| icing karate fights is also known in the dojo or gym as | | | | back and forth in the drill for a few minutes. I was |
| sparring. The goal is not to kill your sparring partner! I | | | | nervous at first. Imagine as a guy punching a girl in the |
| repeat - you are not trying to injure your opponent | | | | head. You don't want to hurt her, but you also don't |
| when engaging in practice karate fights. The purpose | | | | want to look like a chump. Ah, the fragile male ego at |
| is to train your mind and train your body using | | | | work! |
| simulated combat. | | | | Suddenly I felt a pain on the right side of my face. Olga |
| Does it hurt? Sometimes. I'm brand new at my karate | | | | had caught me with a strong left hook flush on the |
| dojo with about 5 months of practice. I walked in the | | | | button. I winced slightly, my pride more wounded than |
| door nearly 25 pounds heavier than I am now. Learning | | | | my mellon. We hadn't started working three punch |
| to kick above my knee caps without falling over was | | | | combinations yet, but she jumped the gun. Rather than |
| a major victory for me. Heck, learning to skip rope in | | | | apologize she just grunted, and I think I caught a hint of |
| the warm up with out mashing my toes was a big | | | | a smirk. It was on.... |
| thing! | | | | We gradually increased the intensity of our practice |
| But after a few month your cardio improves | | | | karate fight, adding in kicks to the body, uppercuts and |
| dramatically. At least mine did with 3 sessions a week. | | | | some clinching. I could tell she was fighting near her |
| I got some basic skills, punching, kicking and blocking. So | | | | maximum level of both control and intensity. She was |
| my instructor one day asked me if I wanted to join the | | | | hitting me far too hard, but I let her go. She wasn't |
| intermediate class and do a little sparring. | | | | really hurting me, and I still was within my limits. |
| That class was mostly muay thai kickboxing, with a | | | | We sparred a full 5 minute round at pretty close to full |
| little karate thrown in for flavor. Cross-training martial | | | | out. I was hitting her about half power with my |
| arts is very common in my gym. I had on 16 ounce | | | | punches and maybe a third with my kicks. The kicks |
| boxing gloves, shin pads, and a mouthguard. I got to | | | | were all she could take from a pain level, but she |
| fight a girl. | | | | handled the punches well. Of course neither of us hit to |
| Yes, I said it. My first karate fight was with a karate girl. | | | | the direct face. In sparring causing a black eye or a fat |
| She was from eastern Europe, her name was Olga. | | | | lip or stitches is just not worth it when everyone has to |
| Nice gal, early twenties, muscular and fit. I think she | | | | go to work on Monday. |
| worked as a corrections officer. We squared off and | | | | The physical exertion was intense. My cardio was |
| slowly began working on jabs, jab-cross combinations, | | | | better than I thought. We were both dripping with |
| and counters. | | | | sweat and our lungs and limbs were burning with |
| I blocked her punches with my forearms or caught | | | | fatigue. I really enjoyed my first intermediate class, I'll be |
| them with my hands. She would throw a few | | | | back for some more karate fights! |
| combinations and then I would do the same. We went | | | | |