Howdy Partner

“Can you just hold the pads a bit more tighter” said the guy I was holding pads for when I wasn’t holding them right for him while he was trying to elbow them and no that wasn’t several years ago when I was starting out, that was last month. Its not that I can’t hold pads, it’s just that I had to adjust the pads for my partner in Karl Tanswell’s Stand Up Fighting class.

I am writing this article about training partners, without a training partner many Martial Arts cannot be practiced as well as they could be. I have had countless training partners from various experiences. But what makes a good training partner?

I will discuss a good training partner in two categories; these are a partner with a higher skill level or those with the same.

Those with a higher skill level and more experience should help his or her training partner where possible. These should be little hints and tips and not just reiterating what the instructor said. I feel a more experienced Martial Artist training with a lesser skilled benefits both parties.

For example little hints would be informing the lesser skilled person to “pace themselves” and “Don’t tense up when hitting a pad just relax and tense up at point of impact”. Yes I have been told both. The experienced Martial Artist can go through thoroughly what he practiced and if he aspires to be an instructor advising the more inexperienced Martial Artist will only help him or her in the future.

My ideal training partner is that on the same skill level as me. This is because at the same skill level, you can drill or spar at your own level and don’t have to tone it down or teach beginners (although there is nothing wrong with that) and know you can generally trust that partner. The training partner must also be on the same intensity level as me as well.


However a bad training partner is one that aims to hurt their partner. One who gives too much respect, if you think of someone who holds back punches and keeps asking you(on every technique) if he or she did well. A bad partner will employ different techniques and if he is of a higher grade he takes advantage of a beginner by kicking the crap out of them.

There are “awkward” partners but they are not necessarily bad. Take for example my next story:


“Not my fault you didn’t block” said a training partner from Eskrima, who caught me a bit with a stick while we were practicing a stick drill. I have known this guy for years and sometimes he seems to on “automatic” for example he will just carry on hitting hard when he doesn’t need too. Did I enjoy sparring with him? I hated every minute of sparring with him as I thought and still think his intensity level is cranked up to 11 when everyone is on 10 as were told to be on that level by the instructor. In fact people put a psycho or crazy in front of his first name and that pretty much sums up his intensity.

But as I matured I realise that sparring with him can make me think more and become more alive and aware of what he is trying to do. In fact I now enjoy sparring with him now because I know I have to be more aware when sparring against his resistance type attacks.


My favourite training partner though is my brother. This is because we have been training together for a long time and he has always been there for me. There is an 8 year gap between us so he had to wait a while before he could properly spar and train with me. It’s ideal really because he would train on the same intensity level as me and knows where exactly to hold pads for me. Plus we can have a post-lesson analysis of what we did at class and he has occasionally given me hints on how to make skills better

During our earlier days in Eskrima we felt like giving up on two separate occasions. I was the first to want to leave, however it was my brother who encouraged me to return. A few months later my brother felt the same way but I encouraged him to come back and we both haven’t looked back since.


Thanks
Kit.