You will need people to help you get ready for your fight. And good sparring partners
are essential.
Sparring is not trying to kill each other.
Sparring is not trying to injure each other.
Sparring is a responsibility. Trust is essential.
You will need someone to spar with on the ground for wrestling and jujitsu. You will
need a sparring partner to work your standup. You will need a sparring partner for
working clinch, takedowns and against the cage. This can be the same person. It can
even be your coach. But your coach will find it a lot easier to coach you with a training
partner.
If you train at a decent gym, you and your coach should try a sign-up sheet at the front
desk. The sport of MMA is hot right now, and a lot of weekend warriors would love to
help you to train to get ready for your show. You can never have enough or too many
sparring partners. Most will be part-time with crazy schedules. Always book 2 guys or
more for any slot, so you have fresh training partners to rotate with.
Your chances of getting injured are highest during sparring. We always start camp with
headgear, shin guards and 16-ounce gloves. By 3 weeks out we are sparring with 4 oz
gloves. We have one rule at our camps.
