A Lecture on Light-Contact Sparring vs Full-Contact Sparring
About once a year, as new students come in, I have to give the sparring lecture. As a school owner, the amount of contact to allow when students spar is always a tricky subject.
For one thing, most insurance policies for martial arts schools don't allow much contact, and you have to make your policies clear or else you can be in big trouble if someone gets hurt.
But some other variables come into play when you're a student:
1. Students can't train if they're hurt. If you spar someone and you don't care how hard you kick or hit them, you can put them out of class with one stupid move. Too many people come in and swing for the fences. Even some black belts enjoy showing beginning students who's boss. Once, I saw a black belt crack a beginner's rib the very first time this new guy sparred. The new student dropped out of class very quickly. The black belt didn't really do it maliciously--he just wasn't thinking. I know a black belt who once dropped out of another school because he was "...
Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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