Do you remember that scene in Batman where Bruce Wayne is training on the ice with Henri Ducard (i.e., Ra’s al Ghul). Thinking he has won the duel, Bruce Wayne is pretty pleased with himself when he has Henri kneeling at sword point.
Henri Ducard: Always mind your surroundings.
Bruce Wayne: Yield.
Henri Ducard: You haven’t beaten me. You’ve sacrificed sure footing for a killing stroke.
[he taps the ice with his sword, plunging Bruce into the water]
Such a situation emerges from time to time during sparring in the dojo. Not swords and killing strokes, but less experienced students looking to prove something or feeling that they have proved something by landing a significant blow against a senior student. Now before anyone gets all bent out of shape, let me say three things:
- I used to be one of those students, so I have some personal experience in addition to having observed it in others.
- Sparring, hopefully, is the closest any of us will ever come to an actual fight. It gives us the opportunity to test skills we have been acquiring in a more fluid and real life-like scenario. Using a technique effectively in an appropriate situation helps build confidence in what one is learning and in one’s ability to protect oneself and associated loved ones. There is nothing wrong with feeling good about how one has performed in a sparring match.
- If you are upset by my observation that some take sparring ability as a measure of their “badassedness” (sorry for the language), I challenge you to look hard at your own experiences and consider whether you see a part of yourself in that statement.
Let me convey my own experience from years ago. One of the reasons I train in karate-do is to build my self-confidence – a chronic area of weakness in my character. When I was a blue belt, I used to feel like if I made a good showing in sparring against a more advanced student than others would respect me. I defined my self-worth, in large part, by how others viewed me in the dojo.
During the testing cycle being described, I had to spar in front of everyone against a brown belt close to testing for his black belt. I performed well. At the end of the match, I blocked a fairly well-placed reverse punch to my solar plexus just as our Sensei shouted “Yame” (stop), signalling the end of the match. I dropped my hands only to find my opponent seizing the opportunity to hit me one last time. Without missing a beat, I fired and landed a front snap kick on my opponents right hip. He was a large fellow like myself (except he was all muscle – me, not so much). The kick knocked him back into the weapons rack mounted on the Shomen wall, breaking the rack in half. There was no way I was going to let him show me up by getting in a cheap shot at the end of a bout. “I didn’t start it,” I thought, “but I sure am going to finish it.”
What a miserable failure on my part.
Sparring is not a particularly important part of training for me any longer. For those in our dojo who thirst for it in an appropriate way, I say go for it and enjoy. Any time I am required to be part of sparring, I am sure to keep thoughts of my failure in the front of my mind. You see the goal of sparring at the dojo level is to hone technique, practice precision and self-control, and learn what works well and not so well for you. For some it’s an exercise in overcoming fear.
To any who can be heard making statements such as “so and so doesn’t hit very hard,” or be seen smirking and swaggering after landing a good punch against a higher rank, I encourage you to watch the video below of me kicking a second degree black belt’s butt.
https://youtu.be/BucLrpVzfQs
Not quite what you expected eh? The video is of my son Isaac and I sparring in our driveway last fall (sorry about my jammies … my neighbors always wonder what they’re going to see next). Isaac is a second degree black belt is our system currently, but you know what he focused on – “oh, I’m dropping my front hand when I throw a kick.” Myself, I focused not on my wobbly kick but on the pun potential of the clip.
More seriously, the clip below shows a small bit of sparring where my goal was working on clearing the opponent’s front hand to open a target. In line with Henri’s position in the Batman quote above, you’ll see that when I finally get Isaac with a weak shot, it is to the non-vital area of the shoulder. I really had to reach for it as well. I ended up putting myself off balance and, therefore, at a disadvantage. Every time I tried to get to striking points on his centerline, Isaac was ready with a block. The little turd … Sorry, that’s Sempai Turd to you and me. Isaac nicely demonstrated sacrificing portions of non vital areas while ensuring complete protection of danger zones.
https://youtu.be/k0fE3UkCy9o
When Isaac did attack, you’ll notice he does not try to pummel or injure me. In fact, he strikes with open hands and barely touches me. He does not spar with something to prove his worth or in some distorted attempt to feed his ego. In this instance, he was enjoying some fun with his Dad on a cool autumn morning. As the slow-mo shows, however, had a true need arisen to disable me as an opponent, he is capable of attacking with deadly precision. Isaac’s self-confidence is not predicated on how capable others think him to be, but only upon what he knows of himself and his ability to respond should the need ever arise.
For me, I am only now beginning to understand and experience what author and martial artist, Michael Clarke, writes with great eloquence:
As you move ever deeper into the study of real karate, you will discover the need to give more than you take, to listen more than you speak, and to strive for a sense of balance that brings with it a deep and meaningful sense of contentment. From such a place, it is possible to chart a course through life that is peaceful. From a position of strength and confidence you can choose to be humble and considerate, making the world a better place to live for you and those you come into contact with. Is this utopia (?), hardly; just an opportunity to change how you think and interact with those who populate your daily life. If you don’t fight, you never lose …