Point Sparring, Part II

SecondMidnight · Post by **SecondMidnight** » Fri Dec 10, 1999 9:52 am

Greetings - I am an infrequent visitor to this message forum, but I am glad to participate.

I am glad to see the variety of opinions about this subject of point sparring. I'd have to aggree with those who state that it is an impractical approach to martial arts for self-defense purposes. It's a game by design. It just uses martial arts techniques to play it. They can be used in a variety of ways. Everything else is just a detail of this fact.

Is the premise of this discussion surrounding its validity as a focus of martial art? Many find it a fun activity, whether or not it is practical. Self-defense techniques are a different focus and require different methodologies. I think it is important that we keep all this in a proper perspective, but also keep our minds open to different focuses for the arts.

$0.02

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Mr. D. Williams, 2nd Dan
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Ken T · Post by **Ken T** » Fri Dec 10, 1999 11:52 am

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know, spared with Mary S last night and she bounced all over the place.

Told you I'd do it Mary.

Ken

Mary S · Post by **Mary S** » Fri Dec 10, 1999 1:05 pm

Ken...you failed to mention the reason I was bouncing was because I was hitting the floor so frequently...a body does tend to bounce after about the 10th time of being swept. (oh, and don't worry, the cut on my face will heal...and I WILL get you back) :-)

Actually it was a great class last night with a really great partner and I can honestly say I truly enjoyed being batted around like a cat with a mouse!!!

Gary-san - just a note, Ken is a really big guy and I thought about you (in particular) and others last night while we were sparring. He is bigger than me, stronger than me and moves quite fast. I was at a loss as to how to be the dominant person in our match. Thinking of what you and others had written,I tried to mix my sparring up a bit by (1) standing my ground (2) bouncing, and (3) thinking of just running away!!

I found the standing ground difficult with a much larger opponent and while some of my blocks and punches were effective, Ken and I clashed an awful lot with our kicks and knee strikes. The bouncing seemed to work a bit better (get in, get out) but it seems I still hit the floor a lot anyway (plus Ken reads the Forums and knew right away what I was doing) and finally I was just too exhausted to run...the variety of the first two does seem to be the way to go - mixing it up and trying to throw your opponent off your rhythm. I will just have to keep practicing!!!

Thanks everyone for the great advice flowing through this thread. Oh yeah, and Ken... anytime!! :-)

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