Sparring in traditional JJ

Hey, I've been training Tiger Claw Kung fu ( Fu Jow Pai) for 3 years, and sparring was def. emphasized when i first signed up. My father and cousin both have their brown belts in Japanese ju jitsu ans say that they NEVER sparred at all even for advancement tests... are all JJ dojos like this?

When I trained in Trad. JJ there was sparring in nearly every class - guess it depends on the club/instructor(s) - these things always do.

You'd probably find some Kung Fu classes that don't spar.

Robsco, are you the guy in all of hte technique pictures with the buzz cut

The Buzz cut?

American for "number one all over", innit?

Get with the program, poindexter. And other such Americanisms.

yea....close enough:-))

but is the guy with the blue Gi and the "number one all over" Robsco?

Yep. And the other one is Bassmonger

I've noticed that sparring is the one thing that really seems to bring out everyones individual fighting style. Where I train we spar only occasionally and every time I end up drawing a load of grief from the sensai(s) (prural???). As much as I drill all the strikes, kicks, throws and sweeps up to my current brown belt (TJJ), as soon as I come to sparring, I really don't like long and/or medium distances. What comes naturally is close-up, nose-to-nose violence - elbows and uppercuts. Even when sparring with Jo staff, my natural instinct is to step in close and strike with the butt rather than using the full length of the staff.

Anyone else have the same problem?

Getting in close is the real secret of fighting. Most people have the problem of wanting to stay outside within a long distance. And while Tae Kwan Do people can kick ur head off, they may usually lose if the other guy gets in close and delivers powerful blows.