Not everyone believes in hard sparring… but I do!
In this video, I’ll share two important benefits of sparring, plus three tips to make sure you get the most out of your training time.
Of course, safety is always the main goal in self-defense… and that includes during sparring. But if you can find a way to incorporate a little calculated risk, I think the rewards are well worth it.
You can watch the video below or scroll down for the transcript. Happy training!
Hard Sparring Tips
Howdy! Ando here from Happy Life Martial Arts. Got a question the other day. Do you really need hard sparring to be the best martial artist you can be?
Yes, I believe you do!
I’d say hard sparring is the gold standard of training. It’s the most effective way, if not the only way, to reveal the deepest wisdom of martial arts knowledge and to reveal the most honest picture of who you really are.
Now, not everyone agrees with that, of course, including some of my own teachers, but they never watch my videos, so I’m going to give you two reasons why they’re wrong!
I’ve also got three tips on how to get the most out of your sparring sessions, because I don’t want you, or me, getting punched in the face any more than we have to.
Reasons for Hard Sparring
Reason #1 is psychological. Hard sparring prepares you for a hard life.
Let’s be honest, most of us don’t get into real fights very often—or hopefully, ever!—but our training should still prepare us to manage difficulty of any kind. Hard sparring teaches you to keep a clear head under pressure, face fears, take action, and move forward through failure and pain.
So, be aware that the level of pressure you put on yourself in training will prepare you for that same level of pressure in life. If you do light contact sparring, great! You’ll be prepared for the lighter challenges life throws at you. But if you go a little harder, I think you’ll be better prepared for the harder challenges that come your way.
Reason #2 is physical. Hard sparring gives you the best feedback to guide all of your other training. Even if you only spar hard once a week or once every couple of months, what you learn in that session should influence everything else you do.
It my experience, training alone and training partner drills are both important, but if that’s all you do, it can lead to delusion. Sparring, on the other hand, offers you a clear picture of what you can do and what you can’t do.
If you get hit, you get hit. If you fall, you fall. It’s honest. That’s why—more than forms, bag work, or partner drills—it’s the gold standard.
For example, I can tell you a thousand times to keep your hands up to protect your head, but if you never get punched in the face, you’ll never do it.
Good habits are built on experience. Bad habits are built on a lack of experience.
That’s why even one or two punches to the face is worth a thousand reminders to keep your hands up.
Another example. Maybe you practice combinations with a partner. You punch-punch-kick, stop, and let your partner do the same to you. Then one day, you’re in a real fight and you punch-punch-kick, stop, and the bad guy picks you up and throws you in front of a bus. Drills are great, but hard sparring will teach you to protect yourself at all times, not just some of the time.
In short, hard sparring offers you a context—physically and psychologically—for all of your other training. It’s subtle, but even the way you stand in front of a bag or perform a kata will change once you’ve taken a few hits.
Tips for Hard Sparring
Okay. So, how do you get the most out of hard sparring?
First, work with partners you trust. If you get hit by a clean shot, that’s a gift. If you get hit by a cheap shot, that’s abuse. Well, once in a while, a cheap shot is actually a good lesson, but repeatedly is no good. So, find a partner you can trust and treat them well.
Second, pay attention. Lessons come fast and furious in hard sparring, so be ready for them. Learn from every hit, tap, or fall. The quicker you recognize and admit a mistake, the quicker you can fix it.
I also recommend recording yourself so you can review the video later. Like I said, sparring can be fast and furious. Video gives you a second chance to see what you might’ve missed.
Third, find your frequency. If you hard spar every day, you’ll probably end up suffering injuries and brain damage. Remember—training should build you up, not break you down. So, think of hard sparring like medicine. You need to find the right dosage for you.
For me, one good round with one good partner who’s willing to punch me in the head, choke me out, or take me down, is all I need to find something to fix… or several things! And that’s the goal.
Sparring should be instructive more than competitive.
Don’t get me wrong— I want to win… and so should you! But as I’ve grown older, I figured out that winning doesn’t just mean landing a shot, it means learning something new.
So, approach your sparring session like a laboratory. Use the time to experiment and try something new. Treat sparring as a test to identify what works for you today and what doesn’t work for you. Then, based on your goals, adjust your training accordingly.
Yes, hard sparring is the gold standard, but you have to dig for that gold.
Bottom line, if you’ve been avoiding hard sparring, try adding a little to your training to get an honest picture of who you are and what you can do. Even in small doses, hard sparring will provide the experience you need to build good habits.
And if you still don’t think you need any hard sparring, then I guess I’ll just tell you again—keep your hands up. Until next time, keep digging, my friend, and keep fighting for a happy life.
