I have been talking to this girl who akes Karate.She said her instructor enjoys having people come in and want to spar with his students…(lightbulb!)…and I thought well this sounds nice…But I have never gone into another school and asked them this kinda stuff…
…I dont know if I should be really agressive like in a wing chun fight(that is the only way I know how unless the person is no where near a match)Maybe this wil be fun…some of you guys did tell me I shoulddo somehting like this…here is my chance…
sounds like an invitation to me,
go for it!
just make sure you talk to their instructor first to see if there are any rules you are expected to observe(no elbows,no head shots,etc.)
have fun! let us know how it went
Asian martial artists sometimes act like they are open to people from other schools “exchanging” information by a friendly sparring session. What ends up happening is that these ‘friendly’ guys suddenly turn not-so-friendly and have to prove themselves and their egos. Instructors don’t like losing face in front of the class and don’t like students to lose face for their school. And students as well sure as heck don’t want to lose face in front of their peers and their instructor.
Some people might stay friendly but become aggressive. They might not realize they are taking it too seriously but it happens all the time - even in your own school.
You heard that the teacher is open to people coming in to spar from your friend and not the teacher directly. Sometimes misunderstandings occur
Are you prepared to spar with strangers?
Just a few things to think about. In practice, visiting schools is mostly a negative experience although we all wish it could be different.
Don’t forget that to these people, whether they think so or not, you will be a representing the Wing Chun system. So if you “fail”, you fail Wing Chun.
Wing Chun is not to be played with politely in these situations. Between styles, there is no “polite” sparring.
Take caution. If you are allowed to spar, you will most likely be restricted to their rules. I’d wager their rules will take away much of your arsenal. I’ve studied Wing Chun, and also hold dan ranking in TKD. You will be restricted and frustrated by the rules of traditional Karate or TKD sparring. No leg kicks, trapping, holding, elbows, knees, punching to the face and other highly effective tactics you are in the habit of using.
Trust me, I speak from experience. Go and watch the first time. Be polite. Don’t ask to fight or spar. Just represent Wing Chun well by being courteous, polite and respectful. Beating them at their own rules is highly unlikely, and beating them by violating their rules will make you look bad to them.
Keep it real.
C. Martin
Founder Baek Ho Kwan
Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame 00’
few tips.
dont listen when they tell you to stand at their range( kicking range). stand at yours it will freak them out straight away. when they say go attack. it sounds stupid but usually they say go then do their little step back and gaurd then start.
ive found that they usually kick because they think cause we dont kick like them we cant block them.
so just expect everything and you should be right.
Man i gotta talk to you. Your gonna be in FW this weekend right? At the event? What time does all that start? I can’t enter, but it would be fun to watch.
Oh yeah the topic…Um Karate Sparing right? Yeah! Um, keep your hands up. And look 'em in the eye when you bow, that realy pisses them off. Oh and if they are good, don’t **** them off.
IMHO, i think you should try and go for it. if you think you’re ready, do it. i’m not sure about going by their rules though. if it’s you doing your thing, i’d say go for it then. if you do go on wed, i wish you good luck.
From: Pittsfield,Massachusetts Usa
Registered: 01-26-01
Posts: 1279
Yip Man-Moy Yat-Doug Lee-My sifu John Kaufman-me
Yip Man-Tsui Sheung Tin-My Sifu-Me
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Meaning My sifu was tought by Doug,Tsui,& Marty…
With all this training why do have to ask if you should do this? Someone with the background and all this training whould have gone to the school and did what thay had to and walked away.Then told everyone about it on the forum. So, at the ripe old age of 14/15 you still have doughts. You should train more and worry about fighting less, IMHO.
wait until you know the system before going and making a fool out of yourself:) theres a lot more than just plain chi sau to wing chun, and if you dont know the system, dont go out trying to represent it
learn wing chun first, then you can go out and test it
how long have you been doing wing chun and how far into the system are you?
you have to remember that when you do things like this, you ARE representing your school, and can bring a bad name to it
peace
trav
if you never get into a fight,
you can never be defeated,
if you can never be defeated,
you are invincible
Beware if it’s a kyokoshinkai karate school Martal Joe. They train DAMN hard. Also, keep it friendly and show respect to the teacher or you’ll be leaving on your a!
I agree with the fact that you should
sit this one out if you don’t have a lot of
experience using your Wing Chun in a fighting context. You don’t want your school to look bad.
Any seasoned martial artist of any style can
beat a beginner of any other style; remember that.
If you are confident of your abilities , then
go, BUT bring a friend with you.
If things get out of hand, you have someone there to back you up.
Before you fight, tell them you haven’t been training for long. If you win, they will be impressed, if you lose, they won’t be surprised and they won’t gloat as much.
I agree that you should bring a friend, preferably a fellow WC classmate. He can give you moral support as well as corrections and help you analyze things objectively after the sesson so that you can learn from your experience.
I would check with the instructor to make sure that they don’t mind. Clarify what the rules are ahead of time. Some things to ask are contact level (light, medium, hard), kicking below the belt, point system or free sparring, and off limit targets such as the head, back, groin, and joints. Make sure you have the proper equipment (mouthpiece, groin cup, gloves, headgear, etc.) and find out if shoes are allowed. Don’t be afraid to stop and thank your partner and take a rest. Spar different people if you get the chance and leave your ego at the door. If you get a bad vibe then leave. This is not WC vs Karate. This is you trying to apply your WC in a friendly environment. If the atmosphere turns sour, get out as politely as you can.
I’ve sparred a couple times with Karate style people where we were sharing space. We were not allowed to wear shoes and had to wear headgear. They sparred both points and free. Only groin and joint hits were disallowed.
THings that worked for me include:
kicking their kicks - they soon became timid when kicking because I would kick their kicks and then close the gap. Since they usually didn’t do this, they were unused to the contact.
forward intention when chasing and bridging the gap - they had the mentality of hitting and darting back out; either intercept them before they finish or follow them as they try to back away. Receive what comes, escort what leaves, and if the way is free, rush in!
Pak da and tan da worked well for me. Lop da was hard because of the gloves. Often we were separated after one or two ‘exchanges’ or they would back away from the pressure. Take advantage of the opportunity to work your timing, positioning, footwork, and chasing skills against unfamiliar opponents.
Practice stepping into a kick rather than backing away. Use kwun sau and gaun sau against high kicks since you can’t attack the knees. If you time it right you can knock them down with your body structure as you enter. They’ll probably call foul or stop kicking high.
Try to apply your WC. Don’t become some odd hybrid kickboxer to compete with them because you won’t learn anything that way. Be prepared for some backhanded comments from them if you start smacking them around. Things like: “You wouldn’t have been able to do that if it were for real!”, “We don’t allow kicking to the legs here”, “You’re too aggressive, that can be used against you on the street”, and/or “We don’t allow trapping or grabbing here because it’s too dangerous”.
If they have a referee and it’s point sparring, be prepared to have counts go against you and your hits discounted. Keep your head up and just take it as a learning experience and not a challenge match. Don’t let their comments get to you and mess with your head. Be confident of your skills and find out what you did wrong. Don’t be afraid to get hit. Thank them and be polite.
Never heard of it.
