Any advice on sparring? In the self defense class I'm in they have some sparring sessions.?

Question

Need advice on how to get better at it.

Answer 1

just do your best ;)

Leave the rest to your sosai / sempai / trainer to fix what's wrong with you after that :)

Answer 2

Don't be afraid of getting hit. It's bound to happen, and the more comfortable you get with the idea of it, the more you will be able to build confidence. Just practice, practice, practice it, and you will get better.

Answer 3

Uh well that's why you go to the class.. to become better so I dont know why your asking but you should be agressive and I usually try a lot of head shots. I dont know if your doing grappling or just standup so I cant help you too much.

Answer 4

Managing your stress level is the key.  Basically, it's done through breath control, but there are some pretty advanced chigung exercises to get the most out of the stress and prevent it from becoming distress.

Chest breathing, or more specifically, fire breathing, will energize and adrenalize your body, increase your reaction speed, and speed, strength, and power.  Reactions under .10 seconds are possible.  But too much, and you'll over-react or burn out, and even at its best, only gross movements are possible at high speed.

Slow abdominal breathing will calm you, "water breath", but too much and you may not even react to getting hit!  Optimally, you'll be calm enough to see your opponent's attack as they begin or before they begin.  And you'll react with the appropriate level of speed, energy and force.  You'll need to gauge your body's reaction and use its natural fight or flight reaction to its best advantage--sort of like managing the throttle on a car's engine.

There are many other factors, of course, which I'm assuming are taken care of, correct practice of basics, a body well conditioned for contact, well-developed and strong fundamentals, especially stance, blocking, strikes, punches and kicking.  But I think managing the fear and the energy come first!

Answer 5

you've been executing your techniques in the air and on the bag but now you will execute  them on a real opponent. To be successful you must be able to judge distance between you and your opponent. If you are not close enough to your opponent you will be reaching for him or her  when you throw your technique and you wont generate power.  You must be defensive when sparring, a good opponent will be looking for a target and if your defensive skills are good you will give him or her a hard time and it will be you finding a target. you also need endurance without it you can't win. mental toughness is not enough;build your endurance. Sparring is important without it you would be in trouble in a real fight on the street or in the ring.

Answer 6

Ummm.. Stay calm/focused. Breathe constantly. Remember to use all your limbs i.e. Elbows/knees/legs etc. if allowed.

Don't be afraid. Conquer the butterflies in the stomach if you have them.

KEEP YOUR GUARD UP.

And yeah... experience/practice.

Answer 7

Gracie JiuJitsu pretty much said it. That's the point of going.

Trying to maintain calm, regulate your breathing, and being aggressive are all good tips.

As GJJ also mentioned, without mentioning when kind of sparring you're doing leaves us at a bit of a disadvantage. Specific tips are more difficult to come up with.