Do you think this is a good sparring concept?

Question

There's this hybrid style I'm considering joining at the moment. I asked the instructor about the sparring. Here's what he told me:
In the beginning, it will be just us doing striking-style sparring. He says if I join, this is what everyone will do.
Then over time, we will move to Hapkido style sparring. It's just the grappling part if I'm not mistaken.*
He said after we've practiced well in those styles, that we are going to do a combined style that is both striking and grappling together (He said it would be like "A very controlled UFC." :p)
*The school teaches the hybrid style and hapkido (Hapkido is optional). The thing about it is, the hapkido is the more grappling piece of the puzzle than the mix of striking and grappling that truly is Hapkido. That's an assumption on what my first class was like, however. I took the hybrid (It was a day based around striking), and then the hapkido (Joint locks and throwing the whole class). What do you think?

Answer 1

I think the question really is what do YOU think? Did you like it? Did you learn something and feel that the teacher was teaching you and the others well? Did you have good one on one time with someone to help you learn the moves or did you do it with every one at the same time?

sounds to me like it is a good mix, yes Hapkido is for grappling. the two should make a good stand up and on the ground techniques for you.

keep trying them out, you will know just from training if it is for you or not.

Answer 2

Ask to observe the classes and sparring. Ask to take free classes.
I am puzzled because Hapkido is a combination of striking and grappling so why is it being mixed with yet another style, also you are not mentioning what the other styles in this mix are.

Make sure you don't sign a contract and never pay for rank testing.

Answer 3

I think you need to observe what actually occurs during sparring and what it looks like.

if it looks more like a bunch of guys shooting paperclips at each other in the office then unless your name is jack spade I suggest you look elsewhere.

If it looks realistic, and is not just point sparring (It would be hard to imagine it is, but I've heard crazier things) then it is basically just the concept of learning to spar from different ranges then learning to put them all together.

There isn't anything wrong with that at ALL. that IMO is preferable and it is what most martial artists do as even MMA classes that teach you truly "mixed" tend to focus on one first then the other.

I think you should be worried about the quality of it and if you are wearing the equivalent of plate armor to do "tip tap" sparring then you should be worried.