Kids Martial Arts

Drill 4

Shadow Sparring

Shadow sparring/boxing/wrestling is a vital part of learning Martial Arts, so you must make the most of it in your training. 

We give you a few minutes or rounds at the start of class to move around and throw strikes, wrestling and BJJ moves as a warm-up, but you should be useing this time to hone your skills.

By practicing on your own, you can build muscle memory of the proper technique, which will be effective in sparring or a fight.

However, it’s hard to know where to start when you first start out as a novice. 

With this guide to shadowsparring for beginners, you’ll learn how to lay a solid foundation of skills you can use to build your skillset on.

But before we get to any exercises, remember these shadowboxing tips to help you flow around the ring.

• Take it slow – Keep things simple at first. There’s no point trying to throw a Tekken-style 10-hit combo if you don’t have the basics down. 
• Get serious – Your shadowboxing might be a warm-up in your class, but that’s no excuse to be lazy. Close your fists and go for full extension on your punches. You wouldn’t extend your jab halfway with an open palm in sparring or a fight, so don’t do that now.
• Focus on form – If you get into bad habits here, they’ll be worse in the heat of combat. That’s why it’s vital to try and do everything right, now.
• Keep your hands up – If you can get used to keeping a strong guard when you’re not under pressure from an opponent, it should be in place when you come to going head-to-head with someone else.
• Visualize an opponent – Moving freely around the mats is fine, but picturing a rival in front of you will help you work on your range and angles.
• Stay relaxed – Just like anything in Martial Arts, you’ll do better if you stay loose and go with the flow. Remember to breathe and maintain a rhythm so you don’t tense up, which will restrict your movements and tire you out.

Note: Encourage the kids to practice these drills at home, it will make them better.