Hypothetically, there’s no immediate option to escape a person who has attacked you and is intent on causing you further harm. Do you think you would be able to fight back and create an opportunity to escape? Do you have a plan for if things go sideways and you end up on the ground with them raining blows down upon you? Can you fight to survive until your last breath?
Yeah I’m always humbled and learn so much when I spar. Timing, distance, and the ability to read your opponent I find are best developed in sparring. No matter how many times you do a drill it feels completely different trying to execute the techniques in sparring.
And I think you’re absolutely right about technique as well. Technique doesn’t win a fight. When fights get messy the fighter who can has a better foundation and drive and can perform the basics well will be in a better position to come out on top.
Completely agree, sparring is really the key to becoming a good fighter. I also find it’s valuable to spar with people doing different styles if you have a chance. Everybody has a preferred way to fight, but it’s good to be aware of what other people are trying to do. I started with striking, and a friend of mine did Judo. We did some sparring and I realized that I could get thrown easily because I lacked awareness. So, I ended up doing some judo for a few years to learn to defend against that. Striking is still my preferred approach, but now I’m much better at not getting tripped or thrown when it does come to grappling.
I’m currently trying to find a feasable way to do that. My main issue is that I would want to be able to strike and grapple during sparring to make it more realistic. I’m not saying that judo sparring for example wouldn’t be valuable, just for me I’m not sure it would be worth the time and money right now. We already do grappling work at my school and although it isn’t anywhere near judo level I’m not too worried about holding my own against a grappler. Maybe an MMA gym is something I need. I wish I could train like an MMA fighter or a spec ops soldier all day though lol.
I reached out to a muay thai school in my area and asked if I could participate in their sparring sessions without taking classes… I never heard back lmao
For sure, something like MMA sparring is probably the closest you can get to actual fighting within a safe context. Unfortunately, a lot of schools tend to be insular because instructors are afraid they’ll lose students to others. I’ve always found this to be pretty silly. If you’re not confident enough in your art to actually try it against other schools that says a lot.
Exactly. The focus should be on learning and improving before all else. Sell-outs and inflated egos are everywhere unfortunately