Tuesday in Tel Aviv dojo, spar with ease – 12th day of Blitz
The sparring session today is the usual for August Blitz - from 18:00 till 20:00.
When novices think about Randori or sparring they often think about combat or competition - these are not the same and should never be confused.
When we spar we always use less aggression, less speed and less ego. The main point is not injury prevention - even if the injury rate is much lower at low velocities - the main idea of using flow and giving up in grappling situations is that it builds a better technique, a much better technique.
When people prepare for the Olympics or for a tournament it is essential that they will be at their peak conditioning level and at peak technical skill. But, as I always remind my students, we are not going to the Olympics and moreover, you can not be at peak condition all the time. If you live on the edge you will get cut.
When training for many years, the dojo should strike a middle ground between preparedness, acquiring new skills and injury prevention. An extrem example I am thinking about is from the military: If one trains a counter terrorism team urging them to be on the edge all the time then sooner or later he will loose team members for an overuse or misuse injury.
There should be a balance between getting ready and being lazy. I think that our veterans are in top condition and can also spar with a lot of energy, but they can balance it with deliberately easy session like the one in the video.
The video I am posting is an example of a sparring session of nearly 30 minutes with almost no danger to any opponent and a lot of skill learning during the session. The black belt, one of the most experienced in AKBAN and also a Judo black belt, just gives the beginner a safe feeling and maintains a great attitude during the whole session. It takes a slow motion video to catch some techniques, so I slow motion to highlight this great fight.
Video of the benefits of easy sparring – Blitz 2012
