Sparring Is Not A Skill

 If I had a nickel for everyone that has said to me "I have to get better at sparring" I could've retired comfortably in 1986. Being good at sparring is like being good at studying. The similarity is you wanna be good at the fight and the test. Learning how to study and spar efficiently are good qualities to have, but nobody's ever got their masters degree for being solely a good studyer, and nobody has ever won a UFC title for solely being a good Sparrer. Being a good sparring partner can be important mainly because if you're not people will not want to spar with you at all. But most people, probably all people, would rather be good in the fight, more importantly, than being good in the gym.

I've known many guys at the gym that could beat anyone in a gym sparring match but didn't do too well. In their fights, they're called gym fighters. I'll use the same comparison, and say somebody might be the best studyer in the world and get every question answered correctly during studying, but if they fail all their tests, they're still not gonna get their degree. A fighter can't go to the judges after the fight and said "well, I look terrible in this fight, but I did really good against my sparring partners”. Being good at both sparring and the fight is great, but when push comes to shove. It's always more important to perform well, the night of the fight, not the weeks leading up to the fight.

And, like I said, being a great sparring partner is more important for your sparring partner than it is for you. In fact, some professional boxers have made a pretty good living just being a sparring partner to the Champions. When fighters have big fights coming up, before they go to the camps, they hire, good sparring partners to help them prepare for their upcoming fight. The sparring partners make only a small fraction of what the champions make, and that's because they make their living being a champion’s sparring partner, while, the champion makes his living being a champion fighter.  

By me comparing champion fighters versus champion’s sparring partners you see the difference and how much more important it is being a champion fighter. Now let's talk about the more serious aspect of martial arts, training for the Street. Well, if you're a better sport fighter than Sparrer, you will make a lot more money, but if you're a better street fighter versus being a good sparring partner, that might not make you more money, but it'll make you alive..  

So basically the point, I'm trying to make is that you don't go to college to be a better studyer, it's the test they get you success. The same holds true in martial arts, you want to win your fights, and being better at sparring might get you more friends, and Gym respect, But winning the fights are all that really matters.  

Think of it this way, no one brags about being the best bag hitter, and bag hitting and sparring are both a part of training.  They are nor skills.