What is free-sparring?
Advantages of Free-Sparring
- Development of a quicker reaction time
- Increased endurance
- Ability to analyze your opponent objectively while under stress
- Increased self-control
- Improved focus
- Freedom to make the wrong decisions and learn without suffering the consequences
- Opportunity to role play and experiment to find what works for you.
Free-sparring is an essential part of Taekwondo training. In free-sparring, students are free to use any of the permitted techniques they have learned in a safe and effective manner. Only focused techniques close to a vital area are counted. Unfocused techniques or brute force are not counted. Unlike in a boxing match, it not the number of techniques you execute that wins in free-sparring, it is the accuracy and power of the techniques. It is not the quantity of techniques that scores but the quality of the techniques. .
Free-sparring permits students to test their abilities in unpredictable circumstances, usually against equally matched opponents. It builds proficiency in sparring, but it also develops mental discipline, humility, and respect.