I was invited to talk about sparring as a training tool in an interview by Alte Herren, with Hans Jörnlind and Rob Runacres asking questions and giving me the chance to share some of my thoughts.

Needless to say, I think sparring is an immensely important training tool, and any well-rounded and complete approach to training should involve sparring. Otherwise, what is the point? However, it is only part of the picture, and we need to supplement with solo drills, pair drills, test cutting, and taking sparring to a higher intensity in competitions. Without any of these avenues of practice, the training is somewhat compromised.