Part 1 of a 3 part Blog Post
At JTF taekwondo school, our primary goal is to teach our students the martial art of Taekwondo. "Martial," can most simply be defined as “warlike.” But in practical terms for a modern day student of Taekwondo (or almost any other Martial art), the core of being "warlike" starts with self awareness and includes comprehensive training that will lead to real skills in the art of self defense.
It is unfortunate that we live in a world where self defense is even needed, but sometimes we have to put aside our ideals for reality. This becomes evident to us as we raise our children. Bullying in its various forms, is at an all time high level. Whether it is on the playground or on the computer, our children are at risk of being hurt physically and emotionally almost daily.
Taekwondo and Where Sparring Comes In
There are other disciplines in the martial arts community that teach non-contact forms of training. These martial arts can have their benefits but we don't feel that they really prepare a student for real world self defense situations. If a student doesn't have any idea how to hit, or take a hit, they could be in real trouble. In a real life situation, this could be the difference of surviving an altercation.
With Taekwondo, even through low contact sparring, the student can begin to build confidence that they will be able to handle whatever (or whomever) comes at them in a real world situation.
But Sparring Scares Me, Is it Really Important or Necessary?
It is common to have a bit of fear and trepidation over sparring or anything that looks like fighting. You may be asking yourself (for yourself or your child student), the following questions:
Why do we need contact in sparring? Especially for kids, will they get hurt? This seems kind of unnecessary, can’t they just pretend? Will sparring actually prepare me for a real world fight? If you have any of these questions, you are not alone. This has been a discussion in the martial arts for decades, and is the reason why many martial arts schools teach a non contact style.
Next up
Over the next couple of blog posts, we will discuss different aspects of sparring, including working through fear and how to actually stay injury free while practicing it. We also will discuss the psychology of "the fight," and some of the actual "how to," with actual sparring techniques.
Commentaires