Martial Arts: Sparring with opposite sex
DodgerBlue19891
Posts: 18 Member
Would you be comfortable sparring against someone from the opposite sex?
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Replies
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I did it for a year with no issues. If anything the guys hated working with me because my wrists are super flexible and they had to be perfect to pull off a wrist lock.0
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I did too. The only issue I had was with one guy who tried to use his weight instead of his skill to try to subdue me. Every time. His sweat was so acrid I nearly gagged. It really pissed him off that despite a having 50lbs on me, he couldn't pin me.0
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I prefer it. The girls in my class are either completely half assed or one is a scrapper and goes for dirty points. Once the guys get over the 'i can't kick a LADY' mindset, they are much, much better to spar with.0
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Yes. I'm more concerned in differences of weight than genitalia.0
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Alatariel75 wrote: »
How YOU doin?0 -
Have many times. Its not a big deal. If it's stand up you can always work on footwork, putting combos together, and head movement instead of blasting away if that's your concern.
If it's ground work just focus on flowing with the go instead of muscling position and submissions. This is something you'll learn regardless as you gain more experience.0 -
Good Point0
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My main issue with sparring with (mostly inexperienced) men is power. Some guys don't want to hit a girl and go 10% (and slowly) all the time, and others get their egos bruised if you're more skillful and crank the power up way beyond what's appropriate to the session. If we're trying to focus on a new leg kick checking technique, punching me in the face as hard as you possibly can isn't really helping.
There were some guys at my gym that were great to spar with, but generally I much prefer sparring with other women. I was super lucky to have about 20 competitive female fighters (at least 10 champions, off the top of my head) at my gym, so finding a skilled partner was never an issue.
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MakePeasNotWar wrote: »My main issue with sparring with (mostly inexperienced) men is power. Some guys don't want to hit a girl and go 10% (and slowly) all the time, and others get their egos bruised if you're more skillful and crank the power up way beyond what's appropriate to the session. If we're trying to focus on a new leg kick checking technique, punching me in the face as hard as you possibly can isn't really helping.
There were some guys at my gym that were great to spar with, but generally I much prefer sparring with other women. I was super lucky to have about 20 competitive female fighters (at least 10 champions, off the top of my head) at my gym, so finding a skilled partner was never an issue.
This seems to make it nearly impossible. You're complaining if they don't hit hard enough and in the next sentence you're complaining that they hit too hard0 -
MakePeasNotWar wrote: »My main issue with sparring with (mostly inexperienced) men is power. Some guys don't want to hit a girl and go 10% (and slowly) all the time, and others get their egos bruised if you're more skillful and crank the power up way beyond what's appropriate to the session. If we're trying to focus on a new leg kick checking technique, punching me in the face as hard as you possibly can isn't really helping.
There were some guys at my gym that were great to spar with, but generally I much prefer sparring with other women. I was super lucky to have about 20 competitive female fighters (at least 10 champions, off the top of my head) at my gym, so finding a skilled partner was never an issue.
This seems to make it nearly impossible. You're complaining if they don't hit hard enough and in the next sentence you're complaining that they hit too hard
If the coach says 40%, it's 40%.
30% is OK, 50% is fine, but barely touching or going all out (when the coach says 40%) is not cool. I'm not talking about subtle differences that someone could mistake for what was asked for.
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MakePeasNotWar wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »My main issue with sparring with (mostly inexperienced) men is power. Some guys don't want to hit a girl and go 10% (and slowly) all the time, and others get their egos bruised if you're more skillful and crank the power up way beyond what's appropriate to the session. If we're trying to focus on a new leg kick checking technique, punching me in the face as hard as you possibly can isn't really helping.
There were some guys at my gym that were great to spar with, but generally I much prefer sparring with other women. I was super lucky to have about 20 competitive female fighters (at least 10 champions, off the top of my head) at my gym, so finding a skilled partner was never an issue.
This seems to make it nearly impossible. You're complaining if they don't hit hard enough and in the next sentence you're complaining that they hit too hard
If the coach says 40%, it's 40%.
30% is OK, 50% is fine, but barely touching or going all out (when the coach says 40%) is not cool. I'm not talking about subtle differences that someone could mistake for what was asked for.
ETA to clarify, I'm not talking about all, or even most male sparring partners. I will spar with pretty much anyone once, and I spar regularly with most of the male fighters within about 20 lbs of my weight class.
I just find that many male beginners (in my own experience) get too emotional sparring against women and either won't use ANY power or get frustrated and do anything they can to "win", including throwing haymakers at people half their size.
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MakePeasNotWar wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »My main issue with sparring with (mostly inexperienced) men is power. Some guys don't want to hit a girl and go 10% (and slowly) all the time, and others get their egos bruised if you're more skillful and crank the power up way beyond what's appropriate to the session. If we're trying to focus on a new leg kick checking technique, punching me in the face as hard as you possibly can isn't really helping.
There were some guys at my gym that were great to spar with, but generally I much prefer sparring with other women. I was super lucky to have about 20 competitive female fighters (at least 10 champions, off the top of my head) at my gym, so finding a skilled partner was never an issue.
This seems to make it nearly impossible. You're complaining if they don't hit hard enough and in the next sentence you're complaining that they hit too hard
If the coach says 40%, it's 40%.
30% is OK, 50% is fine, but barely touching or going all out (when the coach says 40%) is not cool. I'm not talking about subtle differences that someone could mistake for what was asked for.
ETA to clarify, I'm not talking about all, or even most male sparring partners. I will spar with pretty much anyone once, and I spar regularly with most of the male fighters within about 20 lbs of my weight class.
I just find that many male beginners (in my own experience) get too emotional sparring against women and either won't use ANY power or get frustrated and do anything they can to "win", including throwing haymakers at people half their size.
Fair enough. My only counter would be that those same male noobs will experience the same issues with paired with a male partner. Noobs do noob crap, regardless of sex.0 -
MakePeasNotWar wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »My main issue with sparring with (mostly inexperienced) men is power. Some guys don't want to hit a girl and go 10% (and slowly) all the time, and others get their egos bruised if you're more skillful and crank the power up way beyond what's appropriate to the session. If we're trying to focus on a new leg kick checking technique, punching me in the face as hard as you possibly can isn't really helping.
There were some guys at my gym that were great to spar with, but generally I much prefer sparring with other women. I was super lucky to have about 20 competitive female fighters (at least 10 champions, off the top of my head) at my gym, so finding a skilled partner was never an issue.
This seems to make it nearly impossible. You're complaining if they don't hit hard enough and in the next sentence you're complaining that they hit too hard
If the coach says 40%, it's 40%.
30% is OK, 50% is fine, but barely touching or going all out (when the coach says 40%) is not cool. I'm not talking about subtle differences that someone could mistake for what was asked for.
ETA to clarify, I'm not talking about all, or even most male sparring partners. I will spar with pretty much anyone once, and I spar regularly with most of the male fighters within about 20 lbs of my weight class.
I just find that many male beginners (in my own experience) get too emotional sparring against women and either won't use ANY power or get frustrated and do anything they can to "win", including throwing haymakers at people half their size.
Fair enough. My only counter would be that those same male noobs will experience the same issues with paired with a male partner. Noobs do noob crap, regardless of sex.
Yes. I played on the men's water polo team in high school, a sport most people where I come from don't start playing earlier. The years I played JV, the guys reacted as described, especially towards the beginning of each game (novelty of guarding a girl). Varsity--older and more experienced--was just all brutality all the time. Which is most of the point of the sport.
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Good partners really make or break a class0
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MakePeasNotWar wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »My main issue with sparring with (mostly inexperienced) men is power. Some guys don't want to hit a girl and go 10% (and slowly) all the time, and others get their egos bruised if you're more skillful and crank the power up way beyond what's appropriate to the session. If we're trying to focus on a new leg kick checking technique, punching me in the face as hard as you possibly can isn't really helping.
There were some guys at my gym that were great to spar with, but generally I much prefer sparring with other women. I was super lucky to have about 20 competitive female fighters (at least 10 champions, off the top of my head) at my gym, so finding a skilled partner was never an issue.
This seems to make it nearly impossible. You're complaining if they don't hit hard enough and in the next sentence you're complaining that they hit too hard
If the coach says 40%, it's 40%.
30% is OK, 50% is fine, but barely touching or going all out (when the coach says 40%) is not cool. I'm not talking about subtle differences that someone could mistake for what was asked for.
ETA to clarify, I'm not talking about all, or even most male sparring partners. I will spar with pretty much anyone once, and I spar regularly with most of the male fighters within about 20 lbs of my weight class.
I just find that many male beginners (in my own experience) get too emotional sparring against women and either won't use ANY power or get frustrated and do anything they can to "win", including throwing haymakers at people half their size.
That's really interesting. I can see the first group just wanting to be cautious with women because outside of a gym, hitting a woman is what low-lifes do (whereas men hitting men is somehow considered more acceptable in certain places and contexts). What are the latter group like when fighting other men (and/or outside the gym)?0 -
I usually spar with the other girls but that's mostly cause they are closer to my height I'm really short the other reason is out of my beginner class I'm the most experienced and the the newer girls are more comfortable with another female.0
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All of my instructors have been men. All very respectful and will only accept as much from all of his students. I don't have to worry about any one of the opposite sex getting out of line. If you are fearful of it than face it, cuz you need too. My purpose in learning self defense isn't just exercise.0
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No, and I even know some women who'd kick my butt on their worse day, but still...DodgerBlue19891 wrote: »Would you be comfortable sparring against someone from the opposite sex?
I just could never do that.
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there are a lot of badasses in my class0
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My instructor is a man, and not only does he not treat me with kid gloves, he pushes me further than I think I can go. He's strong, and it shows, but he knows how much power to use to make me work for it, but not overwhelm me. A lot of the guys in class have solid hits, and they don't treat me like a women, but a sparing partner. Only half the women actually put power behind their hits, which is frustrating when you're their to learn to not just hit, but block.
So sparing with guys tends to be better all around where I train.0 -
I think women tend to hit harder when going against a guy0
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As my Sensei often tells me, "There is no gender in karate." I'm one of only a few females. I'm often the only higher-ranking female. I spar men. No big deal. I don't even think about it. If you're thinking about the gender of your opponent and adjusting your style to fit a perceived stereotype, your mind is in the wrong place.0
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Everyone is a badass in my class.0
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When I was doing martial arts, there were very few girls/women, so I got used to sparring with the boys/men. I can take a hit with the best of them; during black belt tests, I would often volunteer to spar the candidates because I knew I wouldn't get hurt. I also grew up with most of the boys/men in the classes, so by the time puberty hit, I had always been "one of the guys." More like a sister than a female opponent!
I'll never forget at one test, I opted for not a chest protector because I hate them and one woman looked at me and said, "Oh. You're one of those." I wanted to be like: One of what? A woman who enjoys her sport? Come on now.0 -
My karate dojo is pretty much 50/50 male/female. Our instructor pairs senior students with juniors for sparring and doesn't pay any attention to sex when doing so. She's always on the lookout for students either showing off or not trying. I will occasionally have problems with a male opponent being condescending but having a good instructor takes care of a lot of these problems.
I've heard stories of someone who was kicked out of the dojo because of his consistently disrespectful attitude toward his female sparring partners but that was before my time.0 -
My only martial arts experience going against somebody was aikido, which is all about flowing movement and timing, not strength, so we had guys and gals matched up all the time. The only concern then was height difference could make a big impact.0
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Never, and I know some MMA females who'd kick my butt on their worse day.DodgerBlue19891 wrote: »Would you be comfortable sparring against someone from the opposite sex?
It's not about skill level.
I am from an era where our fathers taught us there is never a right time to hit a female. It's the height of male cowardice.
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I was the second most senior student and most senior female student in our dojo. At 5-4" and 115lbs I had to spar against male students who were one foot taller and 100lbs heavier than me. We had a female sensei and she made it perfectly clear tbat there was no room for egos in the dojo. She trained me to spar in a style appropriate for my size and build and I could hold my own with the guys and had to hold back with more junior students. The only person I ever had a problem with was another female student who had a chip on her shoulder and wanted to prove that she was as tough as the guys. During one training session working on sets of blocks and strikes she hit me so hard in the "chest" that I was bleeding under the muscle and ended up with scar tissue there. I prefered to spar with the guys as they generally had more self control and more awareness of their own strength. Worrying about hitting a woman in karate because she is a woman is not treating her as an equal.
edited to add that when I achieved black belt, with the ratio of men to women at black belt level, we had to spar with the opposite sex. Training with someone at a higher level whatever their sex is the only way to advance.0 -
I always spar with men, I don't have a problem with it and neither do they. I don't have much of a choice in jujitsu as I'm the only women that trains.
In Karate there are just the two of us (women) with about 15 males, but more often that not I have to spar with men here who are 3rd Dan black belts and more advanced than me.
I notice the difference sparring with men when I have boxed (being 120lb) because of the power of the punches, hooks and uppercuts, buts hey its all good fun!!!0
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