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Is Sparring Practice In Martial Arts A Waste Of Time?
 Does non-contact point sparring actually decrease your ability to defend yourself in a real situation?
After all, you’re pulling punches, avoiding eye gouges, bone breaking, wrist locks and the like. How can you learn to defend yourself when you’re restricting your options?
And what if the fight ends up on the ground? All your skills at dancing around in a padded helmet isn’t going to help you get out of a brutal rear mount arm crank!
Or Is It…?
If you take a good, objective look at it…
Sparring May Be The Most Perfect Martial Arts Exercise Ever
I won’t lie to you—I’m in favor of sparring. I think there are no other exercises in Martial Arts that can accomplish as much in as little time as good sparring practice.
Here’s why…
(And bear in mind, I had to keep this article short to prevent it from turning into a book-length discourse!
What If You Could Combine All Your Training Needs Into One Easy Exercise?
Think I’m exaggerating? Sparring practice improves a wide variety of essential Martial Arts requirements all at once.
Consider this short list of Sparring Benefits.
Faster Reflexes
The ability to react instantly gives you the freedom to think and plan under pressure. Quick reflexes allows you to take control of the situation.
Improved Timing & Distancing
Sparring trains you to eliminate unnecessary movement by moving only when and as fast as you need to. This makes you less predictable and harder to read. You seem faster to your opponent. Your ability to accurately judge distance increases your speed because you do not have to consciously stop and assess the situation.
Improved Accuracy
It is relatively easy to attack a stationary target. It takes a special, acquired skill to attack a moving target with exact precision. Sparring practice develops the skill to make your attacks at the right place, the right time with minimal margin of error.
Instinct
Sparring helps you develop the ability to sense, or "just know" how to move in on, or around your opponent. The more time you spend sparring, the better able you are to "feel" what your opponent is going to do through experience in similar sparring situations.
Increased Endurance
Martial Arts Sparring just might be the perfect cardio workout! During all that movement, you’re playing a game of physical chess in your mind, and that game is FUN! Because you’re mind is into the game, you don’t as easily notice the effect sparring is having on your endurance.
Improved Balance
Repeated shifting of your weight develops better control of your movements, which translates into improved balance. High kicks and spinning attacks all require good balance.
Stress Release
Combine the cardio benefits of sparring with the mental discipline involved, and you have the perfect stress reliever! Sparring helps you learn to accomplish difficult tasks while in a state of practiced, relaxed energy.
Quick Thinking Under Pressure
Sparring forces you to learn how to make quick choices while under pressure. You become adept at considering options and remember useful information during stressful situations.
Having Fun!
To put it bluntly, good Martial Arts Sparring practice is just plain fun! Sparring is, after all, a game much like chess where your various techniques are the pieces on the board. It requires strategy and acquired skills. As you learn these, and become adept at using them, the exercise aspects of sparring are more enjoyable when they become aspects of a game.
All of which mean…
Sparring Is The Perfect Way To Improve
Your Martial Arts Skills!
Of course, you might think all of these benefits can be attained in other ways. Well, you’re right, they can. But what other Martial Arts exercise helps you to develop all of these skills—and more—all at one time?
Learn How You Can Improve Your Sparring Ability Through These Articles And Resources…
Sparring Strategies
Developing a competition strategy -- article by Sang H. Kim.
Strategy, Tactics, Techniques
A selection of Sparring instructional DVDs from Turtle Press.
Basic Sparring Strategy
The strategic science to sparring, article from Taekwondo Junkie
Sparring Strategy - Indepth
Article that goes beyond the basics, from TKD Tutor
Ultimate Sparring Sparring principles and practices - book by Jonathan Mayberry
Freestyle Sparring by Woo Jin Jung
Freestyle sparring provides the tools you need to develop and refine your fighting skills.
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