TO SPAR OR NOT TO SPAR ....
As far as close quarter combat systems are concerned, CETA is one of the very few systems - perhaps the only system of this type to include sparring as a training method. Virtually all sparring systems in the many thousands of martial arts in the world exclude 95 to 100 percent of CETA'S technique reportiore.The reason for this is very clear - These types of sparring are sports,some of which are very tough sports, but never-the less are still sports. Even the so called Unlimited Fighting which is full contact has as its technique reportiore techniques that can not seriously injure another even when performed full force by a very large,strong practitioner. This obviously makes the entire system almost totally unsuitable for real close combat.The techniques of CETA are designed to destroy the human body and obviously can not be practiced full force on anybody.This however, does not mean that you can not train them through sparring practice.CETA sparring is very controlled non contact and utilizes heavy winter gloves so one can use the various ripping, gouging, tearing and other vicious techniques of the CETA system. All close combat systems claim that sparring is unecessary and some even make the claim that it is detrimental to real combat. I will concede and it has been proven throughout history that one need not practice sparring to be super combat effective.The WW2 combat systems prove this beyond question with many case histories of actual close quarter combat . Some of these case histories involved elderly people who had not trained in these methods since their military or service career but still managed to seriously neutralize strong, young dangerous attackers. So,this pretty much proves that you don't need sparring to be even a super effective hand to hand combat exponent. My argument is that by practicing sparring, you will take your combat skills to a much higher level than you ever could by just practicing the skills or striking dummies or posts. When you really think about it , good ol' Bruce made a lot of sense when he said "one can not learn how to swim on dry land " Sparring teaches you how to use your skills against another human target that is trying to prevent you from doing so.It teaches you how to instinctively move and use your techniques immediatley .There are some limitations to sparring, of course! The combat systems make the main argument that sparring does not replicate true combat. This is true, but nor do any other training methods - training dummy or post striking, 2 person drills or shadow boxing. CETA sparring is the closest we can come to the real thing. All others sparring systems in all of the mainstream martial arts use techniques that are unsuitable for real combat such as punches and kicks above the belt line. Even their best practitioners would find it difficult or impossible to employ even our basic techniques in real combat like our knee breaking sidekick or an eye gouge. With a CETA practitioner, these techniques come naturally just do to the very nature of the system. In CETA we realize that real combat is not the same as sparring.That's why we put a great emphasis on tactics, which we can not really employ during sparring. One can only be so ferocious, vicious and ruthless with a training partner,nor can one pull a weapon. My student -Sandra- 2nd degree black belt and I were sparring when she encountered a leg block from me and injured her foot. Well, of course we stopped and I was very concerned. After about 30 seconds of me saying "Are you all right ? I hope your OK!" she totally jumped me with a straight blast and nailed me really good . She then smiled and said "THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE! " That's sort of an unusual sparring session even for us, but I couldn't help but to be impressed. In CETA tactics are of #1 importance. Sparring and other drills are secondary. The WW2 combat systems and their modern off- shoots rely on tactics coupled with a ferocious compound attack to take out the enemy. This is excellent but we take this whole thing a step further. The compound attack is excellent and is 2 or more techniques thrown in rapid succesion. In CETA we consider 4 methods of attack of and adapt these methods to real combat.
1. DIRECT ATTACK One hard, fast strike.Example : Double thumb gouge to eyes. 2. COMPOUND ATTACK. Example: 1-2-3 smashing tigers claws followed by front kick to groin. 3. INDIRECT ATTACK. Example Fake Groin Kick - ax hand to throat. 4.ATTACK BY DRAWING Example: Create opening for attack to head, (leave guard down) When attacker lunges at head, lean back and counter with knee breaking side kick. 5.IMMOBILIZATION ATTACK Example: Grab forward guarding arm. then with other hand HIT-HIT HIT!
Other attacks are also trained in CETA such as ATTACK BY STEALTH and SURPRISE ATTACK but these methods fall out of the scope of sparring.
The bottom line is that sparring is only another training method and the way we do it is very valid for the real thing should we ever need to defend ourselves. Brooks Marlowe.