White belt Sparring and Separated Rib

I disagree with everyone that says you shouldn't spar early on, as long as it is a very controlled situation. It sounds to me like there was a lack of control in this situation, or they thought you may be tougher than you currently are.

The first time I sparred with my Sihing I gave him a shot right to the pills because I only knew how to do a front snapping kick, and had only done it on pads about crotch level. Sparring without clearly laid out rules and expectations is dangerous for all involved. Your Sifu may have just forgotten what it is like to have new people around :)
 
I don't think anyone has said that there's no place for sparring early on. But sparring without having developed some tools or skills to use becomes either practice at being a punching bag, or practice at brawling. What are the appropriate tools, and how long does it take to develop them? Depends on the style, the teacher, and the student... Depending on where I am in an instruction cycle, and the what the student brings -- it might take a couple of classes. Or a couple of months.
 
The question that you may want to ask yourself is a question I am surprised no one has asked yet. Why isn't there any other karateka under purple belt in your class?? There must be a reason. Maybe the reason is that they didn't like being a punching bag either.
 
Umm that's not always the best judge of an organization IMO. I mean with our school for instance, there are 2 classes each week in 2 different locations. The Thursday night class was always busier and had more walk ins so to speak as it is a central city location. The Tuesday night classes though are out in the suburbs and for a while (about 5 months) we had no white belts or even low green belts training. It was just mid level greens and above - we go white, green, brown then black - then we started getting one at a time till we now have half a dozen white belts on Tuesday night and that had nothing to do with the instructor or the school and how it operates, just coincidence.
 
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