5 Of My Biggest Sparring Pet Peeves

Things people do while sparring that really annoy me.
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[@dukey03]

For the “Not acknowledging KO strikes” one; we never have that problem in our dojo because usually you and your partner both stop and go “OOOH THAT WAS NICE!” Hahaha

[@thade6130]

Same bro😂

[@ajaltonwilliams1986]

Facts

[@rman229]

"We never have that problem because we never have that problem"

[@twistedcoffee1187]

With most members, My dojo also same and it's really good thing to respect could-be-KO-shots and react like that. Thru the process we can build finishing combo and the one virtually KO-ed can learn not to be KO-ed with same shots next time.

[@th8132]

Awesome. One of my best sparring partners and I hit each other at the same time with a straight right and we stopped laughed and hugged. 🤣

[@tempusfugit3635]

Not acknowledging KO shots is my biggest too. I feel like it’s a symptom of a broader problem where some people mentally approach sparring like a fight rather than like skill training

[@bannini75]

I've only been training for a half year and still do this too often, but not on purpose. I am almost formulating my response as the move comes in and am executing it before realising my partner has "got me." It's instinct. I try to mention it and apologise after, though.

[@Street0yster]

Yeah I have a shitty habit of pausing after I hit someone with a KO shot because I'm pulling back. If I clip someone on the chin, they walk through it and try to blast me. Or if a pull my kick at the last second and they try to grab it and sweep me. All in all, if you're a nice sparring partner, you get the short end of the stick sometimes

[@user-jg6jy2cc2j]

This is why I stopped pulling my head kicks when I used to spar. Got tired of getting swept. If they get rocked it’s on them!

[@Street0yster]

@@user-jg6jy2cc2j you do you. I just can’t in good conscience land a head kick seriously in sparring ☹️

[@tonymack4120]

​@@Street0yster I try to use those moments as skill development. Try to counter that person's counter. It's good to be on gaurd after a good hit too, some dudes are just able to take alot

[@lazerousspazerous6182]

One thing that drives me nuts is when they just keep trying to have a conversation with you or if you do something cool they wanna let the clock keep running and talk about what you did instead of finishing the round and going over it after sparring. And just keep finding ways to stall the round

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Haha. Talkers 😅 Good one. Reminds me of people who want to touch gloves 18x per round.

[@ayske1]

Simple. Just ask nicely to talk after. If it's repeated, I typically avoid if it's something that annoying

[@emersonr7481]

Yooooo, I agree with this one. It's so annoying. 😂

[@zisispethanis4271]

To add a couple of mine: When you spar very light, and every time they catch your kick, they go for the sweep. Just go for the motion, and every now and then go for the sweep, but don't sweep every time during the light spar. Another one is when we are around other people sparring, and your opponent keeps pressuring when your back is against other people. Its very easy to injure yourself or the other guy behind you.

[@mliao1]

that disregard for other sparring pairs pisses me off haha

[@Drikkerbadevand]

the catching kicks annoys me so much... especially beginners do this all the time..

[@josuemanuelparejacontreras6004]

"they can't throw basics, but for some reason they throw spinning stuff" omg 😂😂😂 that is so relatable

[@Jenjak]

The last one is the worst. I sparred a young guy the other day who tried to rip my head off ( with 8oz gloves ! while I had 16oz) but for some reason when I gave him the same energy, he complained...he ended the sparring angry while I was baffled by so much dishonnesty.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Yup. So common it's kind of scary

[@Freiheit1232]

Yup there’s a chick in my gym who does the same stuff. Complains the moment you hit her but will kick you in the head and not see the issue.

[@burtbiggum499]

I dont think people realize how hard they hit

[@Crunchy166]

@@burtbiggum499 That's true. There was this big guy who used to train at my gym. He seemed incapable of hitting softly. And I don't mean that he always hit hard, I mean that even if he hit you at half speed it would still give you a nosebleed somehow.

[@burtbiggum499]

@@Crunchy166 Had a friend who just had tree trunk legs so even with pads and stuff he would rock me

[@schibleh531]

Here are 3 stories of mine: 1- I signed up for a gym, and most of the guys we had were inexperienced, so they ran away during sparring sessions. They even did it during the Attack\Defend drills (1 guy attacks with a combo while the other defends then reverses). They would hit me with a 6-7 hit combo, then run away on my turn. I didn't want to speed up because I didn't want to land hard shots by accident. The coach got them to stop after noticing how bad it was. 2- We were practicing spinning kicks to the chest, and the guy who held the pad kept backing away when I kicked. I ended up over-extending my knee. I asked him to lean into it, but he never listened. My knee was sore for the whole week. 3- This story happened when I tried kickboxing for the first time. I sparred with an older guy because the members were too small for me. I couldn't hit his body because "he had surgery", and his head was out of my reach because of his height. Instead of taking these things into consideration, he cracked me with counters and combos at every chance he got and I couldn't hit him back. One time, I shelled up out of frustration, and he took the opportunity to grab my head and knee me in the face. I remember getting so damn angry and frustrated by that situation. I changed gyms after.

[@mliao1]

Daaaaang every one of these makes me so frustrated. But it sounds like you're a big guy who hits hard and the smaller less conditioned people are getting rocked through the pads/through their guard. Still no excuse though, they should communicate and ask you to go a bit lighter. And that last one... what an arsehole haha!

[@schibleh531]

@@mliao1 I have a stocky physique, and I try to tone down my hits as much as I can without sacrificing speed. I sparred with larger guys before. I know how much it sucks when they hit you with power. However, it's hard for me to control my punches when I basically sprint after people. The guy from the last story was a genuine asshole. He knew that I needed a ladder to reach his face, and he took advantage of the situation. He had a power trip at my expense.

[@justinkrall1438]

Dude these are ALL annoying but 3 is INFURIATING. If he said you can’t him ANYWHERE in the body then he should be out of commission for sparring imo. So basically he was allowed far more targets than you. What a jerk.

[@DH-mf6jf]

I have experienced situations like your first story a couple of times. Only difference is sometimes the person running away when it’s my turn to hit has been training even longer than I have!🤦🤦🤦Drives me fucking mad cause it’s not fair. They get to practice on their turn but I don’t get to practice on mine. Why are you paying to practice a combat sport if you’re afraid of contact???? Then these people have the nerve to get an attitude when you refuse to pair with them in the future!

[@Daland9]

I had a similar situation to number 3. I tried one more class just to prove to myself that I didn’t let him bully me away. Unfortunately, the initial enthusiasm was lost and I ended up focusing on mma. Different people, different gym culture.

[@swagsmokes1454]

My biggest pet peeve is when I’m having some success against my partner and he pulls out a gun and shoots me in the foot. It feels unfair.

[@StaticDreamsEntert]

It may hurt your ego, but that’s usually the time to call for a pause and attend to the wound. Than the sparring can resume.

[@RodrigoFerreira-of5vv]

Going behind bags is crazy 😂😂

[@APokeInTheEye]

Omg that would be hilarious to witness 🤣🤣

[@brodysievers5163]

I've made a couple guys hide behind bags. Only the assholes though. The ones who try to hurt kids to show off

[@Sacciuiguai]

What I hate the most is when people forget sparring is still sparring, especially if you are out of competitions, but they think they are fighting.

[@brendenmccoll]

I get this way too often, I feel like I'm fighting for my life with some of these guys

[@Bozzenheim]

I got my ankle rolled pretty bad because I pulled a headkick that landed square on someone's head. They proceeded to catch it, and dump me by kicking my supporting ankle from underneath my feet. I'm 2 months into recovering from this injury. I get it, you want to develop the muscle memory to do that every time you catch a kick. But if I kick you in the head and you catch it, its not fair to dump me. Just mimic it show me that you can, since I showed you that I can knock you out with a headkick, but didn't.

[@aaronamour6101]

I've had recorded sparrings with much, much better people (like 25-3 Records in Muay Thai or Kickboxing) where, until I watched the recording, I did not notice that I didn't acknowledge KO shots. This is one pet peeve where I have to play devil's advocate and say that if you pull back to the point of not even really touching the other guy with your shot, they sometimes simply won't even take note of it and think the avoided it or it was a feint or something.

[@joshuabrant7689]

Yeah but I doubt Gabe spars much with total beginners unless he's teaching them so probably he is talking about more belligerent people

[@aaronamour6101]

@@joshuabrant7689 I wouldn’t call myself a total beginner anymore - have been doing Muay Thai for a few years now. This is one pet peeve I still can‘t seem to get rid off though, even if I‘m not the worst with it. Like, I do acknowledge most KO shots but every now and again, I still reflexively strike back and think „oh, I avoided that!“ when in reality the other guy simply pulled back.

[@milesblay97]

If this is muay thai they should "ooweee" louder when they gesture that KO shot, then everyone will know

[@tajaunmclean7217]

Ima really consider this next time my BIGGEST PET PEEVE BY FAR but I can c how they would thi k they slipped or dodge the hits now in the flow of the round because you literally pull back after the last minute after blasting of so it can creat that illusion. What would u recommend instead (not expecting a really solid answer just fishing cuz this happens alot)

[@milesblay97]

@@tajaunmclean7217 a big OOOWEEEE from the bottom of your lungs

[@berosar]

Theres a guy in my gym that will never stop throwing. He will throw a 12 hit combo and if you counter him he will just continue. You really have to hit him hard if you want him to stop. Getting hit 12x in the head softly is still annoying.

[@cariritapiocas9345]

My biggest one is the "gym warrior" . Basically ppl who spar to KO and 'win' instead of to improve.

[@Liranlevi395]

Im a beginner (about three months) in muay thai, and im pretty tall and lanky so i always try to stay far away from my opponent and use my reach, but now im pretty sure im just doing the running away you mentioned, so thanks it opened my eyes a bit

[@McEdgyYT]

I really appreciate you posting this, I’m a newbie to kickboxing and this video was honestly an eye opening experience. I’m quite tall, and I’ve been trying to keep my distance and moving around a lot, and using my reach to my advantage. I’ll definitely be making adjustments to my sparring now!

[@mikekassai]

Sparred a guy who's head gear was loose and everytime i touched him he would have to re-adjust it. But he wouldnt back up or make it clear he has to pause to fix it. So instinctively i hit him cus hes moving forward on me then after a few times he gets really angry with me starts pushing me around like he wants to start a fight. Meanwhile i have no idea whats going on cus he was not making it clear to me that he needed to pause. Then the whole thing erupts into a fight hes chasin me through where ppl place their bags until someone broke it up. We're cool now but he had his headgear loose cus he was wearing a nose ring and didnt want his nose sticking out in the tight headgear. PLEASE TAKE OUT UR JEWELRY BEFORE YOU SPAR! 😠

[@brandtjustsayin]

Absolutely!! 100%!! Take out the damn jewelry! I'm so sick of nose rings, lip rings, earrings, brow-rings, etc. I'm going to make it hurt if I'm sparring with someone and they don't take that crap out. I'm not holding back because a person doesn't want to take out their cattle-guide septum rung or lip-stud. SMH

[@jjun2891]

We need evil Gabe back and explain the top 5 dirty tricks to do in sparring

[@TheBroadwaySaiyan]

Biggest pet peeve of mine is when my partner says "let's go light and drill", and then then the first thing they throw is some spinning technique.

[@rman229]

Watched one too many ufc highlights before class

[@ZovcDrafts]

The gym I mostly train at, there's a small language barrier. On our sparring days, it's mostly myself and a former pro MMA fighter and one to four other friends he is able to bring in. So I pretty consistently train with new people which I enjoy because it's good to face new styles. But before we actually start sparring, I have no real idea what to expect in terms of peoples' skill level. In general, I go as light as is practical until someone explicitly asks me to go harder. Part of that is because I'm new and I don't want to overcommit and clip someone by mistake, but it's also just a matter of courtesy in my opinion. My coach introduced me to a new guy and said, "You can go really hard on him." He said this in Chinese, which I'm pretty weak in so I definitely could have misinterpreted the tone, but I asked "Really? Okay." And was under the impression that was okay. He was definitely throwing harder on me than the majority of people I spar with, but not enough to really put me in danger so things were fine on my end. After feeling things out for a while, I could tell he was conceding a lot when I would enter for exchanges. He shelled up and so I started throwing harder onto his guard. I wasn't slamming his body or throwing crazy hooks, I was just trying to present some punishment for him giving me free reign to throw on him. Almost instantly he backed off and was like "whoa, whoa, whoa!" And I'm like "Oh, sorry!" But, like, I didn't know what exactly I was supposed to be putting out. 😅

[@c9designs523]

I hate it when someone isn't doing as well as they hoped or think they can so decide to go teacher or student mode and stop the sparring to demonstrate or ask to demonstrate something. Usually just ticking down the round so you don't actually get any sparring done.

[@garethbeddoes7752]

Your third point happened to me in muay Thai sparring, I showed the kneed to the face in a clinch but obviously didn't connect and then he proceeded to start throwing hay maker's to the body and I ended up with a broken rib as I'd relaxed to let him go.

[@pyrascheme]

This is why playing a previous sport can help so much, you gain this sportmanship skill that osme people never really learn. Especiialy when martial arts is your first sport and the ego gets unchecked

[@justinkrall1438]

Gabriel love your page. I’m early in my teaching career with a modest family studio. Lots of kids and non- professionals. Who just want to learn. In spite of your enormous professional experience you have such a mature and balanced approach to this, especially on sparring etiquette. From someone who was immediately afraid of sparring after my first time (hard sparring first time), I had to relearn after that. This is awesome. Subscribed

[@assoverteakettle]

Related to not acknowledging a hypothetical KO is not acknowledging a teep during a technical tap spar where you throw a light teep but the sparring partner (usually new to sparring) steamrolls past the teep like it's not there to get in their shots ignoring the teep. I had a guy new to sparring steamroll past my light teep and slam a jab and cross. I could tell he was just excited and a bit hopped on adrenaline and didn't mean any harm. Or I always verbally or throw a light round kick at 3/4 speed to the leg to set the tone but then people try to catch the 3/4 speed round kick and attempt a sweep or dump. While it's good practice to learn to deal with people catching the kick it's cheating and unrealistic to be catching someone's 3/4 speed kick when they are doing you the favor of not injuring you.

[@David-wp2iw]

Oooh catching kick. i had accidents of catching my high kicks, and keeping my leg on their shoulder, not letting me go and dragging me around. it was annoying and funny at the same time. lol wtf

[@tajaunmclean7217]

The kick casting is crazy at this point especially after a while people know your good at the kick or keeping range and when you try to show humility and let them off with a tap or just showing it by stopping short of their unguarded face smh.... they 7-10 go for the trip and don't let a camera be there they're gonna do it and give you a smug look like ur the asshole while you trying to be compassionate. Needless to say at this point you finish the round and show them why that's a bad idea/ how you've been sparing them. Or you just let it go and move on to someone less attached to their ego

[@Hellscrom]

It's just calming my soul that these are common problems all over the world. Just last week i had a very frustrating sparring session. We are doing light sparring almost everytime and the trainers walk around, checking in on the members. But sometimes, like last week, there are too many people in the room and things get kind of cramped. We did sparring with change of partners every 1.5 minutes or so and as my second to last partner i got a new member. He had clearly been into some kind of combat sport already and countered my light attacks with really heavy blows, both to body an head. I told him to take it easy, but he just kept on going hard. When i started to increase the power of my own shots, he got redfaced angry. On the last round, i got a partner who forgot his mouthguard, so i wasn't allowed to aim for his head. It is SO FRUSTRATING when you can only try to get some bodyshots in on your opponent and he just keeps trying to knock the head off your shoulders (this dude also hit way too hard for light sparring). Everytime i got a good (light) shot in, he wouldn't mind at all and instead attack me back like nothing happened. I was so glad when the bell rang and the sparring was over. Frustrated me the whole week long as i had to look at some ugly bruises in my face every morning, rememering me that i got them because i was nice to my sparring partners. Next time this happens, i will just stop sparring with these guys. Stay safe (and be nice to your sparring partners)!

[@notahanzomain5282]

We usually don’t include knees and elbows in our sparring g sessions - it’s one of the very well known rules as we practice clinching and knees a little more controlled but last night some new guy came in and threw multiple knees at my solar plexus - safe to say I was not happy 😭

[@armorpig]

I had a guy intentionally foul me when sparring once...I mean, what the heck guy? This is just a sparring session, not a title fight!

[@gorillablanco2030]

One I come across a bit is if they have no mouth piece, they say please go light no mouth piece, yep no worries but then proceed to try to take my head off

[@elserpientethechamp2122]

Man, I agree with every single one of these pet peeves Gabriel, another one I had too, was I sparred one time, and the other guy, I sparred with said go light, do not go hard, and I said Alright, deal, and then, as soon as my glove touched his forehead, he started bombing shots on me, and I said woah, are we going light, he said, yeah light, light, after that, the same thing happened, eventually we finished the sparring session, and it was all good after that, and we made a deal, that we will go always lighter, to focus on technique, when both of us spar, thank you so much Gabriel, for making these amazing videos!

[@twistedcoffee1187]

Even 6x (and near near future one in KC!) champion says this relieved me from the stress feeling like "Am I wrong for getting angry on these?" No respect no sparring!

[@theawesomest2850]

Yes! I hate when people come in doing spinning back fist after spinning back fist! I normally just trip them out everytime they do it

[@izzygarcialionibabaloipici6293]

My big pet peeve is going to an open mat, getting regular rounds in and then asking to just box and everyone just loses interest. It's not even a passive lack of engagement, like they don't find boxing fun. It's them saying it's not helpful, boxing is harder sparring, and my favorite " the thais just play around". It's my fault, i go to "hard" when it' just hands but it's fun to roll/parry shots and people only really want to engage after getting stung a few times.

[@JDezi4BVlog]

There was one time a guy kept backing up so much that we started on one end of the mats and ended on the other. Basically, he would run, run, run, and then randomly explode. It didn't work 90% of the time, but after a while, you get so hype to punish him that as soon as he gives you can close the distance, you briefly forget defense. Then this same guy did a superman punch against me after I threw a slow, controlled round kick. It was annoying.

[@kaiserbrutus730]

I experienced the last pet peeves not too long ago. The dude said let's go light, just taps only, then proceeded to hit me with a power jab in the middle of the round. I increased my pace and power according to his and after getting him with some good shots, body hooks and crosses to his head. He said relax relax go light. I agreed, then he hit me hard again out of nowhere then I picked up my pace and power again. The second time he told me to go light and relax, I kept vigilant cos I might hit me hard again. And yep, he did...towards the end of the round when he rushed in to score the last few shots in. But this time I managed to defend, pivoted out and get him with a check hook, the round ends

[@cdaack]

Inconsistent power is the problem I run into most…guys will go nice and light and then try to take my head off with a hook…like bro, calm it down, I haven’t gone half as hard on you at any point in this 5 minute round.

[@noro_2520]

I sadly am one of the shortest and lightest guys at the gym. I am glad that they don't go hard on me like they do with other people of their size, but what's really setting me up is the fact that they don't respect any of my shots. I usually go very light because I wanna perfect my technique. That also means that my low kicks are thrown relativly slow, thus making them easy to catch. I don't mind the catch since you gotta train those. But when they dumb me on my butt everytime I oc get pretty upset. Some questionmark-Kicks here and there and also landing them on the face, since their catches lead their head open. I usually stop right before hitting them in the face, since I've been clipped once or twice myself and I know it hurts like hell. And yeah then they just push me over. I tried talking to them but they usually just nod it off and proceed to do it anyway. I have now begun to throw my low-kicks with more power and speed to kinda show them "Hey, you know, I'm letting you catch my kicks?". Do you think this is an appropriate thing to do? Edit: They now have begun to shoot for my legs randomly. I think they are frustrated that they can't catch my Kicks anymore... (We are a striking only class...)

[@joefh1985]

I’ve given and received all of these in my years of learning. It takes so much emotional control and practice to become a good fighter.

[@dongvermine]

Wrong not hard 4 me

[@user-ey7ww5zz8e]

oh my goodness the movement is supernatural. i only noticed it just now but that backfist is sooooooooo cold. very well done, Gabriel.

[@user-ey7ww5zz8e]

that has been a lot of work

[@user-ey7ww5zz8e]

*i only had an inclination of it bc i seen you teach that move on another person's channel* it's so fast and so fluid that my mind kinda just melts looking at it

[@user-ey7ww5zz8e]

i've watched it back several times now in 0.25 and it's fascinating. the music is perfect.

[@user-ey7ww5zz8e]

it's like a terrifying poem but more real --- and leaves one fascinated more than frightened but with respect to the look on your face that says you never stopped working

[@user-ey7ww5zz8e]

that's the one that knocked down Lerdsila

[@anthonywarpecha4017]

I have made some mistakes sparring, but have learned from them. How long do you think sparring rounds should last for non competing people? I think too long is not good and leads to the problems you discussed. Can you do a video where you talk all about movement and footwork in a fight or sparring in regards to bouncing, being more stationary, ect.?

[@Daiyuki117]

Hell yeah, thanks Gabriel

[@rhabdob3895]

I hate it when people punch me.

[@mickjansson-cc1og]

1, 3 and 5 are the ones I have experienced the most. Number 5 is very common with beginners

[@Jazz_Funk_Kitten]

I went to a new gym for sparring recently and was the only female. First round I got paired with an absolute unit who had a good 30kg on me. He took my leg out with a low kick. It still hurts 4 days later. Then I got paired with a dude who was about 6’4. I’m 5’7. It was like fighting a giraffe. Whenever I advanced he kept teeping me hard in the gut. And when I caught the teep he punched me in the nose. Couldn’t get near him. I left after 5 rounds and cried in the car on the way home.

[@ravindave01]

I hate getting swept during sparring because I threw a 50% kick to the body and my partner caught it and swept me. If it was a fight, eventually the partners ribs are going to break if they keep catching kicks.

[@cgsec2275]

I do not plan to compete so I guess I train for fun and self defense. In this sense I don't mind if someone bigger than me uses their size to their advantage because I like to learn what sort of tactics I can use to counter this. I actually enjoy it sometimes. If they are going light it is not a problem at all for me. My biggest annoyance is definitely people going too hard. And in grappling when people put submissions on too fast and hard so it hurts before I have a chance to tap. Also when the other person taps too lightly so I can't feel it, this is not great either. Finally when people play loud music during drills and sparring. I want to be able to hear what is going on in class. This is not the disco.

[@neokimchi]

thanks, most of my sparring partners are much bigger and although i like the challenge it also makes me realize i rarely actually have rounds that are accurate to actual competition i'd have and that seems counterproductive

[@brandtjustsayin]

I have a similar problem but reversed. I'm an older (45) and bigger guy (250lbs now down from 275lbs when I started 7 months ago) and all the young, fast, light guys want to spar me all the time. They...are...FAST!! I play hell catching these guys. And the techniques sparring these fast light guys are TOTALLY different from sparring larger dudes. Light, fast, young moves a lot. Big, slow, older guys drive forward and hold ground very differently from those light fast slippery guys. Lol. I've been sparring so many light fast guys that I have real trouble reading and reacting to the bigger guys now. Kind of throws me off when I'm fighting the big-uns like myself.

[@punkguitar4974]

My biggest pet peeve is gyms that discourage hard sparring. To accurately prepare for a fight you need the occasional 85%-90% intensity sessions. That way you’ll have the conditioning to handle the stress of a fight. I think most sparring sessions are fine at the 50-70% intensity, but more advanced fighters should be allowed to spar a little harder to prepare for fights.

[@ayske1]

It's funny I think a lot of us can think of someone for all 1-5. The spazzy one throwing the spinning uncontrolled moves I do notice on the bags always throwing the same stuff. First session, hardly engaged, second time just closed in and squashed their range since they were taller. Only been sparring for about a year, a lot at the start, I've become more particular who I spar now. Probably my mid life brain trying to protect myself as well..

[@ElDrHouse2010]

I disagree about #2 if they are training more for self defense its good to be able to adapt to taller opponents. Gotta get good with the overhand, high kicking & running a lot because its gonna be hard. For sport I agree likely they are wasting their time. Altho not always. In Muay Thai there was this guy called "The Giant Killer" I forgot his name but his fights outside his weight class where he wins were extremely impressive.

[@paulpelle3046]

People clearly getting frustrated and then ‘accidentally’ kicking u in the 🎱 🎾. It’s happened too many times! And, I don’t always like to wear a cup either 🤷‍♂️🙀🙂

[@renegarza793]

When someone goes fully all out possible k.o power in every strike on the 30sec buzzer when neither party is preparing for a fight. I get it, but it’s not practical if neither person is preparing to fight/compete.

[@fredink5536]

Gabriel does your first point still apply if i'm a counter fighter? i really like moving backwards most of my sparring, but then reversing the position into a combination of my own, is this an annoying thing in your opinion or is it a valid style

[@WadeSmith-oe5xd]

Good stuff. We were forbidden from running away in Isshinryu karate. We could slip or evade in angles or 3d or whatever, but no running. Sensei wanted us to trade blows and learn to block, parry, and evade a good Isshinryu straight punch or straight kick combo. If I can evade an Isshinryu straight punch, then I can evade any horizontal twist punch too. I had to cut my thrust kick to 50 percent power against anyone other than a heavyweight when I was 20 years old. This was so I didn't accidentally injure them. I was only 185 at the time. Yes, when i was a 2nd kyu, I got tagged on the chin by the 2nd Dan heavyweight who was an ex-marine and a cop. It rang my bell and I had to wave him off and ask him to stop attacking. I laughed it off immediately, but man he could have easily finished me within the next 5 to 10 seconds if I hadn't waved him off like that. If you get hit in the face in your striking sparring class, acknowledge it, give your partner a "point" and then reset the drill after you recover. Pride doesn't help anyone improve. I eventually learned how to beat this guy by the time I was 1st kyu, and he was 235 pounds. At 185 vs 235, you have to rely on speed. He could hit muscle groups and a FEW nerve points in a realistic speed fight, he was very precise for a 235 pounder, so you had to be as FAST AS LIGHTING to beat him, or you'd get hit in a muscle group ro a vital point and disabled in the body or arm or leg.j I remember that about both Matt and Sensei Mark. Their striking and blocking was very precise. If you didn't get your own strikes out and back immediately, you'd get hit in a muscle group or nerve ending and get immobilized. That's because when a 235 to 245 pound heavyweight executes a chop block correctly, it is going to deaden the arm or leg of the other fighter, especially if the other fighter is a weight class or two smaller than them.

[@justinkrall1438]

BASICS ARE SO COOL

[@NoodleArmsFitness]

When I spar people alot shorter I don't use teeps or jabs and try to work on my midrange techniques. When I'm paired with people alot lighter I don't throw them in the clinch I just feel the moment of off balancing them I think they call it kazushi in Japanese jui jitsu and judo, when there body becomes light as a feather and you know you can yeet them. One slightly annoying thing in a Thai gym is people doing semi contact kicks with Thai style guards. Also people coming from MMA and not respecting the rules of the Thai clinching.

[@varanid9]

Number 3 is why I always despised the typical Karate point tournament. If people don't acknowledge the reality of your move, there's no point in sparring point. Number 4 is another reason I despise typical Karate point tournaments. Again, number 5 happens in point Karate more than you might think.

[@RageNg]

Yes

[@Drikkerbadevand]

number 3 I completely agree.. especially beginners who think they're doing MMA or muay thai and they catch your weak controlled kicks and try to sweep you.. If that's the game you want to play I could have thrown you a hundred times lol.. you're not going to want to try and catch my full power kicks so why catch every single one of my weak kicks during sparring

[@tuptusgamew9600]

What are the results of the giveaway? Who won?

[@stevierayvandervaart2455]

Haha i can relate to all of these😂

[@Dchaepark]

Hey man, when using a heavy bag, I always snap my punches because it feels and sounds good. In a boxing bout, should I still snap my punches if I'm a heavy hitter, or am I not supposed to pull?

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Sometimes pull, sometimes follow through. They both have pros and cons.

[@Dchaepark]

@@GabrielVargaOfficial Ngl, I'm still confused about when to snap and follow through. I just think you shouldn't pull when you follow through and just have to go with your punches. Snap when you throw powerful shots and need to get back in defense. I'm not really sure if this is right; I've only been in the gym for 5 months, so I'm relatively new and studying content. I haven't seen any content with this information on any platform.

[@aonimsworld9106]

Breakdown Alex pereira's padwork.

[@MarkoObradovich]

Definitely the not acknowledging ko type and not consistent power type. I think it's all ego. My best school was when I was starting to spar with fighters, and I was always nice and pulling shots and got my nose broken. After that I always first look how the guy spars with others and never believe it's a light unless I know the guy, of course I never go hard first and give a warning ⚠️ one or two times, after that either it's on or I just change sparing partner.

[@WadeSmith-oe5xd]

Sensei Mark Myers was absurdly hard to spar against in 2000/2001 era, even though he did everything "right". He would flat out just effortlessly BEAT me and there was nothing I could do about it, and he was definitely "Pulling" both his punches and kicks by 50% maybe even more.. Here is his ranks at that time in martial arts: 2nd Dan Shotokan 4th Dan Isshinryu Max Level Krav Maga 1st Dan Gracie BJJ Additional seminar training in Combat Judo, Hindi Andi Gung Fu, and Tai Chi He is now a 7th Dan in Isshinryu and I don't know his other ranks. He was 235 to 245 lbs when I knew him and not an ounce of body fat on his body. Also Mark was an absurdly fast learner. A Grand Master could teach him a new technique once or twice, and he'd never forget it and could immediately apply it to two or three situations as if it was a puzzle that automatically solved itself. Very hard to beat this man in a sparring match. Against other big guys, you get to the inside, land some shots, and then get the heck out of there and get away. Against Sensei Mark, that doesn't work. He has so much Japanese and Brazilian grappling training that he'll tie up your arms or your legs and take you down and submit you no problem. He's so damn strong that you WILL tap in a heartbeat if he catches you in any sort of submission, whether from the standing position or no the ground.

[@WadeSmith-oe5xd]

Also Mark invented his own submissions or combined maneuvers from BJJ, Krav, Okinawan or Japanese submissions, or just okinawan striking with submissions. He'd by like, "I can use one arm to tie up both of yours with my japanese small circle skills here, and then BJJ leg hook here, and then I have 2 weapons free while you have none, etc." For submissions he moved like a snake. For striking he was moving as if he was a weight class smaller. He was that fast. It's very hard ot fight someone who is that skilled and talented and so strong and fit all at the same time.

[@siegfriedo]

Nr. 3 is so important and so wide spread.

[@jjun2891]

Could someone explain the first point for me? I'd love to practice distance management and trying to move to catch angles. Is there a way to do this in light sparring without making it unfun for my partner?

[@danchovanes2612]

You need to be engaging with your partner during sparring. If someone is constantly exploiting the openness of the mat to avoid danger then they aren't learning anything and neither is their partner so it's a waste of both people's time

[@scubedibap]

In my gym when we spar we sometimes make makeshift rings out of stuff lying about. You could e.g. use clothes / bags what not to fence in your ring. That way your opponent can corner you and you can't just "run away". I personally litend to be on the retreating side more often.and found it usefull as you learn how not to get cornerd and practice cutting angles

[@gavinwiener]

I actually like sparring with people who are either taller or shorter than me. It allows me to practice using my jab and distance keeping techniques. And having to get in closer, close distance a lot more, etc.

[@vaughnordakowski8774]

I'm fairly sure he was being specific to those huge size discrepancies like he said with the 5'6 bantamweight vs a heavyweight. I think if your like 5'10 +, 170 + pounds then it makes sense to let people spar with all their advantages or disadvantages. Also taking skill into account.

[@colinrodgers5657]

I tell people not to oblique kick my knees. I take that personal, as a sport we are just practicing. I see that as a very dangerous strike. You do that to me, I stop caring about pulling headkicks so much

[@JoseLopez-nw4hd]

my biggest pet peeves are when i am sparring with a grappler and they try to do take downs or other grappling stuff like bro i do not go roll with you in grappling class and throw combos at you or punch you when i am in mount so why do a take down when we are in kickboxing class

[@tophernolastname2378]

Ill stop going light then throwin hard to catch the guy off guard coach. also will stop eating KO shots and keep going thought my chin was just legit fo eating so many head kicks. and ill stop fighting the smaller newer guys & women using my size advantage and throwing spinning stuff. i was just trying to be like my heros jon jones and badr hari is all.

[@DH-mf6jf]

#1 GETS ON MY NERVES!!! People who consistently just run away during sparring, padwork, or drills just irks me so fucking bad! Especially if it’s a reciprocal drill, where we’re supposed to take turns performing combos of some sort. They get to practice theirs, but just run away when it’s my turn. Then they have the nerve to get an attitude when you refuse to partner with them going forward. If you’re afraid of getting hit then maybe try grappling otherwise combat sports ain’t for you!!

[@enne1122]

Not acknowledging a shot, doesn't even have to be a ko shot. That's the worse.

[@alexanderkappelhoff2819]

Why is Kevin Lee with the scorpion punch in the thumbnail? Who gets mad at that guy??

[@DubiousDubs]

It's a views thing- he gets more clicks when other martial arts youtubers are in the thumbnail, regardless of whether or not they're in the video.

[@juandenz2008]

Before I watched the video I wondered if he was going to make a subtle dig at Kevin Lee.

[@nickdavis5420]

It could also be he’s way taller than Kevin and he’s definitely switching his level . If he just came in and leaned on him Kevin would never learn anything.

[@derekvandenburg6689]

The 1 you missed, it kinda falls into your last pev, lack of control with groin kicks and leg kicks. Just because you are kicking the legs doesn't mean you don't have to use control. Most of us are not Professional fighters, meaning we have jobs to go to the next day. Nobody needs to be limping around their job for a week or off work for 5 months because some idiot was out of control and blew out your knee with a kick.

[@th8132]

Not acknowledging shots! My biggest PP too!! I sparred a guy a few weeks ago that likes to walk you down. Fine. But he was getting hit left and right and kept going. Like dude, these shots aren't dropping you because we have gear on, plus I'm not trying to kill you.

[@nave94]

I feel like because I’m bigger than most people in my gym (6ft 3, 90kg) they feel like they can go crazy hard like I don’t feel anything 😂

[@Ash__Adler]

Small person here, and yeah, I can understand your frustration with that. When I work with bigger people, I always start light (out of respect for them going lighter on me due to the size difference) and wait for them to ask about going harder.

[@DubiousDubs]

What you might not realize is that because you're large, it inherently means you hit harder even if you pull your punches. So for even power output to be achieved when a small guy fights you, they HAVE to hit harder relatively than you. If they held back to the same degree you do, you would manhandle them the whole time. So if you want them to go lighter on you, usually you'll have to be going REALLY light yourself.

[@brandtjustsayin]

​@@DubiousDubsthat's a really good point! I'm bigger and older (5'9", 250lbs, 45yr old) and I have a couple very young, light, fast gents (mid teens and 115-125 lbs) that seem to like sparring with me for God knows what reason. But damn do they go hard every time! I feel like a mobile punching bag sometimes. But....I'm also told I hit hard even though I often feel I'm trying to pull my punches back significantly so as not to hurt someone. I guess I don't think I'm going hard but it may come across like that when all this chunk actually connects. Lol 😂

[@DubiousDubs]

@@brandtjustsayin yep, precisely. F=MA they've got the A part of that equation, you've got the M

[@nave94]

@@DubiousDubs when going against smaller opponents I literally just tap them and just work on my defence and movement

[@lukethelocksmith8750]

As bigger guy most if not all the time and not that big but technically a heavyweight in boxing that I spar in. The whole thing with me and bigger guys dropping power and getting lower is fine I agree with it but then equally the smaller guys should slow down and drop power. I’m already slower and that’s before I get lower and drop my power. Stop trying to drop us and accept our punch will be heavier then you are use to no matter how soft we throw.

[@LuisJimenez-pb3ge]

Amen 🙏 🙌

[@clintj]

wrt multiple chances with inconsistent sparring I love just humbling them with a well placed liver shot :P

[@cheeks7050]

Lol great list I hate runners!! Get in the ring!

[@WadeSmith-oe5xd]

About 90 to 95 percent of your striking should be BASICS. Advanced striking is for very special situations. BASICS work all the time when properly applied. There IS a place for spinning strikes, perhaps when you MISS a roundhouse, but literally your striking should have a foundation in majority BASICS. If you don't have a good palette of Basics, you cannot beat an Okinawan fighter. Last gripe is hard to deal with. When two Okinawan karate fighters go at it, eventually it will escalate to near 100 percent force anyway. It' shard not to , because we focus on conditioning and toughness anyway in addition to speed and power.

[@xtremecutz]

These things cant be said enough.. nr 1 also sometimes is related to nr 5 when u know its 30% now.... but that 100% is coming 😂

[@honigdachs.]

Yeah, Nr. 3 ... these people don't understand the point of sparring.

[@JeanMichelAbrassart]

I'd love to be able to acknowledge KO shots more reliably, but at my level I feel it's not that easy. I'm not good enough, I guess...

[@alexanderkappelhoff2819]

The throw after receiving a headkick is kinda instinctual though.

[@k.mcdaniel8378]

My instructor fractured my nose. Is that normal??

[@robbybee70]

this makes me sad, you'd hate sparring with me lol. not that there is a big chance of that happening anyway but still

[@scottkuhr8379]

I'll add one - guys who can't turn it down! Fast is fine but if we agree light, dang it go light!

[@swenic]

To spar _with_ someone who is sparring _against_ you..

[@robbybee70]

when a M'er tries to control how YOU train and what YOUR goals are.....dafuq?! gym got your name on it man?

[@travesty-studios]

Stop using the terms hard and soft sparring. Use slow and fast sparring. Mass (how much much of you there is) multiplied by acceleration (how much speed you gain during the strike) equals force. You cant take away your mass for sparring, but you can lower the speed to lower the force of impact. Throwing fast and landing soft will NEVER be consistent because this theory requires you to pull the punch rather than actually just not punching hard.

[@thade6130]

I dont understand the concept of i stand in front of of you you stand infront of me and just throw down ,if you call using footwork to evade strikes and get in and out is running you just have bad footwork plain and simple lol its a part fo the game for a reason if someone is throwing bombs yea im gonna back up and hit you with a counter its footwork 🤣

[@brandtjustsayin]

I think he's talking about the guy who's too scared to throw technical offensive attacks EVER and just runs around the ring the whole time evading contact like they are terrified of pain and being punched. It's impossible to practice defense if your opponent never engages in offense. If you're incorporating footwork, counters, and offensive technique into the round, then there is opportunity for your sparring partner to improve all around rather than just run track circles around the mat all session.

[@juandenz2008]

I think he is saying because there is no ring, then the guy running isn't really doing the footwork in a realistic manner. Secondly it doesn't sound like the people he was referring to were moving in and out and doing slick footwork, but mainly just running around the gym hardly ever engaging.

[@DH-mf6jf]

There’s a big difference between knowing how to keep distance and use footwork to your advantage vs running away. There’s people that do the latter instead of the former, and it’s irritating as hell when that happens.

[@mrmrssongstories4975]

I love your videos, but its the first time I disagree. The sentence "engage like it should be" totally disappointed me. Get a Ring or easier make a ring with pads and both should be allowed spar how they feel. If somebody is moving alot and still hits his shot, he does everything right 😅

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

But remember if you run or disengage from action in a fight the ref will warn you. If it's excessive he will take points away.

[@tophernolastname2378]

Ill stop going light then throwin hard to catch the guy off guard coach. also will stop eating KO shots and keep going thought my chin was just legit fo eating so many head kicks. and ill stop fighting the smaller newer guys & women using my size advantage and throwing spinning stuff. i was just trying to be like my heros jon jones and badr hari is all.