Being a sparring partner

Dieter Verhofstadt Asked 10 years ago

Hi coaches,

I don't have a question really but want to share an observation. As you may know I'm trying to maximize practice while most club players want to play matches. When I find a sparring partner to give me some practice, I usually return the favor so that we end up being a sparring partner half of the time.

It's not a surprise perhaps that you learn probably just as much by helping out someone else as when doing your own drills. For example, during a drill where I was returning serves for my partner to open up, I found myself stepping in for the push and then step out to receive the loop, systematically. Although I didn't mean to train for that, this good habit came about naturally.

So here's my message: be generous to serve as a sparring partner. You'll learn just as much.

What's your experience with being a sparring partner?

Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago

Hi Dieter,

This is a very good message.  It works really well and you can learn a lot during the time that it is your partner’s time to do their drill.  Blocking is something that really benefits from this as well as pushing as you said.