1st time sparring and I am exhausted. Why?

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conditioning is important

Postby yeniseri » Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:50 pm

Physical/cardiovascular conditioning is extremely important but many ignore it in IMA/CMA. Build gong and quan will develop!
What does that mean? In additonal to your training routine/sensitivity exercise/tuishou/qi'na/shuaijao, you must do 2 man drills along with fitness routines to better your training. It is imperative, or you will be like a paper tiger
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Postby misterwhite » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:23 pm

What you are experiencing is natural. Everyone goes through it.

The human body has the capacity to go all out for about 10 to 20 seconds. At 3/4 of maximum output maybe 40 seconds, tops. That is why the strategies for the 100 meter dash and a marathon are different and engage different metabolic pathways. It doesn't matter what kind of shape you are in.

That, and what other posters have mentioned, relaxing completely as you spar, and breathing, are the reasons you feel what you do.

Marathoners have known for a long time that they must run the first couple of miles somewhat slower than their average or they won't finish the race.

I think the key to the problem is revealed in that you have sore calves. That means you were fighting with your legs tensed and rigid.

Next time you spar, notice how you breathe. My hunch is that you are only using the very top portion of your lungs, ie shallow breathing and probably breathing very rapidly. As others have said .. you are probably holding your arms very rigid which burns oxygen as well.

Would there be an opportunity at your school to watch senior students spar .. by senior, I mean those who have been sparring for 10 years or more? Many of the best react to their opponents rather than pursue. My first school was a mill for churning out professional fighters (PKA). Wednesday night was "fight the school" night.

The two senior students in class that night had to fight everyone in the class for a minimum 2 minutes each without stopping. That is impossible to do unless you are thoroughly relaxed and breathe throughout slowly and calmly.

Best of luck in your attempts to relax during future sparring. Try to get as much experience as you can and as your instructors allow. You don't want to learn these valuable lessons on the street.



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Postby Dim Mak » Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:36 pm

Hi, I'm new here and I realize this is an extremely late answer to the initial question, but I find that the best way to ease people into sparring is by starting with slow sparring. Start at about 25% speed; no power. Just focus on your own relaxation until the point of impact, focus on breathing deep so that the abdomen expands instead of the chest, and focus on footwork. Continue this for a while. Then warm up with slow sparring 25%, and move up to 50% when you are loose, and try to remember to focus on the same issues as above. Then in a couple of weeks or so move up to 75% and then 90%. In this way you can program your muscle memory to react the same way no matter what speed. As many of us know, it is much better to slowly build good habits, than it is to quickly build bad ones and spend months trying to overcome them. Anyway, just my opinion.
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