Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Whoops! Control in Multiple Opponent Sparring

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One of the strengths of multiple opponent sparring is that it’s less predictable, but that can, predictably, lead to mistakes, and possibly injuries.

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Mike and Nathan decide to gang up on Sam, and Mike’s job is the takedown (the most critical part), and Nathan’s is the beatdown (the easiest, naturally), so Sam is down and loses his headgear. Nathan aids the pinned Sam by punching him about the head, as any good friend would.

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Nathan decides that this punching stuff is for wussies (really, it’s because he just got his nails done, and doesn’t want to mess them up, or something. So he decides to switch it up and show some variety by adding some soccer kick sweetness into this little soiree (that means formal party for you hicks out there), and draws back for maximum power.

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Sam helpfully lifts his pretty chin and intercepts Nathan’s ugly hobbit foot kick on the chin and, getting greedy and gleeful, Nathan decides that’s not enough.

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So he delivers another right to his partner’s face with great form, and draws defeat from the jaws of victory by taking out his pin man.

Are there any lessons here? Besides don’t be the takedown man on Nathan’s team?

On a serious note, no sparring or training partners were injured in the creation of this post. The reason for the lack of injury was control on our part. All of my hombres (that mean, um, guys you fight with, but fist bump afterward in a loose translation from the original Spanish). The most important issue in training, at the end of the day is safety, as it doesn’t matter what you learn if you’re laid up in the hospital with a tube down your throat, and you can quote that (as long as you credit this fine blog).

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2 comments:

Elias said...

I've always found multiple opponent sparring to be like my worst nightmare, every single time. When we do it we don't try to destroy each other, but I take every little pat (or solid punch) seriously.

Nice work!!

I really wish that was the precise meaning for Hombre as well =D

Nathan at TDA Training said...

You're right. The control is the critical part, but the most important recommendation I have is a "referee," someone who can stop the action or guage the danger.

I long ago abandoned straight-up style sparring, but used objectives in the drill, or scenarios. In this case, the idea was (as attackers) to bring down the victim and apply a beat-down. The defenders goal was to avoid it, but also learn what a real attack may bring - hair grabs, stomps, and grappling.

It's an eye-opener.