against a male student? Do you take them on as an instructor? It can be a dicey situation if not handled properly.

I always got thrown in with the guys. It's more likely a guy is going to attack me on a street than a girl. I've been hit and sparred full contact. I'd rather learn to take it in the safety of my dojang than have the first time I get hit hard be on the street. Women are just as capable as men to fight.

Becky

 

[Blindside]

As a side question, how do you all handle contact when female students are involved? Do you let the women hit each other? Do you put them up against a male student? Do you take them on as an instructor? It can be a dicey situation if not handled properly.

Throw them in with the guys, everyone has equal opportunity to hit each other.

Lamont

 

[Fluffy]

I never did care for point sparring much. I never saw the real point in it. Some tournys wouldn't even let you hit to the head for points. But on the street, everywhere is fair game, not just the chest and head. And, on the street, no one is going to stop the fight and yell "Point!" when you hit your attacker in the head or chest or he hit you. Before anyone points it out, I know I'm a taekwondoist, and usually TKD does point sparring. However, my school barely ever did point sparring. The only time we did was to get ready for a tournament. Just my two cents. Not meaning to offend fluffy, ofc, as he's cool!

Becky

No offence taken. I've been involved with TKD for 21 years, my uncle TKD and Judo for over 35 years, point sparring as been around as long as I can remember.

 

[Fluffy]

Great approach.

We do no contact in the beginning belts, past blocking drills and doing SD techniques on each other at slow speed to learn targeting, body position etc.

Faster contact as rank increases. Orange belts are allowed to join the light contact class(point sparring). Our instructor trainee class is also the place where "dummies" start learning how to take a punch, kick etc. You learn quickly to give when you're hit with a rear kick to the solar plexus as opposed to just standing there and taking it. Techniques on each other are also used to develop control at this level.

Upper ranks/instructor plan on getting hit. At this level you can also be invited to the full contact class. The curriculum and focus are different than SD. SD techniques are done full speed with contact and speed but with control. It still can hurt. Mass Attacks are done full speed, full power but no strikes to dangerous targets such as the throat groin, knees, etc.

As discussed in another thread, I think sparring is very valuable as a tool in a overall training curriculum but it's not the end all the MA training. The rules in sparring can instill a false sense of security because there are rules about how and where you can hit. Real life has no such rules. I do think though, that at some point in training it is important to understand what it's like to get hit.

It is so immportant to learn to take a punch! Does not matter if it is your head, or gut..you are going to get hit. Yes, learn to block, or just move out of the way, but in our arts or on the street, you need to know how to keep your head and optimise the situation.

 

[karatekid1975]

I agree. I am a woman, and I think light contact is "cheap" LOL. I always tell the guys that are afraid to hit me, "If you don't hit me, I'm definitely going to hit you! So you better hit back!" LOL. But I wasn't always like this. I definitely had to work up to it. Now I love sparring the hard-hitters. I totally agree with beauty_in_the_sai.

Anyways, we spar (in TKD) mid to full contact (advanced adults). The kids and beginners (not including white belts), light contact only. In Jujitsu, full contact, unless it's a dangerous technique, then we hold back a little.

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

Definite contact. We are having a big test next Friday. The closer we get to a test, the harder the contact. I have a couple bruises to prove it. Our school believes in the reality of SD.

It takes a certain mind set to be able to train like this. Mr. Speakman told us a person has to be a little off to really enjoy this stuff. I agree. I'm thankful for real contact.

My $.02

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?

-Albert Einstein

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

Ultimately, full contact sparring is necessary if you're going to learn how to fight and survive. Anyone who's only being taught how to dish it out and not how to take it is only receiving half the training. My two cents.

Primarily because contact changes everything; not just the technique and your ability to use it, but the psychology and strategy, as well. I have come up against people that were, arguably, better than me, but were scared to trade blows; I have also had my *** handed to me by no-talent, non-scary-looking-fellows that had heart for days, a little alcohol in them and a lot of motivation.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

My approach is very simple. If you never hit anyone in practice, when it comes time to hit someone for real, you will not be able to hit them for real. Likewise, if you never receive a blow, when you actually get hit, it will not only be a shock to you, it will seriously delay your reaction time.

True. At some point, all martial artists have to have some form of contact, otherwise they are fooling themselves. Boxing in college did that for me, and boy was it a revelation!

 

[MJS]

As a side question, how do you all handle contact when female students are involved? Do you let the women hit each other? Do you put them up against a male student? Do you take them on as an instructor? It can be a dicey situation if not handled properly.

Its important to have female students spar, work techniques, etc. with male students. In a SD situation, the majority of the time, you're going to see a male attack a female, so its good to be used to a larger, stronger opponent.

Mike

 

[MJS]

Yes AND no.

For lower ranks that have not had much experience, I don't want them making contact at all, for ippon / kihon kumite, and I don't have them free sparring just yet. Instead, I'll make the emphasis that I want them to punch / kick with full speed / power, but stop it within 6 inches of the target, at first. As they become more experienced as beginners, I'll shorten that distance. I NEVER want to see a half-hearted technique thrown.

This is a good point. IMO, the beginning student should be learning to basics first and gradually have the contact introduced to them. I would usually dummy for them at first, making sure that everyone understood what they were to do, and then add everyone into the mix with control.

Mike

 

[green meanie]

Our sparring comes in small doses over time too. It has to or I'd scare all my new students away. I start them out learning takedowns and groundwork and then escapes that bring them back to their feet so the training kind of brings them full circle. That's the first stage of the training and there is little or no striking during that time. The contact sparring is just wrestling around for submissions.

Next, we start doing some of the stand up work and we start to introduce striking and kicking but it's in small doses. We try to control what will happen until they get the hang of it. We'll do things like, 'striking but no kicking' then 'striking and kicking but no head shots', and then 'striking and kicking in the stand up but no striking on the ground'. So at this stage its full contact fighting on the feet and submission wrestling when it hits the floor.

Lastly, we start to introduce the full contact element into our groundwork. By now they're confident in they're abilities to move around on the ground and they've learned that they can handle it when they have to take shots to the head and body. It's just a matter of bringing all together now.