Sparring

There are many ways to spar in Jiu-Jitsu.

Beginners don't roll at all. The first that a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu student experiences is called “Freestyle Fight Simulation.” It is introduced in the weekly, “Reflex Development” class. To qualify for this, a student will have already been training in the twice-weekly White Belt classes for at least five months.

“Freestyle Fight Sim” isn't really sparring at all, but it's close. One person takes the roll of the bad guy, and freely presents their partner with all the assorted attacks that the student has been learning to counter. Normally, the bad guy is a higher-belt student. The goal is to respond appropriately to all the bad-guy moves and attacks that are presented. Things usually happen at about half speed.

Real sparring starts when the student reaches the Blue Belt, or “Master Cycle” class. We roll in various ways there.

My least favourite type is where one partner wears boxing gloves and plays the bad guy. They portray a non-Jiu-Jitsu attacker who only wants to punch. It is a useful drill, but generally repetitious, as against that type of attack there are a limited number of responses. We do this every week or two.

We do another type of sparring where both partners wear small, padded gloves that leave the fingers free. Both partners to their best to subdue their partner. They both throw light punches to keep themselves aware of the dangers of striking. Again, a useful drill. I dislike it as even these smaller gloves interfere greatly with technique.

My favourite type is the kind we do the most often. No gloves; no punching; all grappling. This is when the full range of technique is used, without the annoying gloves to get in the way. This is what most people think of when they thing of Jiu-Jitsu people rolling. There are two versions of this type of roll.

One has the label of, “Keep it Real.” When we go this way, we do our best to control and subdue our partner.

I prefer the other, called, “Keep it Playful.” This is when we roll, but let stuff happen that wouldn't if we were trying to win. If things get locked down, you give up the impasse. It's more an exchange of technique than a competition. An example would be allowing an armbar to happen even if you could have prevented it, and then seeing if you can escape. I learn the most when I roll this way, and it's more like a game.

All the variants are a lot of fun.

The down side is the potential for bumps and bruises.