Sparring in Kempo?

[Tom]

Got a question peeps.

I been out of Kempo for awhile. Kinda ashamed to say that but I wanna start up fresh again. So I go visit a school today and watch a class and it was cool. The teachers there were all wicked nice people too. But when they finished class, I thought something was missing. Then I realized I didn't see them do any sparring.

So the head sensei came up to me after class and he asked me if I liked it. I said I thought the class rocked I just didn't realize they didn't do sparring. He said that they do sparring on Saturday. I said that was cool that they had a day for sparring. I asked if it was a 2 or 3 hour thing, he said no just during class. So I asked him if it was the whole hour classs, he said that the class still does warmups together and still does forms together. So the way I figure it is this school does sparring for maybe 20 minutes a week!! Thats IT!! Is this normal? Cuz I remember doing sparring a lot more back when I was in it.

 

[Blindside]

Some instructors place more importance on it than others, some of us think it is a critical component, other don't. You may be able to supplement the official in-class sessions with some out of class get to gethers with like minded students.

Lamont

 

[Tom]

OK that makes sense. I guess I was expecting all kempo schools to be a lot like the one I used to go to but sure it makes sense that they are different. Thank you Blindside for your input.

 

[kosho]

tom where is your school?

kosho

 

[KempoGuy06]

Got a question peeps.

I been out of Kempo for awhile. Kinda ashamed to say that but I wanna start up fresh again. So I go visit a school today and watch a class and it was cool. The teachers there were all wicked nice people too. But when they finished class, I thought something was missing. Then I realized I didn't see them do any sparring.

So the head sensei came up to me after class and he asked me if I liked it. I said I thought the class rocked I just didn't realize they didn't do sparring. He said that they do sparring on Saturday. I said that was cool that they had a day for sparring. I asked if it was a 2 or 3 hour thing, he said no just during class. So I asked him if it was the whole hour classs, he said that the class still does warmups together and still does forms together. So the way I figure it is this school does sparring for maybe 20 minutes a week!! Thats IT!! Is this normal? Cuz I remember doing sparring a lot more back when I was in it.

My instructor puts a lot more on sparring then the other schools in our organization due. I asked him one day and he said simply that sparring is one of the best tools in the MA's. It teaches hand eye coordination, helps you learn what you can do effectively in a fight, helps with footwork and ect...

We have a set sparring class at my school. 1 hr every tuesday. We also do sparring in class every now and then

B

 

[Danjo]

Got a question peeps.

I been out of Kempo for awhile. Kinda ashamed to say that but I wanna start up fresh again. So I go visit a school today and watch a class and it was cool. The teachers there were all wicked nice people too. But when they finished class, I thought something was missing. Then I realized I didn't see them do any sparring.

So the head sensei came up to me after class and he asked me if I liked it. I said I thought the class rocked I just didn't realize they didn't do sparring. He said that they do sparring on Saturday. I said that was cool that they had a day for sparring. I asked if it was a 2 or 3 hour thing, he said no just during class. So I asked him if it was the whole hour classs, he said that the class still does warmups together and still does forms together. So the way I figure it is this school does sparring for maybe 20 minutes a week!! Thats IT!! Is this normal? Cuz I remember doing sparring a lot more back when I was in it.

What style of Kempo are we talking about here? I'm guessing it's SKK given your location. If so, they seem to have way less emphasis on sparring than they did years ago from what I'm told. THey tend to be more interested in not losing students/revenue than in training hard core fighters. You might hunt around for an MMA school in your area if you're looking to fight.

 

[LawDog]

There are many New England Kempo/Kenpo schools that still strive to produce fighters. Most of the Cerio and Pesare lineage still do. As for the SKK lineage, I know that most of those who are from the original first and second generation still do. I can not answer for the newer generations, maybe someone else can do that.

 

[John Bishop]

How often you spar is not as important as "how you spar".
One school may spar some every class, but only light contact point fighting style.
And another school may only spar two or three times a month, but with hard contact, multiple opponents, and MMA type rules.
I'd go with the second school. Sure a lot of point fighting will improve your cardio, speed, and timing. But it's not a realistic way of fighting. And it won't prepare you for what happens when you get grabbed, choked, or taken down. Or attacked by multiple attackers. It also won't prepare you for the momentary shock of taking a full contact punch or kick.
So when you check out how often a school spars, also check out how they spar.