Sparring at 50% is more dangerous than sparring at 100%

"if they are not tapping out because they are too proud or too stupid, let go" That's the best part of the video imo.

"Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" -Ramsey "Morpheus" Dewey

Thought this was dumb until I realised it wasn't about striking lol

"Hit me as hard as you want to be hit" is always good sparring advise.

Best quote. “Don’t break your training partner, I won’t give you another one” Just brilliant haha.

I feel you should read audio books for a living dude

Being a seasoned boxer for years, when NEW people in the gym start to spar, my coach tells me to always spar with them at their own level, and over time as they get used to sparring, they will start to get better, so again I up the voltage a little bit to match them at their own new pace. until they're used to that level of sparring and so on so forth until they can naturally "fight" without hesitations in the ring. Depending on their style, and what were trying to teach them, sometimes my coach might tell me to be a little faster than them, maybe a little more powerful on them and maybe put a little more pressure on them, to let them not get so comfortable so they can experience the simple truth that "someone is always stronger and faster, so what are u gonna do to make yourself better" it's always good to spar with another person on their own level to help them get better and more experienced. If coaches just let seasoned fighters beat the shit outta the new guys in the gym, those new guys can get hurt, and even lose moral about themselves and quit because they paid a gym their own money so they can be a punching bag.

This guy talks like agent smith from the matrix.

He isnt afraid to let the video breathe. He embraces the silence and avoids jump cuts. Too bad other YTers dont get this. Great video

Sparring at 100% is called fighting so you are saying sparring is more dangerous than fighting? Edit: i just watched the video and while i think the title is a bit inaccurate for striking specifically, he backed up his assertion's very well. I shouldn't have allowed myself join the ranks of vapid keyboard warriors that condemn before listening to the point being made.

For beginners, I agree with light sparring and then as they progress to a decent level, they will automatically "up it" a touch as they improve without having the mental pressure of "oh go full out ". Starting full on encourages bad technique as the red mist comes down for inexperienced people who don't know how to control the action. Then they swing with bad technique not understanding the power of countering. So they then walk onto something and possibly get put off forever. Gyms that employed these old techniques on novices to fish out the toughest early on may have ruined great potential talent that may have been developed properly.

Your fighting nickname wouldn't be , 'Ramsey "The Rational" Dewey,' would it?

I truly believe this man is the best martial arts teacher there is right now

As a 3rd degree black belt in BJJ, I agree that grappling at a % level is difficult to measure. However, always grappling at full power is a mistake too. I like to grapple in 3 modes. Full speed, flowing and matching partners strength. Flowing through involves a relaxed state where you are focusing on transitions, sequences and cardio. It helps develop muscle memory as neither partner is focused in submission but rather moving. On matching partners strength this is when a more experienced person is going with a lower belt or weaker opponent. If I'm training with a girl that is 80 pounds lighter than me I will meet her strength and focus on my technique. This gives me a workout and forces me to practice escapes using technique rather than force.

Your voice is second only to Morgan Freeman's.(I'm not being sarcastic). You could probably make a good living as a voice actor.

It's so nice to listen to someone who can speak clearly and properly. Note the video didn't start with "heywussuguizblahblahblah". Subbed!

These words of wisdom are my new bedtime stories

That last part. We have a guy that doesn't tap out when he should. I was tempted by his attitude at one time to take it further, but I realized he already lost by refusing to learn. I would've lost by giving in to his antics. I should've considered it. It just pissed me off. I appreciate this and my coach has literally said the same thing. Follow simple rules and sparr your best. Defend yourself and respect the other person's health.

Such great advice! I'm really glad I found your channel, been enjoying all the videos I've seen so far

Instead of going for submissions right away I've been seeking dominant positions. I'll control my training partner and make them work. Expend energy. Once theyre cooked then ill go for the submission. If they are too proud to tap ill let go of the sub but keep that dominant position and cook them again. Eventually they'll accept submission for a reset. 🥋🤼‍♂️

Have to say, I am enjoying this channel.Its good to hear a fight coach that really thinks things through

Most people in mma gyms do not understand this concept. Most of them are narcissistic scumbags as well. Makes it tough for the real martial artists.

good point and well explained. Please keep the videos comming!

What's the third way of sparring? 1. fight 2. light contact 3. ?

oh, this isnt about boxing hahaha, now it makes sense

i really love the highly intelligent way you talk and deliver the massages on your channel. tyvm🙏

The most soothing voice that always has a shade of humor . Love all his videos and I can listen to him for days

Thanx for sharing your insights and wisdom. Much appreciated!

Bro u just found your videos the other day but now ive watched a few. You are an excellent mixture for a martial arts instructor. I'm impressed by your knowledge base and your ability to explain on a level that most people can comprehend. In addition to that I think the videos that you're showing bring relevant content displayed in a well-thought-out manner so thanks for your videos and I will now subscribe you

Always fun to listen to you, Ramsey. Keep on keeping on

This is the best ASMR about martial arts ever.

Sometimes while rolling with with my training partner, I ask mid roll when I don’t know what to do “what do I do in this position” they are always more than glad to talk me through a potential escape or submission. Here to learn not win.

Fantastic video. "Win" the sparring match cracked me up. Respect.

Wow man great video. After I realized you were not the ghost of Yul Brynner, I started soaking up some really good information.

Damn, I'm 57 years old and have trained in various kinds of martial arts, some of them trained in old, much more combat effective ways, but I would take this guy as my instructor in a heartbeat.

Hi Ramsey it's Mark, i wanted to thank you for replying to me and to let you know that your the only one i am subscribed to and have all notifications on for , many years ago when i sparred i was the one who always got hurt so i learned how to take a beaten better than anything but im not so much of a good fighter , im to old now and all i can do is my best and only if i have to

As a striker, when sparring, I just try to focus on landing the technique but not worrying or trying to put any power on it. Rather it's all about refining the technique rather than trying to hurt the person at all. Usually this works, but on the times when there isn't much power but the technique was good and it hurts the sparring partner, I try to let them fight through the pain for just a second before stopping to make sure they're okay before continuing. Like most anything else, you can both end up getting hurt, but unless the person is a complete beginner or someone trying to prove a point, it's been a great method. Against those who don't know how to hold back, well, then I tend to try to focus on my defense more and still hold back and learn to pick my shots better, though I will up my intensity to a point where it forces them to fight a little smarter.

Great explanation Ramsey. Wish my training partners and I had understood this when young.

Love you mate! Well said !

this has always been my mindset. partially from my wrestling background. although in wrestling we did do percentages but each percentage was within those three levels you mentioned between drill and sequence. when I trained jujitsu, i always gave my partner a chance to tap cuz I never wanted to be the guy to injure another in training. and I felt the same way in the difference between strike sparring and grapple sparring. I also noticed even though we start light, it escalates quick and not even trying to injure each other but just more intense. but I agree with everything on this video.

Do never ever break your partner! So true, in any area. This value can not be repeated often enough. You had me at breath and relax. Ok, that was were you finished me off. 😊

I like this guy. Subbed.

Awesome advise! Thanks man

My friend. I like to watch your movies. So much wisdom in it, help me to more understand trainning. Thank to You.

"You already got that little victory, in your mind. Which is the only place it's real anyway", my "like", right there!

I have rolled with some guys who tried to hurt me and I didn't roll with them no more! So I can definitely relate to what you are saying !!

I learned more in the first 4 mins of this video than an hour long analysis video from most content creators

I agree, when I spare at 50% it always is one person going faster and harder than the other and neither actually learns anything.

Love your videos Mr. Dewey, one question though. When two partners (of differing skill level) are sparring and one (the junior student) asks the other to please go easier and the other partner (the senior student) gets defensive and begins to act like "this is as light as they go" , do you stop training with that person or try to get through to them that they're going too hard and need to lighten up? As a follow-on do you keep this information about your sparring partner to yourself or do you report it to the class coach?

Greetings from sweden, really good stuff in your videos, that escalating game i`ve played myself hahaGet out and train, best advice ever.

Its always been difficult sparring applying timing and speed variables when both fighters are quick. A quick flash and the clash lands with more impact than expected. Even as kids, getting the wind knocked out was common. We were training for competition around the nation. Inhouse competition was strong, but rarely got injured. As an adult and values better sparring practice.

agent 47

If I'm fighting empty hand then i reach a mutual agreement with my partner about the level of force by hitting each other in the chest. When fencing with swords it is much more difficult. Telling them to relax and focus on form is the best I can come up with

I watch your videos at 1.5x and the pauses you take are still really long

Lol yes this has happened at my gym a couple of times. Very informative!👍👍

Very good advice

Well said sir.

In many ways it is like the way musicians get a balance between practicing scales lead guitar patterns ...chords and theory and just jamming in a band...I like the striking metaphor..tap out a hundred times is fine go to the point of a KO a hundred times ...Brain Damage ..serious brain damage. Great post.

"don't break your training partner or you don't get another one." definitely my favourite part. Kind of funny but so damn true

Iv heard that before. Light sparring always escalates into hard sparring. Thats not always true. In fact, you posted a great video a while back of you doing light MMA sparring with your student, any way it looked like light contact sparring to me done with a lower speed. It also looked like a great sparring session, and I commented and said that I liked it. Anyway, it can be very hard to get beginners or even non beginners to calm down, relax, and not spaz out during sparring, not too mention that there are people who actually try to hurt their training partners deliberately. I believe that asking your partner to try to sparr 50 percent or half speed is a great way to start sparring with beginners even if it is not full proof all of the time.

With boxing I sparred with those who also trained hard. When the teacher thought it was too much, he put us against a soft sparring partner. That felt like fighting a girl, so horrible. So this teached me to not spar to hard, but hard enough.

..love this commentary..

When I first started BJJ I was rolling with another guy, he was on top of me I was on my hands and knees. Because of my inexperience i left my neck open, my partner then proceeded to go for a guillotine. His "guillotine" was him ramming his forearms into my trachea and arching his back really hard and cranking my neck with everything he had. My neck was in serious pain and it hurt to swallow for a week. I had to go to the doctors and ice my neck. Had to sit out of sparring for two weeks. Never trained with him again and avoid him when we do sparring. On another note I had a partner who was more advanced then me, he put me in submissions and let go after a second and worked for his next one or better position. He even gave me some tips while rolling when I was doing something right and told me how to finish it, then proceeded to reverse me right after but it helped. Spar with him as much as I can now.

I love the way u talk

With boxing sparring, the rule of the jungle is usually that the more experienced fighter will control the fight and hit you as hard as you hit them and i think that works very well.

why does he sound like an old superman kinda person giving a speech

Absolute intelligence.

I’m a bit of a bigger guy so I usually apply a rule I call the 30-60-80 rule, I go at 30% power for little guys 60% for people my size and 80% for bigger people, I had issues where I’d spaz like hell all the time so I had to control my power in grappling and striking, in both if I have an aggressive partner I use volume and cardio Instead of power to wear em down. Worst case it’s a bigger guy I can always use my strength but I think getting em tired with pressure is better than trying to knock their head off or break em. Just my thoughts from my experience

Relax, keep breathing, be the guy on top, basics wins fights people......R D is a beast...

I like the way you talk.

Sequence < drill < sparring < fighting

Hmm... I learned that “drills” are repetitious, singular training \ sparring exercises. For instance, jab drills - where the only strikes thrown are jabs (coupled with the simultaneous jab-block á lá amateur style). I am listening as type this - all good stuff man. My former Hapkido instructor used to say “Don’t kill pahtnah!” ... I agree. Sparring should be taken seriously in terms of safety. I could never bring myself to throw uppercuts during a spar, even when I had the opportunity, as that could really injure your gym-mate. Thanks.

I remember fist time i spared when i was 13 years old at the karate dojo, I was a new student like still white belt 2 month into training the sensei put me againt a blue belt because i was a bit bigger but never received a hit in my life he caught me in the stamach and i lost my breath for like 60 second lol i never wanted to spare again after that till i began to do boxing few years after and i undertood that the guy at my karate dojo was trying to hit has he hit in real fight but once i started sparing at boxing gym i know that was sparing and not fight because after 4-5 round of sparing i was not feeling destroyed lol

8:15 I always thought a laceration was a slicing injury. I was wrong: "Laceration, tearing of the skin that results in an irregular wound. Lacerations may be caused by injury with a sharp object or by impact injury from a blunt object or force." - ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA

I’m approximately 6’3 2twenty something lbs sometimes I roll with women damn near half my size in jiujitsu I get SUPER careful with joint locks but zero fucks with chokes and watch my weight distribution if I land in sidecontrol or more dominate spot so far NO injuries occurred

As far as I know percentile sparring is pretty much universal. How do you find a gym that takes your approach?

General guideline of any form of wrestling: It takes more power and control not to hurt the person you're working with.

I was gonna comment but I realized I wiegh 120 so typically it's others who try to not go 100 with me at my gym we happen to have alot of 200+lb people. But to be fair going against those guys made me really good at being fluid and reading nuance and balence

what is 50% ? where is 40% or 60% how do you determine? is adaptive sparring a word ? Ive always felt that you sparr in the tempo of your opponent, increasing or decreasing depending on who you are sparring with. with a beginner you leave openings but you force them to work for it, someone your own level you increase it to fit a level both are conferrable with, sparring someone that is much better than me then I can always use my mouth to tell them to slow down a bit. Im talking mma in general, but very important for new guys in bjj or jj to make sure they dont jerk anything, it is not out of malice, but out of ignorance and perhaps they want the tap :P I feel more worried rolling around with a new guy than an experienced guy as the new guy might injure you out of ignorance. about the increase of % more and more while sparring? that is why there should be a trainer who see it and yell at them.

What I think might be nice as far as gauging what "light" contact is would be to, I dunno, take a leg kick or something at what "light" is, either side. Kinda work out how hard is acceptable, gauge strikes on that.

I learn a lot by being punching in the face...got kicked one time and saw stars...I learned to get out the way and block head kicks asap!

Came here to talk shit after I read the title. I didn't like the headgear advise but I think this is pretty muich spot on.

One of my concerns besides getting hurt myself is always that I could seriously hurt another person when all I might want to do is subdue them. Will learning any martial arts help in this way?

I like his stern look

I'm asking this question out of ignorance, but does the concept of "calibration" exist when determining how hard you and your training partner are going to go after each other in an MMA setting? My only personal experience with fight training was for a couple of years a while ago within a group that had a communal agreement about how hard it was necessary to hit each other for a strike to "count." We labeled the strength of hits on a scale of 1 to 10, and there were a lot of conversations between all participants that was directed towards making sure that everyone in the room was more or less in agreement about what those labels meant. It was understood that some of the newer or smaller fighters might not be able to throw any shots harder than a "6" or "7," and that there were also some Big Boys who could hit a lot, LOT harder than what everyone agreed was a "10." The goal was that a "5" (or any other level of strength) could be recognized as a "5" by anyone in the room, regardless of who delivered the blow or who was receiving it. Because there was enough understanding within that convention, it worked as an effective system to calibrate any specific sparring match. Someone could say "I'm not going to accept any shot that's weaker than a 9 as valid," but we would also have people say "Please don't throw anything harder than an 8." People could openly discuss how hard they were going to hit or were willing to be hit. This system of calibration even allowed for profound regional differences within a nationwide organization. Theoretically, a shot that was accepted as an "8" in, say, New York might be considered a "6" in DC or a "3" or a "4" in southern VA or North Carolina, but also be considered a "10" or higher in LA or San Francisco. However, since all fighters were using the same language, visitors from other groups could very quickly learn the local calibration and adjust the amount of strength they used accordingly. Again, going back to my ignorance of these things: Is it possible that a system like this would work in a MMA or Boxing gym? Is it possible to create an arbitrary system of labeling strength that would be independent of any one fighter's personal potential? Or would attempting this kind of thing just be begging for trouble when the system ultimately has a failure?

I know the video is not recent, but I like the content so I had to specify: 3:08 water rolls down a horse's back way easier than a dog's one; more so horses tend not to seek shelter during downpours.

I can sum up the whole thing in 5 words. "Spar with control and respect"

ahaha thats what happens everytime when i do kickboxing sparring :D i am ok with that tho it is like getting used to each other before getting serious and only minor injuries happened fortunately. but good point made there..

Good job

Wise man

The last point you make about people flailing about when caught in a submission tapped into a thought I'd always had about untrained people in street fights. It seems like they panic and thrash when held, and if someone with a modicum of training were to apply a joint lock hold, it seems like the uke would be prone to injury even if the submission isn't finished by the person applying it. I think submissions with a low margin of error would be especially prone to this; it'd be fairly hard to break your own arm when someone puts you in an arm bar, but it would be trivially easy to tear your own knee apart if you tried to twist away from a heel hook with no idea of what you're doing.

not sure if video is mirrored, but it look like your left shoulder, you have surgery there? or collarbone displacement ? looks similar to my shoulder :P

This guy is like what u get when u mix a sensei a teacher and a dad

I realize this is an old video but I'm wondering. I have had a shredded lateral meniscus that said would it still be possible to get into training and potentially do some amatuer fighting?

thanks

You also must account for technique. Even if you don't put force behind a punch, if you use proper technique, it's going to have substantial force.

When it comes to striking what does 100 per cent refer to, speed, power, penetration ? When we trained light contact the rule of thumb was to control your technique so that you could show your sparring partner that it could have struck and even then accidents would happen if they moved in the direction of your strike.

You should be the voice over in movie trailers

we had a situation in my gym. one guy was like "let's go easy on this". point is: he did. i fought for my life. his 25% where my 150%. he had a chat while he beat me up xD

He could make a good living not only doing Voice-overs but also modeling for men's fashions.