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quote \”CaliWT\:IKF has terrible distribution….try a Barnes and Noble or other big book store at a large shopping mall. Wait…your in Hawaii, do you have large shopping malls there?If you do find it at a market, buy it, so the stock clerk keeps ordering it.
We’ve got the standard cookie cutter mall, a Wal Mart, and a Borders books lol but I’ve gotta head out that way tomorrow to take my fiancee to see Constantine so I’ll check Borders and see if they have it.
This type of problem was very common in my sparring classes, and the way to get past it (like many have said already) is to build up to the free sparring. If someone has never had any experience sparring before, it’s almost cruel to throw them into the mix without some type of an introduction.
Level 2 is when I will start having students do VERY controlled sparring in normal classes because they now understand several defensive techniques that can be used in a free-sparring situation. One way I will do this is have one student throw a set number of punches while their partner only defends (all with boxing gloves/sparring gear on). This allows a student new to sparring to slowly be introduced to the concept of possibly getting hit without bringing the stress level too high. The drills can then evolve into adding additional strikes, mixing of leg and hand techniques, etc. Slowly we ratchet up the stress level with the general rule that a student should successfully defend about 70% of the time. This allows for some contact to occur (you need to know what it’s like to get hit), but also keep their spirits up because they are able to defend again most of the attacks.
As students get better I will move to a more free-sparring situation, perhaps only allowing hand techniques for one minute. Again, slowly bring up the stress level, and students will become more comfortable.
When you get into the sparring classes, I’m very vigilant to make sure that students are paired up correctly. Some like to go harder than others, and I will let them pair off according to skill on their own. If I notice someone is getting creamed I will either: 1) tell the more advanced student to bring it down a notch, or 2) have them switch partners. It’s important to note that students should spar with people better than themselves because they will learn a lot, but it should never get out of hand. Toward the end of a fight class I will put two students in the middle and let them go at about 70% speed. This is a very controlled environment because there are only two students sparring, and I can call time at any point. There are times when some students will go almost 100%, and if I have two students that can take it they’re more than welcome to beat the snot out of one another (and usually they enjoy it).
I will also try and mismatch students in these pairings, pitting more advanced students against beginners. Again, you always need to spar someone better than yourself to get better, but I make sure that my more advanced students know that this isn’t a free card to look good and beat on someone. My more experienced students will know that it’s a learning exercise, and they will adjust accordingly.
If for whatever reason things get out of hand (normally one person going to far), I will immediately call time and punish the offending party with some good ol’ fashioned PT (laying with their feet off the ground 6\” for a few minutes usually does the trick). This helps keep everyone in check.
Yes, sometimes students get annoyed that they aren’t always paired up with someone of equal level, but that’s part of training. A more advanced student can focus on good technique, or work on different defensive moves while the beginner gets used to standing toe-to-toe with someone. I also like to handicap advanced students (e.g. only allowing them to punch, no kicks), to keep them on their toes.
It comes down to the instructor taking control and making sure the student is comfortable. If he isn’t for whatever reason, it is the duty of the instructor to step in and bring that person up to the point where they see sparring as a learning experience.
I think advanced students miss out on a great benifit from being paired with begineers. The better student should work on things like leading the fight, timing, and feints or set ups. They should not need to just klobber the weak. An example would be attempting a more complicated non-damageing trapping or control move but also the save if the move fails. The beginner may get trapped, but as they get better, you have to practice recovery from your own failed attempt….
being an instructor also is great experience in this regard.
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