So we are preparing for a big competition, and this guy just got his new blue belt. He was originally entering white belt div and now he is a bit hesitant since he has only had his blue for a few week.
Im blue as well, for a year almost. And I have 10 pounds on him as well.
I have been getting some critique by my trainer/training partners for being lazy when sparring so I decided to go a bit harder, and was paired up with the new blue belt.
Basically I dominated him for 6 min, takedowns, sweeps, subs and so on and more or less left him on the mat, grasping for air after the round. Thats was his first/last sparring that session, he basically chose to sit out.
Now I feel like I made him more hesitant by working him over a bit. What to do?
In reality it's up to the guy. You can't do much but encourage him but the decision is his. If you push him too much but he mentally isn't ready for blue belts, he is most likely to get squashed because of his mental block and not because of skill. I'd say relax off this one and try to push him to do one coming up later.
Dude... it isn't that you went "too hard" on me, it was because you kept telling me your knee was messed up and wanted to "go light". So I relaxed and went easy, and you went crazy and kept knee barring me over and over.
Well, training sessions are supposed to be for you AND your partners benifit. Did he get something from the session? Reality can be a bitch, but if you have the right attitude you learn from it. As long as he doesn't quit it isn't a big deal either way. He may think you are a dick though.
Because when you are a month or two away you need HARD training by guys who beat your ass, and make you push yourself to exhaustion - since that is the way you will feel after a match or two at the tournament.
Getting closer to the tournament the guy doesn't need to be crushed. He needs to keep his endurance and be working on his techniques. He needs to minimize his chance of injury - BY NOT GOING FULL OUT WITH EVERYONE who thinks they are doing him a favor by ripping every armbar as hard as they can or slamming him as hard as they can on the mat.
But sounds to me like he isn't ready for competition if he is not in the physical shape neccessary to be successful.
Basically I tried to prove I wasnt always passive and didnt think about the guy who just got his blue and is prepping for his first comp as blue. He is in good shape only I am younger and heavier than him.
"Take the time out to talk to the guy and see what his take is - maybe he got something from it?"
Good advice. Talk to the guy. If you feel you should, apologise.
I was paired with a brown belt recently who had come back to training after a four month layoff (I'm a 2 stripe blue). He went pretty hard on me, but explained after and sort of apologised saying he just wanted to make sure he still had his skills (he did). I rolled with him the following week and he was much more laid back and gave me plenty of good advice.