FranLover wrote:
To me sparring is martial arts, and everything else just preparation.
I totally agree!
I'm sure there are some physical benefits to Katas and other types of forms and sole-practices, it can be good preparation, but imo sparring is where most of the benefit comes from. It's where you can actually test what you learn, and it shines the light of the Truth, because we all may have fantasies about how good we are but there is no lying when you are facing another (or several others) trained person who is truly trying to resist and counter your moves.
Also, I feel the perseverance necessary to overcome almost losing in sparring, and then keep struggling and surviving (or winning), is something very unique, it really helps one grow as a person imo.
FranLover wrote:
I love being able to hit hard, and work with someone who hits hard, and really go at it with a black belt or red belt, but you can’t do that always because it’s too much damage on the head (more if you are working with kicks to the head, which is what I like.)
It’s nice to just play; throw all the punches and kicks you want but do it with 60% force, laughing with your partner, having fun. Learning. This is all I am in for.
Totally, I think that's the thing with striking arts, that you cannot hit hard without doing a lot of damage, but I think you can get a lot of benefit and much less damage, as you said, with lower intensity sparring. Not everybody knows how to keep that lower intensity though, you gotta have good training partner. Some people start getting angry/vengeful if they start losing, even in lower intensity, and then they start hitting stronger.... With the right sparring partners though, it's sooo awesome.
FranLover wrote:
I don’t care about the forms, I don’t care about the “lessons”, about the history, about the numbers in Korean. I don’t submit to any authority—naturally, classes became unbearable for me, which is why I work out alone now, as finding a GOOD honest place (dojan, dojo, etc.) is EXTREMLEY hard.
Yeah the whole "sensei" thing can get pretty silly at times, people idolize their instructors as if they are super-humans... This can actually be dangerous, since some unethical instructors take advantage, and occasionally you hear stories of abuses happening in school, or also deluded people buying into myths about their "super deadly style", overestimating their abilities due to lack of sparring, and then potentially getting hurt if they ever try and use it in real life scenarios.
Im lucky to have some of the most chill, down-to-earth teachers, and yet very very skilled.
FranLover wrote:
I love Martial Arts. To me Martial Arts is LOVE. It’s very hard for people to see it like I do. Many think it’s violent to spar. Hitting people is bad they say. These people don’t understand that a sparring partner is on the game with you, i.e., not defenseless. It’s a game. Just like chess. Do you take a chess move personally? Neither do sparrers.
Exactly. Another thing that is very hard to describe is the actual bond that you can form with people you sparr with.. After all that contact, blood sweat and tears shed together over many years, there is a very special bond formed.
FranLover wrote:
But yeah I can’t stand the dojo politics…it’s all childish stuff…And I am a grown man! So, the only class I will stay in is one where I meet good sparring partners.
Agreed. I've visited a few gyms over the years and I cannot stay anywhere that isn't good vibes and people honestly working on themselves through martial arts. If there are politics and silly restrictions, im gonne.
FranLover wrote:
And yeah, I train high on weed all the time! Lifting weights or long distance jogging is cool on shrooms too. A crazy experience in my life was throwing kicks and punches after a changa breakthrough. I was literally the fastest I’ve ever seen someone punch (well, except for Mike Tyson in his prime, which is who I was modelling my punches out of.) Of course, the best time to get psychedelic is at night after training.
With weed I feel creative but less energetic, so I decided to vaporize only after class. I totally agree that taking psychedelics AFTER training is amazing, I really feel accomplished and calm, and can go very deep in the experience. I'd still love to take some shrooms or mescaline and sparr with someone at a similar skill level as me
the_Architect wrote:
Congratulations!
I trained BJJ and no GI for some time, had to stop due to some herniated discs... everytime I try to return something happens, like having a rib poping out. So I got stuck at blue belt, I wish I can come back one day to continue BJJ.
Do it! As Im sure you know at this point, avoid big white belts with ego, roll with higher belts.... Watch your own training so you dont overdo it, rest, stretch.. You can also start going just for the technique and drills and during sparring time you can ask your partner to only flow roll.
the_Architect wrote:Meanwhile I´d been training MMA (all at the same gym or "family"
, mostly technique... got to learn some boxing and I am quite decent at kicking... for a man of my size, and also smashing people´s heaad against the fence (kindly called "the chesee graterr"
LOL at the cheese grater. Yeah man MMA is awesome, but full strenght sparring can be brutal.. If you do it like you describe, mostly technique and maybe some soft sparring, that's awesome. The flow between striking, wrestling and ground grappling is soooo complex, I love it.
Thanks for sharing, interesting! I hadn't seen that video!