The Most Important Training Activity in Martial Arts

When it comes to applying your training, alive sparring is the most important training activity in martial arts. For some odd reason, most martial artists don't seem to put enough emphasis on sparring. Whether its over-emphasis on forms, static drills, belt testing or talk of theory, sparring seems to take a back seat.

Although some exercises help condition, others develop combinations of movements, some aid in relaxation, and still others speed improvement, others develop reflexive response, sparring is the one all-important activity that integrates and helps to gauge your progress.

Whether you practice a combat sports competitively or you are training for self-defense, you have to practice as closely to how you will need to respond. You have to know what it feels like to hit someone and how it is to take a hit. And you hit your training partner because you want to make each other better.

Nearly every martial artist develops some kind of comfort zone. But when push comes to shove, comfort and familiarity doesn't stay with you the same as it does in pattern-based drills. Your opponent's movements break your rhythm forcing movements to become desperate and rigid.

Sparring not only hones your timing and judgment of distance in punching against a live and elusive target, it grooms you to make exactly the right combination of moves in a split- second-instinctively, in REAL time. What's more, it also changes the way your mind and body responds to being taken out of your comfort zone. You become accustomed to the uncooperative, "alive" broken movements that distinguish the authentic unpredictable nature of  fighting.

Since its the most important training activity a martial artist should do, does it also qualify as the only activity a we should do? Of course not. A balanced approach is always the answer.

Tweet

When it comes to applying your training, alive sparring is the most important training activity in martial arts. For some odd reason, most martial artists don't seem to put enough emphasis on sparring. Whether its over-emphasis on forms, static drills, belt testing or talk of theory, sparring seems to take a back seat. Although some exercises help condition, others develop combinations of movements, some aid in relaxation, and still others speed improvement, others develop reflexive response, sparring is the one all-important activity that integrates and helps to gauge your progress. Whether you practice a combat sports competitively or you are training for self-defense, you have to practice as closely to how you will need to respond. You have to know what it feels like to hit someone and how it is to take a hit. And you hit your training partner because you want to make each other better. Nearly every martial artist develops some kind of comfort zone. But when push comes to shove, comfort and familiarity doesn't stay with you the same as it does in pattern-based drills. Your opponent's movements break your rhythm forcing movements to become desperate and rigid. Sparring not only hones your timing and judgment of distance in punching against a live and elusive target, it grooms you to make exactly the right combination of moves in a split- second-instinctively, in REAL time. What's more, it also changes the way your mind and body responds to being taken out of your comfort zone. You become accustomed to the uncooperative, "alive" broken movements that distinguish the authentic unpredictable nature of  fighting. Since its the most important training activity a martial artist should do, does it also qualify as the only activity a we should do? Of course not. A balanced approach is always the answer.