How to be a good sparring partner in your grappling classes

I’d like to talk about what makes a good sparring partner. This is something that is not really talked about often, but I think it is also important. If your training partners aren’t that great, it can really affect your results.

I mean, unfortunately, you can’t train these things yourself. Below are some things that I think can be a good training partner. First we have to think in terms of how you are drilling as there are different ways and I will talk about this in more depth in another thread.

Then after that, there is a list of general things that a good partner should have or do.

1. Dead pattern training – No resistance from your partner. It is usually done when you are learning a new move.
2. Progressive resistance drilling – Gradual resistance given by your partner. Added once you start to get more comfortable with the movements
3. Semi-live / Flow / Slow displacement – Rolling live with your partner at a rate that is usually no more than 50% of your maximum effort and both match each other’s pace without muscular movements and without exploding.
4. Rolling live – This is where you are both going with 75% to 100% of your maximum effort and you are both trying to bring out the best in each other. You are trying to time your movements correctly to catch your partner off guard and he is defending with full stamina and vice versa.

Well, now on what makes a good partner in my opinion in each area. Now when you read this and think about it.

Think about it not only in a way of what or how your partner should react when working with you, but also how YOU should react when you are a partner yourself.

In dead pattern training, a good partner:

• It will cooperate in your movements. They won’t give you stamina or a ton of resistance as to where they’ll hamper your workout and keep you from trying the new moves.
• It will not be a corpse. Which means they won’t just loosen up and position your body where you feel every bit of its weight. Doing so will restrict your movements and not at all mimic what it would be like if you were actually shooting live. You will be frustrated with them because they are not making it practical for you at all.
• It will not resist your movements as if piercing them. The dead pattern piercing is a time for you to practice the moves of the technique without having to worry about someone fighting you. It is time to perform the movements and understand a little the initial concepts of the movements. If someone begins to resist immediately, it may spoil your initial attempt at the move and discourage you from doing so in the future because you may think you are doing it wrong.
• You will not only lose your base and balance. Many times when people train with others, especially new students, they tend to lose their balance very easily. They do this even when they probably never would when they are shooting. Let’s say you are practicing a sweep and you know that when you do it in a live situation, a person will probably not lose their balance immediately because their reflexes will be activated and they will try to stay awake because they do not want to lose their balance. swept. However, what happens when you train with a new person or someone who is not a good training partner is that they will just flip. They will even if you barely do anything. It is like a rag doll. This is not a good training partner. In my opinion, this is probably the most frustrating part of a bad training partner when it comes to dead pattern punches. So when you’re a workout buddy and someone’s doing a sweep or something, don’t fall off like you don’t have a sense of stability in your body. React a bit to keep your balance because if your partner does the movement correctly he should sweep you away. I’m not saying you should resist their movements, but don’t fall without them having to do the technique correctly.

When drilling with progressive resistance a good partner:

• You must be aware of what progressive resistance is. It’s not where they suddenly go from dead pattern piercing to 100% full resistance. It’s where you add a little bit of resistance little by little. Some people have a hard time understanding this concept. It is up to you, being their partner, to tell them how much resistance you might want as well.
• You should gradually add resistance while paying attention to what you are doing. The purpose of this is because if you don’t get the moves for some reason, they will be able to give you feedback on what they think you might be doing wrong. Then from there you can adjust your movements accordingly.
• The two of you should discuss when to add more resistance. When you only rely on your partner to progressively add resistance on their own, it tends to be difficult to gauge what each of you wants while drilling when it comes to resistance.

When semi-live / flowing / slow rolling:

• In this type of training it is once again important that your partner and yourself make sure not to confuse it with “Live Rolling”, which is at a much higher rate. You should focus on moving at no more than 50% and feeling your partner’s movements. This helps both of them see things as they move and counterattack each other.
• It is important that you and your partner understand that you need to be creative and nurture each other. By doing this, you will possibly open your eyes to different openings and situations. It can help you see your game from a new perspective.
• It is important that you put your partner in bad positions and then let him escape and pay attention to how he escapes so that you can figure out how to stop him when you do “Live Rolling”.
• Be sure to explore many areas and both you and your partner need to cooperate.
• You and your partner should not compete during this type of training.

When live rolling, a good partner:

• Leave the ego at the door and don’t get frustrated if you get caught in a position or submission. A good partner will learn from that situation.
• Never apply a shipping hold in an extremely fast or malicious way. This is what causes injuries.
• Always submit with control and safety in mind. You want to make sure you don’t hurt your partner because you want to keep training with her.
• Listen to your training partner regarding injuries your partner may have to make sure you don’t go into those areas and hurt your partner even more.
• They will not be malicious there rolling with their partner, for example, they will not stick their chin in their partner’s eyes, or anything similar from that matter.
• It will be competitive at times. Your partners and your role don’t always need to be competitive, but it’s nice to have a competitive nature from time to time to help you get going and test your limits. A good partner is someone who can help you do this.

I know a lot of these in the categories sound similar and it comes down to communication and not being competitive, but I think it’s nice to see the little in-between points as well.

General aspects that a good partner should know:

• Always communicate with your partners. Tell them your injuries and ask if they have any injuries.
• Always keep safety in mind. Be sure to try to avoid unnecessary accidents, such as over-applying introductions or hitting your partner in an accident with your limbs.
• It will be attentive to its surroundings. When they roll, make sure no one is really close to them so they don’t cause an accident around you.
• It will not be tense. Make sure you are not overly tense as it can lead to injury and reduce the effectiveness of your training.
• You will have an open mind to learn from your training partners.
• You won’t stop drilling until the instructor says so or you move on to another technique. They will use their time and want you to do the same.
• He will listen to you. When you tell them that you don’t want to strain, they should listen and not just do what they want, and you should do the same. If he wants to roll light, and you agree, that means he will roll light, not 100%.
• It will let go as soon as someone touches it and it won’t hold on for long.
• He will have no ego and will always deliver on time.
• They will adapt their game according to theirs and your level of experience. If you are a white belt and they are a brown belt, they should adjust their game accordingly and not always go all out. This also applies to differences in size.
• He will make sure they have clean hygiene. Your gi will be clean. They will have clean breath, shower, and use deodorant.
• It will be someone who has a positive view of training and enjoys it as much as you do.
• It will be someone you enjoy drilling with. You never want to leave anyone out, but you also want to make sure you enjoy training with someone and they will help you improve your game.
• It will be someone who supports you and tries to help you motivate yourself. This is important to develop the “Team” aspect and help everyone to take a step forward in their training. You want someone to help push you when you are tired and help you overcome that mental barrier of wanting to give up and stop.