What Happens When People Drop By The Studio to "Spar" With Me? | Icy Mike: Imperfect

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[@lr2119]

"Anyone who can beat you doesn't want to and anyone who wants to can't" totally true haha

[@danielbuhr4260]

I agree but I also see counter arguments. This statement is largely true for big skill gaps or size gaps. However if you are even, or if one person is large and the other is small but has more skill, this can go out the window. I've had girls go ham on me, and genuinely beat me in the spar while I was trying pretty hard. I've also beaten coaches in sparring while feeling the whole time that it would be impossible.

[@Stryfe52]

@@ecodiesel3771 It’s silly, stupid, and a method of dealing used only by the Sith.

[@Brass_Heathen]

True dojo storming should be like something out of a kung fu flick. Guy comes in wanting to fight the master and all the students try an take him out. First one at a time but then I just devolves into a brawl. Mike would come outta the back with "ENOUGH!" Then all the students pick themselves up and back away. No it's really on. Lawl

[@hard2hurt]

Yes get him tired first lol

[@gfilippou]

Lol that was a good one

[@Pyrela]

He already has the audio sync up for it.

[@flo4368]

Boxing guy here. In my experience, when traveling (which has happened a fairly good amount of time these last years) I always train so bring my gloves with me, but any gym I visit, I make it a rule not to ask for sparring for at least a week so the coaches have time to see how I work and I get to see how they do too. Except if that gym was one recommanded to me by my coach and he made sure to contact them before I go. I think it's basic etiquette.

[@user29a]

Sparring is sort of a consent issue. No punchy kicky sparry first date.

[@CT-bc6jh]

I totally agree!

[@onvedelmimuhely6868]

Listening this got me thinking, maybe I would be one of the a-holes - so I need to re-evaluate my concept of sparring... Thanks for these toughts!

[@driver3899]

Strangers who want to spar at first meeting are a huge red flag, I have only ever seen weird people do this They should be saying they want to come by and do some training Maybe make a special walk in schedule that gives them what they want but is structured to give you time to figure out their ego and skill levels are by doing some drills and lead up training before they get to spar

[@fbiagent2848]

I always ask to spar people close to my level. It’s pretty fun if you someone is on the same wave length as you

[@driver3899]

@@fbiagent2848 all depends what your goals are, if it's to be part of a club and have a good time that's a great way to go. If your after pure skill development you should try to find people who are way out of your league, you will always loose but you will tighten up your problem areas so much faster and generally get better quicker. I find this works with life in general too, the more time you rub shoulders with people better than you the more it helps you improve

[@captainquagmire859]

I would just because I love fighting , that's all, I'll fight anyone, not for an ego thing, I just find it addicting and beautiful and I can learn new things from how different people spar, that's just my experience tho

[@MajinBLJ]

@@captainquagmire859 exactly bro

[@DaveFu]

81 Ninjas are monitoring this thread...behave accordingly. You can't see them Mike, they're THAT GOOD!

[@zshakur]

Sparring days at my dojo are the same as yours. Nice, light and playful. I'm not there to beat down my students, I want my students to learn and try stuff.

[@mario97br]

„I feel you came in trying to hurt us and I’m gonna defend this place.“ - Icy Mike, capturer of the essence

[@yunggolem4687]

Obvious solutions are: 1. Someone you know to vouch for them. 2. Enough time to evaluate their particular flavor of asperger's before putting yourself and your students in harm's way. Gained probably through having them train at least once before going to sparring day. Another solution that might work would be if they sent you like a "day in the life" video of them training at their usual gym that you can skim through to get an idea of whether they're a legit guy with honest intentions. If they're not willing to put out that minimal amount of effort for you, then why should you spend your time on them anyway?

[@graffitionthefloor]

I have the good type of assburgers.

[@gerbilking5100]

I shit talk mike all the time. I want to spar with him myself. My "day in the life" video would look like this :drinks beer and throws up after 4 sit ups.

[@yunggolem4687]

@@gerbilking5100 Hehe

[@bloodstormm]

Being a gym owner it is weird. I definitely understand where you’re coming from. I wouldn’t let out of towners join in on sparring unless I know them or get strong recommendations from someone I know. They can train but not sparring. The times I did get recommended by someone I only let coaches or my fighters spar with them. To get an idea of skill level and intentions.

[@Nick_Johnsons]

I've found if they can't go light on pads they don't know how...

[@hard2hurt]

Yeah I'm seeing that correlation. I'm going to collect some more data on that. Great point.

[@flowerswerewarpaint646]

'Dojo Storm' is my favorite new word

[@l1348]

That’s two words lol

[@HittokiriBatosai]

40 year old amateur fighter with an even record. If I conquer him, I conquer THE WOOOOORLD!!

[@hard2hurt]

Yeah dudes ready to stuff me and mount me over their fireplace lol

[@UnityThroughTruth]

It really bums me out to hear that people are that insecure, that they feel the need to try to hurt a good person. You don't have an ego, you're humble, and you try to help EVERYONE. You're a good person Mike, I've cheered for your success as you've continued to grow your channel. You're a positive influence towards many of us, you teach much more than martial art skills and defensive weapons. Maybe it's all in the name..."hard to hurt", may sound like a challenge to others.

[@pedrovalentino6684]

ICY MIKE man i’m tryna SPAR, LET’S GOOOOOO 😡

[@VinchenzoC]

From one Master Aikidoka to another, there can be only one.

[@SenseiEmmett]

Have your best guy humble them, not by smashing them but by playing with them and showing that the visitor isn't as tough as he thinks, rather than knocking him out, Stockton slap him a few times and let him connect nothing, once a visitor gives his intentions away just give your guy a look and round 2 will be a humbling experience, no one gets smashed or hurt but they get there ego checked

[@PayJ567]

Hey Mike, At my old boxing gym any sparring would be done after intense cardio/conditioning work. It would have the benefit of; warming you up, training you to be able to continue to fight when already gassed and finally take out a lot of peoples power from their shots if they are unconditioned aswell. This was standard practise for routine sparring in the club where anyone could come along.

[@noway9081]

I think the reason why traditional martial artists are so uneven when sparring is because their trained fighting instincts aren't built for sparring. Their techniques are all about "bursts" of movements that are meant to finish things in an instant. So they are always looking for a "knockout opening" to rush into with a technique. They are always thinking about how to knock you out or take you out, which is not what sparing is about. We're going into it to learn, try things out and practice, while they are way too intense about it, thinking of their opponents as practice dummies and not fellow students. Also, they have not developed many of the important mid-fight and long fight skills. They don't learn any of the important sparring stuff that isn't just hitting! Keeping relaxed, keeping distance, conserving energy, most of them don't learn these things. Biggest example, most traditional martial arts guys don't train how to breath between hits! So by round 2, they are winded and antsy. This is when the bull rushes, leaning punches and haymakers come out! They stop throw punches and start falling into them. Honestly, this is the part of sparing with most traditional guys that I hate the most, because at this point he has no control and is throwing his entire body into everything. Sure, you can dodge what he's throwing, but if even one gets through, it will likely hurt a lot! So you either have to hurt him, which pretty much none of us want to do, or you dance around him until the bell, which is boring and embarassing for both of us. Luckily sparring is a set of skills just like anything else and can be learned with practice. The people who do traditional martial arts can learn them just as easily as anyone else through sparring and practice.

[@revealtherock]

Very well said.

[@captainpandaman5097]

I can agree with this. I practiced a traditional karate style for about 6 years and our sparring rounds were short and to first clean hit pretty much. So there were people that didnt train for anything else and tended to go hard for the first exchange and then became clueless when their partner was able to dodge/block all their hardest stuff.

[@joeydies2724]

At our local boxing gym they have an unwritten rule that you have to come to the bag classes for a month before you can come to separate training/sparring sessions with the amateur team. Our coach always spars with the new guys, and typically they only spar bigger/more skilled/more experienced people for a while. However it’s still not a perfect system, because the only times I’ve seen people get hurt or been hurt myself has been with someone new.

[@heresjonny666]

Solution: -You can spar if you've trained regularly and are trusted -Or if they want to come spar for professional fighting tune ups and whatever, they should need to either provide footage of them sparring, or training so you can see how they conduct themselves, or you should require someone you find trustworthy to vouch for them.

[@macleod1592]

I totally agree. Sparring should be about learning and trying new things. You can't try new things if the guy across from you is trying to beat your brains out.

[@patrickplantana4685]

You don't have to worry about making a policy for a guy like me Icy Mike. I train for the streets so I wouldn't wanna put you at risk like that.

[@hard2hurt]

Oh man thanks dude phew

[@johnnymillar9056]

I'm probably too late to add to this now but for sparring policy here's my take: Have a list of sparring "rules" or "etiquette" that you go over with everyone. Whether it's the first day you've met them or they've been taking classes for a while and they've just came to sparring practice for the first time. That way, everyone, regardless of how/why they've come to sparring day knows what's expected of them. Where I trained, it was absolutely normal for sparring to include throws and takedowns and I think we probably hit slightly harder than your studio, but if I came to your class, I would WANT to know what the etiquette was. I wouldn't wanna come in to see if my shit works with your shit and then overstep and make a cunt of myself. I would wanna know what was expected of me and still be allowed to spar, you know? I'm Scottish though so I'm probably not going to visit =p

[@taxusbaccata3001]

That's how I would do it. Also an option if you are longer at that place than one session, do a normal training first to show everybody you are a normal/nice guy. And then let the trainer decide who your sparringpartner could be.

[@mrmanic4151]

The way Mike described his gym sounds like the BJJ studio I joined a few months ago, very friendly and the guys who know how to do it are very accommodating.

[@edrichlouw1790]

So from my experience in ITF Taekwondo doing mostly semi-contact I think the jumpines comes from what you learn in competitions. You usually let the other guy set the pace and how hard the contact is for the duration of the round. Maybe when they spar with you they get hit by something they weren’t expecting and think it’s you increasing the contact and react harder. Then when your next shots come in lighter after they drop it because the pace changed again. I’ve seen matches where someone throws a hard jab and the opponent responds harder until they end up disqualifying someone.

[@johnh9243]

i did TAGB TKD I was always told the jumping was to do with trying to dimount horse backed attackers. funny how we get told different things according to club.

[@edrichlouw1790]

john h that’s the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard😂. We were/are (the Covid thing makes it hard to be sure) a University club so the reasoning behind stuff never got that absurd. I’ve never heard of your affiliation though.

[@johnh9243]

@@edrichlouw1790 well it was all Bullshits thats why I went on to Muay thai and kickboxing, the horse rider thing has actually been debated quite a lot, i. assuming your from the states so you would not have Tae Kwon Do association great Britain,

[@edrichlouw1790]

john h I’m from South Africa. As far as TKD go’s I’d say any affiliation that claims it to predate ww2 or that it’s completely different from karate (or that it didn’t derive from it) is most likely a mcdojo. I train wit a friend who does kickboxing and I really like it. Being good at boxing gives you an extreme edge in competition. We don’t really have many Mui tai gyms over here. Though I’ve always wanted to try it.

[@johnh9243]

@@edrichlouw1790 yes absolutely, if you watch the chuck norris bio on youtube lends an explanation to haw these slightly different styles came about after ww2, I really enjoyed the forms flexibly and discipline of TKD, but really loved Muay thai its a different mind set all together if you get the chance go for it, letwei is pretty awesome too. maybe you could learn it and teach it if there are no schools near you, 👍👍

[@Brass_Heathen]

You being a smaller guy are experiencing what bigger people sometimes go through younger in life. I was tall and slim growing up. I was the one-stop-shop for little guys to attack because they felt they had something to prove. I filled out now and I'm more mature but I still see it happening a lot. You're right it does come from insecurity and it goes double for people I do martial arts.

[@doranlader1884]

As you said before, someone who wants to fight you because they disagrees with you, is because they are insecure about themselves and their ability to fight. So they feel that if they win they are providing to themselves that they are a better fighter. But the only thing they will be proving is how little they think of themselves and the lack of consequences that come after, whether it someone ends up in the hospital or arrested etc.

[@daveanderson5136]

Hi Mike, I appreciate your channel and your desire to learn as well as teach. We had a policy at the dojo I attended where you had to attend classes and be introduced to the system, classes and instructors before you could spar. There were times where other people could vouch for guests, but that was less often. Most people who fit that weirdo/stranger vibe won't last through the standard classes. Great topic to consider and discuss. Keep up the good work.

[@scottstout6836]

I've been on both sides of the issue. I've gone to schools looking to change up my routine. In one school I was told we were going to do light sparring. First thing my opponent did was split my lip. When I went full contact the instructor yelled at me. When I was I nvolved with kickboxing I had been told on more than one occasion to "work over the new guy" For my current students I show them what light contact looks like. If they go too hard I tell them to lighten up. If someone ups the game while sparring i turn it up too, but ask if they really want to go harder.

[@irishninja9857]

I think you had the right idea when you told that guy he needed to come to a couple classes first. That way you get a chance to evaluate the guy and see what type of person he is. My first TKD instructor offered the first week for free so students could see if it was for them, but he also used that time as like a probationary period to see what type of person you were. We weren't allowed to spar until after that first week and your first sparring partner was either him or his assistant instructor and then based on your skill level he would place you in one of two sparring groups. During that first week the sparring etiquette is made very clear and even reiterated before your first sparring match. If you got too aggressive or lost your temper he would kick you out.

[@daniel-san836]

I recently started and left a BJJ studio due to financial reasons more than anything, i thanked the sensei, said the class had great energy and that I will miss everyone etc, but said i needed something more contextually relevant to my security work with what little money and time i have (because i only have so much to spend on martial arts/gym and i'll be damned if i'm going to the ground with meth heads) next minute he's challenging me to a fight, claiming all kinds of stuff about how BJJ and Boxing are the most effective martial arts. I took my white belt back in to his dojo right away (since he'd gifted it to me), in front of everyone bowed to him presenting the white belt and said "I honor what you do" and he says with a smirk, "you don't know what I do, are you ready to fight". The guy has established a verrrry popular dojo, he's winning gold medals with his students at whatever BJJ competitions are going down in the area which of course I applaud, but it's so not relevant to my effectiveness as a security guard. Anyway, I later that day managed to smooth things out with him because he'd clearly assumed I'm somehow insulting BJJ and he had some major sensitivity around that, but I simply don't have the time and money to dedicate to something so complex that has less to gain in the short term which I can't already gain from my existing personal training. So to date, my only experience with BJJ guys hasn't been great. All that humility stuff from Karate is just not part of it.

[@BlackWingedSeraphX]

You should do a crossover/podcast with Ramsey Dewey!

[@Xf2tygr]

Hey Icy man. ever since you brought this up i've been thinking of a way you could screen possible Dojo stormers. it's a tuff one. Have you seen the walking dead? The main character uses a system of questions to see if the humans alive are trustworthy : How many walkers have you killed? How many people have you killed? Why? In your case, you could go with : how did you found out about my school? have you trained before? what style and how long ago/duration? what got you into fighting sports? why do you spar? why do you like to spar? what is your goal in sparring? How do you feel when sparring? If someone hurts you, how would you feel? If someone hurts you would you hit back harder? At first glance these are basic questions, but i believe if you find the right ones and ask them face to face, with your experience you would definitely find out what the deal is with the person. Some answer will definitely show the red flags. All of this if you want to give first day sparring opportunity, otherwise just allow spar at the 4th or 5th day of training if you don't know shite about them. Keep sharing those podcasts man! Keep up the good work! Cheers

[@hard2hurt]

I really love this input... and i have a strong bullshit detector... but the people often pass screening attempts like this because they genuinely believe they understand. Its very similar to asking people if they are good drivers.

[@Xf2tygr]

​@@hard2hurt oh yeah, no doubt about it. There as to be a certain profile\personality trait that differentiates troublemakers of the regular folk. My idea is to find a set of questions, either scenario based, polemic, even outright strange, where you force emotional answers and with the use of your veteran bullshit detector find the redflags. I don't believe you can know right there if he's trustworthy, but you can get a general idea if he'll be trouble or not. I'm looking forward to see what solution you come up with. Good luck👍.

[@allegedsongsmith]

Always appreciate your humility and humor. As someone who has thought about visiting your gym, I think saying you have to attend a certain number of classes before sparring would be totally reasonable.

[@pejakwopes954]

"As a kid i got beat-up for running my mouth" "As a youtube star I get beat-up for running my mouth" Sounds about right 😂

[@metrolinamartialarts]

Well, I think it's important for them to pass a test. For my school, we always do drills and a 9-round workout -- then we spar. If they can't pass the workout, they don't spar.

[@jasonballenger2505]

People are more likely to listen if you wear them out a little first. If they're all gung ho for more after 9R then they didn't push it in the first place.

[@Brass_Heathen]

59:27 In my experience it's because on an emotional level fighters are sensitive people. I know it's a weird dichotomy but I see it often. Also if your talking shit it's usually not a sign your humble.

[@Markblood889]

fighting is the new emo

[@cassanateli]

Put it this way nobody gets into this sport properly without having some kind of issue deep down

[@johngroen]

Hi Mike, Here in the Netherlands we spar very hard (kickboxing), but after training for a good time of course. And you always have the choice not to. And I think when you want to test your self do competition. I am also an old dude (49) and think how you explaining it I totally agree. Love your channel, Greetings from Holland Ush

[@bunnieseatliverspots]

Hard sparring is dumb.

[@fbiagent2848]

It’s dumb if you’re going into training every week and getting a concussion. If all you do is play sparring then you end up getting something like what taekwondo where people just barely touch each other with ineffective kicks. You’ve gotta know what it’s like to be in a fight to know how to pretend you’re in a fight

[@shounaksanyal5875]

Man your content is awesome!!! Been following your channel for over a year now and I really wanna move to the United States someday just to train at your gym. Respect from India .....

[@HellHoundzProductions]

I Do have a little input on the power fluctuation thing. when I 1st started training at an MMA gym in central Texas while in the military, I went in there as an open book ready to forget everything I thought I knew about boxing and fighting from get my ass kicked in street fights and started training about 3 months. oddly since you mention people who've been training for 3 months a lot. I was getting bit more confident and The most experienced student who at the time was the Tri county champ for his divisionWas getting ready for a fight in a few weeks and no one seemed to want to spar with him. because I have quite a bit of experience getting in street fights I was feeling pretty confident by this point and volunteered any time he didn't have a sparring partner, knowing someone would fill in on the partner I was going to have. To get to the point he was doing really well keeping me at Bay with strong jabs. I was managing to get my block up for just about every power throw with his strong hand. So he started mixing in the leg kicks. I was just matching his pace or trying to and couldn't really keep up . Not for lack of cardio but due to his much higher fight intelligence. I ended up eating a right hook into my block by stepping in and already had my right hand on the move By the time he made contact with my arm. I caught him fully open with my right hut he took one step back shook it off and I saw a fire light in his eyes next thing I really remember after that was he pushed in took me down put me in a triangle choke and made me tap without using his hands. In my case I feel like it was desperation Against a more skilled opponent that made me hit a little to hard. Admittedly biased on this last statement. I come to this conclusion because I'm usually really good at pulling punches, or firing full speed and just touching you when I land. In hindsight I might have been upping the pressure a little too much due to not really being experienced sparring in a gym setting and him preparing for a fight was all too eager to match My pace.

[@YourFavoriteLibertarian]

I know all about that snail mail Netflix life!

[@pedrovalentino6684]

Yo Mike i’m tryna spar 😡 where u at?

[@cuzz63]

The guy your talking about at 13:30 is what we call giving the green light. Beating up a youtube personality doesnt prove anything. Sparring is not fighting.

[@Zapinator321]

That is kind of messed up that internet weirdos want to fight you. It's different if they came to class before sparring, but still.

[@rotarybirch3420]

That minds smash impression was on point

[@danielbuhr4260]

Newly subscribed, thanks for the good content. I love your input and your realness. I wish more people explained why karate kicks aren't very useful (unless youre a master) and why things like clinch and controlling the pace DO matter.

[@danielbuhr4260]

Also, I agree completely about sparring. It should be fun and not harmful. However, I've also been the intimidating guy at the gym unintentionally. I have mental issues and was going through a rough time. While I never sparred real aggressively or anything, I definitely scared about 90% of the club just because I was literally losing my mind. I think boxing was the one thing that helped me through that time, and I was so appreciative of the club and the coaches despite what they thought of me.

[@stephanielongden597]

Get away with you, you have a fantastic personality and a great sense of humour. I found your chanel today and am loving you and what you do.

[@chasewhite7908]

Revisiting these lol. Good stuff. I wish you still had time for the podcast man

[@boereburger6762]

As an ex pro kickboxerr and MMA fighter, and now a coach, i tell my guys that if an outsider wants to spar, take it easy as usual, when he goes hard, destroy him. We found most outsiders only want to test you. If they realise they cant beat you, they spar decent. If they think they can beat you, they will. They only test you, believe me. Egos!!! Extreme in all fighting sports.

[@RicoMnc]

A certain amount of training that allows an instructor to evaluate and qualify someone for sparring is a great idea I wish more schools took it to heart. One critique of an area FTF school I have is that they encouraged sparring way too early without enough supervision and guidance. My opinion. They have their reasons. You can't learn to fight if you don't spar, that's true, I just prefer a bit more structured and slower path into sparring. BJJ schools are notorious for throwing new white belts into free rolling. Mine is different, they require demonstrating competency in a base curriculum that takes about 2 months before allowing free, full rolling. Everyone does hard, situational or position drilling from the start.

[@kanucks9]

Yeah it was a good thing I had wrestled before. I ended up sparring on my first day in BJJ, and I will cherish the look on that guys face when I fireman tossed him (on the knees, gentle dump - I'm not a crazy person) Coach told me "positional sparring, no submissions" and I kept to that - I just didn't bother to tell my sparring partners lol.

[@Yougothustled420]

Lmao the way he reacts to anime

[@cuzz63]

Not unknown in Martial Arts gyms. Over the 30 years I have been training and coaching I have had people walk in and act just like this a number of times. The majority of people dont come in and test you but there a small number that will.

[@Bayakan]

really good talk

[@zachariahz]

I've been training at a boxing gym at the age of 44, we did a drill the other day where one person moves the bag around and punches the other person, not sparring, but you do get hit. In way it's easier to to hit the person on the bag because they are focused on hitting the bag and not you. I'm working with this kid, just kind of lightly tapping him here and there when it's my turn to hold, no big thing. He almost gets mad at me for going too light. Once it's it's his turn (he's a big dude too), it starts ok, then I eat a pretty tough hook and think "eh, it's ok"..next shot that lands is basically a hard kind of slapping hook -to the back of the head, basically a rabbit punch-, I get wobbly. No way am I ever sparring this dude if he can't even maintain control in this context. Honestly, I don't like working with young men generally because it's always like this, and 90% of the time they have something to prove. At my age, I care about my safety and long term training longevity, I'm not risking that for junior's ego. The other issue with boxing sparring as I understand it is that lots of guys want to do competition, so they want to spar with something approaching fight intensity.

[@zachariahz]

@Allan Cap I did Judo for about a year, I've done rolling and sparring of various kinds, sport Karate as a kid, other kinds of Karate sparring. I'm not totally unused to getting hit (though I don't have much sparring skill) , just don't want to train with people who are not safe at my age. I mean, rolling is easier because unless someone is crazy you can save yourself pain by not letting your ego get in the way of safety by tapping when you need. Even Judo, when you have to fall you fall, that's the best way to avoid injury. In boxing you just get hit, so your partner is more responsible for your safety. The culture of grappling generally is more mellow too, in my opinion.

[@zachariahz]

@Allan Cap No, I'm not that interested in it, I've done just enough rolling/newaza to know I don't like it that much.

[@zachariahz]

@Allan Cap Not really, but it depends on your partners. most Judo classes have standing randori and newaza, the newaza is like rolling - chokes, locks etc., but standing randori you take a lot of falls. It's not bad if you learn how to fall and always fall when you need to, but taking falls is hard on the body. The worst I got hurt in Judo was from new people, the blackbelts (most of my sparring was against them) would toss me around without me ever getting hurt at all.

[@dvldgz6306]

If I got a chance to do a very light spar with icy Mike I'd love it. He is only 4 hours away from me. But if he wanted to go hard I'd pass lol

[@sammyli9456]

Sparring a stranger or somebody we do not personally know can cause a vengeful response.

[@catt8111]

I would sell my soul to give Icey MOIIKEEE! Sub Zero powers! Screw fighting, FREEZE all unworthy challengers, hahahaha. I think even through light no damage sparring you should be able to tell that Mike would absolutely tear your ass part if it really got down to it, hahaah.

[@SIMUL4CR4]

Ahhhhhaahaha man Mike's breakdown of anime was the most succinct critique of Dragonball Z I've ever heard.

[@dizdeck357]

I think you need to be clear with them on how you train. Als maybe see there skills. Have them hit the bag and see there level. You control your home, not them. I have had crazy people come in and challenge me. I dont even entertain it I tell them to go down the street and train with the other martial arts school.

[@AboveTheHeavens]

Make ppl pay $3/lbs to spar

[@capitalistraven]

Nice

[@fauxbravo]

We didn't call it a kung fu palace before, but that's what I'm going to call it now.

[@ulfhazelcreek8108]

When I trained traditional the people I trained with were, largely, fairly accomplished former criminals or fighters. Big, strong guys that if ever a fight broke out I would get beat within a heartbeat. But they never tried to bully, dominate or hurt anyone. They could have, easily, but they just ”did enough” to make it difficult to level where you could learn. As you said, those that can beat someone up seldom feel the need to try.

[@natedawg8459]

@icymike they have to do classes before they spar. It’s the only option for you to judge their character before they are in a position to hurt people. Also framing matters when you talk to someone. Anyone who can’t change their power level is either immature or unskilled or both. So you say to them once they start going too hard “hey we’re doing light sparring and you’re not going light, if you can’t control yourself you can’t spar” they do it again (second warning is where you draw the line anyone can make a mistake once or misjudge a single shot I.e the person advances or weaves into the jab/ cross/ round kick, whatever so it hits harder than intended) the second time you say “I just told you to go light and you can’t seem to control yourself so you can either watch, leave or see if anyone wants to go hard with you and just spar with them” Should solve it and their choice will give you better insight into the person. Helps if you think of the person as a puzzle you’re trying to solve and fix to be part of the gym rather than as a person who you think might be trying to hurt you/ your guys.

[@joshuarooks2882]

What’s up icy Mike big fan This comment is off-topic off subject comment about your old video I love the tactical whip I really do I feel a lot more confident when I have it and I’m aware that you Still must know how to defend and protect yourself Somewhat but I’m just a big fan of the tactical whip I have not had to actually use it I did tag the hell out of my brother across the Back of his calf drop like a bag of rocks due to the sheer pain love the tactical whip God bless take care be safe

[@doranlader1884]

Have you ever trained someone with PTSD or any other mental health issue?

[@hard2hurt]

Yes, many.

[@lutherportnoi1611]

2nd day at a boxing gym - ONLY boxing gym I ever went to in my life - they have me spar a pro AFTER I did 15 rounds of rope skipping.

[@BloodyInitiate]

I think the reason traditional martial artists might struggle to moderate their power initially is because they learn technique first. They won’t throw a strike until they feel their body line up right, at which point they maybe underestimate the value of their technique and the power it generates. Their muscle memory doesn’t activate until it’s lined up to that minimum power level. Before that they’re just kinda nervous and weak because they don’t learn to throw until they’re ready. That emphasis on technique means their imperfect strikes (most of them) are pretty limp and uncertain, and then occasionally they get their feet right and slam something out because that’s all they practiced.

[@JamesReborn2023]

I would love to spar with you, but I don’t see how it would be weird, a friendly spar to me is awesome. It makes us both better, and we get to see things other people do that’s different from ourselves. It’s just fun, if people know how to actually spar. Edit: if I ever get time off work, I will definitely come to some classes one day, I’d just have to make a vacation trip to South Carolina.

[@ScroDiddly]

"Jumpy" refers to an emotional tie to the fight itself that cannot be controlled.

[@trungnamnguyen3420]

Maybe you should have an "open sparing day" once or twice a year, and who want to come and "spar" has to register and would be picked random from a list!

[@cesaralvesdemoraes3187]

It's a bad idea to randomize it bro, you gotta match weight, experience and objectives

[@jackhenry290]

I couldn’t imagine being an influencer and trying to run a real brick and mortar. People are to crazy lol

[@FARever72onxbox]

You are what makes professional fighters. I wanted to make it to your gym, I wrecked my car prior to going to the beach and my father didn’t wanna take me that far. I would say “I wanna fight” you so you go full force on me so that I learn. I was taught plenty that one day. My old gym hates me now, and I am stuck at home with mom and dad. I wanna buy mats and open my own gym now, I doubt that would or will happen. I wish someone would take me under their wing and support me and let me train others and teach.

[@FARever72onxbox]

I feel like I am a stranger to everyone...

[@Markblood889]

Dog you need to calm down. Why does your old gym hate you?

[@FARever72onxbox]

Real Human You sound like you hate me, if you telling me to calm down I must have a bad attitude. 😕

[@johnm249]

When I was young and boxing every session was a war. Hell when I was 12 years old we kicked the crap out of each other and these were our friends. The boxing coaches were "old school" from 1940s so they would encourage ass beating sparring as the rule. But in the "real world" a TRUE educational experience is to try things out to see if they would work or not. If you get a guy who wants a WAR send him to a boxing school. I mean like Golden Gloves AAU club or Kickboxing School where the guys actually compete.

[@mastro2075]

Is there a video on how to spar bigger guys or what should do etc

[@craigrushworth5775]

Good Words, Mate

[@scotliddell7657]

Sometimes guys show up are new students that you don't know. You can usually quickly assess them and have them train with your bigger/better students. But no sparring until you know them. Sparring should be by invitation only.

[@dacenmarus1618]

Someone needs to remix "Hard shot! Huh? Hard shot! Yeah! Hard shot! Ooh!"

[@razorback0z]

I thought I was so good back in the day because my Muay Thai instructor often asked me to spar with him outside of training sessions. After a particularly tough spar, he told me the reason he likes sparring with me is because I can take a hit without "sooking" (as we say in Australia). I was kind of bummed because I thought it was because I gave him a challenge.... but I learned later having a solid chin is not a bad thing, but Id rather be better at fighting lol...

[@lucas9751]

I think you're too worried about figuring out intentions beforehand. You can't weed dudes out in any reliable way. Focus more on ending the problem when it arises. If you're sparring a new guy, and he goes too hard, check it immediately. Don't worry about why he's going to hard, don't worry about whether or not he's meaning to. Just immediately shut it down. These dudes will always be a problem so learn how to handle it, not how to avoid it.

[@relytrecneps2438]

At the boxing gym I went to you had to train in the basics classes for a minimum of 3 months and be tested by a coach before you can do sparring of any kind. If you passed then you'd move up to intermediate.

[@Holden1296]

I think they want to fight you, MIke, because of your success in your niche. Keep it up lol.

[@kevinruesch2864]

Testing black belt Testing is for Testing kumite/ sparring is for learning and seeing where you are if you are ready for testing and see if you're ready for more advanced techniques andits mostly only the ones preparing for a tournament or Testing who really spar it is mostly drilling daily as its cooporatitive like one step

[@kindoflikewayne7965]

some people kind of just need their ego’s checked

[@Shinkenwillow]

Talking to one who did traditional arts from Wing Chun Baijquan and old school tkd and Kyokushin but personal trainer and kickboxer not far than a hard spar, but I get frustrated when someone overcoming by using rules to make the sport (for the comfort zone some fighters have in there) but I train them to work under stress and I am 1,72m and 62kg... when I'm going frustrates them cos I'm evading or counter without being hit clean cos I spar joke them and say relax keep structured are just swimming outta their sea and losing confidence, so I regularly get helped but If someone taller and bigger upsets then I had to stop immediately- basic a baji elbow posed on chest and other hands to keep them in middle air while whitin elbow, that don't strikes, comes a takedown... but if I go to a Thai class and I go slower than let damage some people wich I can kick spinning around with my landed leg in air too ahah and them find me lower fighting skills and then attacking without any balance or something and after I told them and then may caress them face with a kick that's not been seen and then they are cover in rules tricks or start to teach me, its do skilled martial artist get upset... seems I agreed with all you're talking on! And I grow in bad hood in Italy so no guns but decades or real hard from 2to5 on me and my "high school pretend friends" about u told in another podcast doing near nothing to run :)

[@cdgins]

If you're sparring someone you don't know, it shows more skill to demonstrate you can hurt them, and don't hurt them, then it does to actually hurt them. But, unfortunately, some people are clueless and don't get what you're doing.

[@felipe.lizama.archviz]

If some day I travel to the States I'd like to train with you. I ' ve seen you have an interesting approach and knowledge in martial arts

[@JWMCMLXXX]

A Kung Fu... palace XD

[@londonarevalo2480]

At our gym we would give the visitors a warning that we'll hit as hard as we're hit, Lol! That normally worked for us but occassionally you get a nitwit!

[@egangray5590]

My boxing coach made us fight the first time we came in (I got beat up). In his mind, if you flipped out, didn't last the 3 minutes, or didn't come back the next day, he didn't want you there anyway.

[@YoureFavoriteFailure]

I dont have an active NEED to fight you. But it would truly be an experience to come see your gym in person, maybe take a class. And the type of sparing you do is probably the most helpful and funnest way to spar and learn

[@evansoronen1451]

I would have say that maybe the reason traditional martial artists seem so jumpy is because the sparring matches are point-based, so the person makes a habit of not even wanting to be touched. Which I suppose could be considered a bit of a double edged sword.

[@hard2hurt]

Good point. Like they don't think they should get hit AT ALL

[@inkednpierced4u53]

Don't know if it is just me for some reason but the audio does not line up at all on this....at first I thought he was doing a bit with the mismatched audio like old school martial arts movies...

[@bunnieseatliverspots]

Just require at least one training session before they can spar.

[@adanolivera4500]

What about sending out your best student? when people go to spar with you I think your best student should jump in to ask to spar with the new guy, two things will happen, it will give you a chance to see what you are up against and it might stop any bad intentions. Here in Cancun when I was training and a new guy came in and wanted to roll the instructor would always send his best or second best (in case the number one guy wasn't in) usually the new guy would get dominated and not try to challenge the instructor.

[@pirelo5935]

That guy throwing hard kicks who got upset when u went back at him I can 1000 percent relate to fuck those kinds of people

[@andrewboardman2654]

do do hah!

[@mxu111]

Our gym requires at least 10 other "regular" classes before that person could take the sparring class. That effectively eliminates most visitors.