A TIME FOR SPARRING.

At its core, any problem, be it violent or non violent, is solved by good decision making and appropriate action.

Hey guys,

Salah returned to training last Thursday and he has asked if we can do a few sessions of active sparring.

So on Thursday, if you are turning up, bring a groin guard, as you all know I am not a big fan of P.P.E. in sparring, it is better to just work at 70%, because the threat of being hurt is a real thing and something we need to be aware of and to be working against, but being kicked in the knackers in training is just a bit too ‘Hard Core’ for my money.

Think about how you wish to go about sparring, there is more to it than you may imagine.

We are all aware that Martial Arts training can have positive value in non Martial Art situations.

Why did we think this is?

At its core, any problem, be it violent or non-violent, is solved by good decision making and appropriate action.

To be able to do this, make situationally appropriate decisions and then act accordingly, we need to understand the situation and be aware of our available options.

To do this we must ask good questions, I.e. What is this situation, what EXACTLY is going on here, and what are my options?

Bad decisions arise when we do not know EXACTLY what is going on and as such choose an inappropriate action.

Life and sparring.

Training, be it Martial Arts or otherwise, is fundamentally about developing numerous different options for similar situations.

Sparring is a way for us to cycle through these numerous different options to find which available options are appropriate and then which of these appropriate options is the most functional.

Sparring is not about learning how to do something physical or technical, which is the function of training, sparring is about resolving problems with options we already have in the Toolbox, which is the art of practice.

When sparring is approached as an opportunity to practice decision making, it is an extremely valuable use of our time.

When Sparring is approached as a way to learn how to do something, no matter what that ‘something’ is, it is missing the point completely and is of limited if not zero value out in the real world.

In Life or Self-Defence.

When we engage in a sparring session we must first of all ask ourselves ‘What is going on here, what is my objective or desired outcome, and what are my options’?

Then we start sparring.

If we do not do this we are just playing, and while playing is fun and enjoyable, it does not solve problems.