1 ROUND WITH JOHN PIÑA

Congratulations on becoming an official Virtual Sparrer!

I'm not going to go into details about why this footage is so awesome, since I know you're eager to get started. But for now, just know that there is more to this footage than the skill-level of the fighter.

We took painstaking measures to ensure that all our HD footage is filmed at the perfect wide-angle field of view to simulate what your eyes would see in real-life sparring, so you don't miss any visual cues you would have gotten from the real thing. We also made sure to use realistic forward, backwards, and sideways movement during the sparring, as well as having our fighter employ full-force body strikes, so it feels like actual sparring as well. Finally, we employed state-of-the-art camera stabilization technology and post-processing AI to make the footage incredibly smooth - even while our cameraman was taking full force roundhouses to the ribs.

Our Virtual Sparring videos really do simulate real-life sparring better than any other footage on the planet, and you're lucky enough to have first access to it. The fact that we only use elite-level fighters for our footage is just the icing on the cake. So enjoy the footage, and make sure to read all the instructions and guidelines down below. I can't wait to hear how much you benefit from Virtual Sparring.

To get the most benefit out of Virtual Sparring, I recommend playing your footage on the largest screen possible. This usually means a Smart TV.

There are three ways to go about this:

1. Cast from your laptop, smartphone, or tablet to your TV. If you have a Chromecast, Mira TV, ROKU, Fire TV, Apple TV, or even any smart TV with screen mirroring capabilities, this is the easiest option. Simply cast your Virtual Sparring footage to your streaming device using either your laptop's internet browser or phone/tablet's in-built mirroring settings. There are plenty of tutorials online to do this, so give it a search and see what you can find!
2. Use an HDMI to connect your laptop to your TV or monitor. The next best option requires an HDMI cord connecting from your laptop to your TV or monitor. As long as you bought your TV and laptop within the last decade or so, this should definitely be possible. Simply change your TV's "source" to the proper HDMI channel, and you should be able to see the Virtual Sparring footage on the big screen.
3. Use a Smart TV internet browser. Not the ideal option, because using a TV's internet browser can be a little clunky and difficult to manage. But if you're willing to manually type in the URL and log-in credentials, it may be worth a try!

Using a Smart TV not feasible right now? No problem. Simply load up the Virtual Sparring videos on your laptop, place it on an elevated table, and get rocking. Worst case, you can use a smaller screen like a smartphone or tablet. But rest assured that no matter how you use Virtual Sparring, you'll still benefit from it tremendously. 

Now that you've gotten Virtual Sparring set up on your TV or other device, the final step to getting started is to clear up enough room to shadowbox comfortably and safely. Make sure to step far enough away from your TV to prevent any accidental damage, and that there aren't any potential obstacles in your Virtual Sparring space. Once you do so, you're ready to start Virtual Sparring!

To Virtually Spar, all you need to do is play the footage, wait for the countdown, then react to your virtual opponent as though you were actually sparring him. It's that simple! Parry his jabs, block his hooks, slip his straights, check his leg kicks, or throw your own counters and combinations - all without actually hitting your TV, of course. Think of Virtual Sparring like shadowboxing on steroids: but rather than just going through the motions yourself, you'll now have a virtual opponent to react to.

After one round of doing this, you'll quickly see why Virtual Sparring is well worth the investment. That's because not only does it allow you to get hours of realistic practice against a variety of high-level combat sports athletes, but it allows you to it "on demand", from the comfort of home, whenever you want. This is a huge step up from sparring the same partners at your gym day-in and day-out, and you'll be surprised at how quickly your reflexes, timing, defense, and counters skyrocket to a whole new level!

Simply reacting to your Virtual Sparring footage as is should be more than enough to level up your combat sparring skills. But there are at least three more things Virtual Sparring offers that can take your training to the next level, and the first is tons of realistic practice against southpaws.

By simply mirroring our footage in editing, we are able to transform any orthodox fighter into a southpaw fighter and vice versa. This is incredibly useful, because most trainees don't get enough sparring experience against southpaw fighters, and have holes in their game because of it. By simply practicing with the mirrored Virtual Sparring rounds as well as the regular ones, you can very quickly fill up these holes in your skillset and return to the gym more prepared and well-rounded than ever before.

Note: the southpaw versions of each round are not included with every Virtual Sparring package. Check your footage above to make sure you have them, or consider purchasing them.

The problem with regular sparring for a beginner or intermediate is that it usually happens at too fast of a pace for him to see what's going on. Punches hit his face before he knows to counter. Kicks land on the ribs before he remembers to check. He has no choice but to shell up for most of the round... not landing any meaningful offense, and taking loads of unnecessary damage in the process.

Enter Matrix Mode: or Virtual Sparring at 0.25-0.75x speed.

By Virtual Sparring on a slow speed, you can instantly overcome all of these issues by finally allowing you eyes to truly SEE the strikes as they head towards you, gradually increasing the speed as his brain learns to react properly. The result? You can very quickly bring your defensive skillset to a level that you can spar with the best of fighters in his gym - something that may have taken months otherwise!

To use Matrix Mode, simply click the settings gear icon on the bottom right of the video, and choose the appropriate video playback speed. Alternatively, you can install a playback speed controller plug-in on your laptop internet browser (like Chrome) for finer speed control.

Previously used only by professional speed-typists, memory champions, and even pianists, Overspeed Training is a proven training methodology that involves training at a pace 10% faster than usual. This forces your brain to adapt to a higher level of performance and shatter through plateaus as a result. But because combat sports are already performed at maximum speed, Overspeed Training was previously impossible in martial arts training - well... at least until now.

By simply playing your Virtual Sparring footage at 110-125% speed, you'll literally kick your reflexes into hyperdrive as your brain scrambles to defend against the fastest opponent it has ever faced. Your defense will become quicker, your strikes will become more efficient, and your counters will become sharper than ever before. Overspeed Training is perfect for advanced trainees who want to push their existing reflexes to a whole new level, or any one who wants to make regular sparring feel like a walk in the park.

To use Overspeed Training, simply click the settings gear icon on the bottom right of the video, and choose the appropriate video playback speed. Alternatively, you can install a playback speed controller plug-in on your laptop internet browser (like Chrome) for finer speed control.

As you've read above, Virtual Sparring offers a lot of things that standard sparring, bag work, pad work, and shadowboxing can't allow. But to maximally benefit from Virtual Sparring, it is crucial you develop a structured training approach to go with it. Below is a description of how I suggest beginners approach Virtual Sparring.

Because most beginners tend to be stuck in an endless cycle of pad work that does nothing to train defensive reflexes, by the time they spar for the first time, they have none of the reflexes necessary to defend strikes and counter with their own.

That's where "Matrix Mode" Virtual Sparring comes in. By slowing down the Virtual Sparring footage to 0.25x speed and drilling just ONE defensive technique for each strike, gradually increasing the speed over time, the beginner very quickly learns to SEE strikes coming and REACT accordingly, shaving months off his sparring learning curve. This is a huge step up from the "shell up or step back" defense most novices are forced to resort to!

Here are the core defensive skills I recommend the beginner drill in his slow-speed Virtual Sparring.

• Opponent throws a jab: parry with the right glove
• Opponent throws a straight right: block with left glove to forehead
• Opponent throws a hook: block with glove to the temple
• Opponent throws an elbow: block with raised forearm
• Opponent throws an uppercut: block with lowered forearm
• Opponent throws a body shot: block with the arms tight to the body
• Opponent throws a kick: check with the shin
• Opponent throws a teep: deflect to the outside with a scooping motion
• Opponent throws a knee: block with the same side knee

Note: for the beginner, we do NOT recommend learning more than one defensive technique at a time, or using anything higher than 0.5x speed when first starting. Stick with these or similar techniques, increasing the speed gradually to 1.0x only when they are completely mastered.

For intermediates, it is crucial to know that for every strike, there are four types of passive defenses - blocking, catching, avoiding, and deflecting - and one type of active defense - throwing a faster attack. While the beginner focuses primarily on blocking, the intermediate should expand his arsenal to include as many of these other defensive skills as possible. In fact, the trainee who takes the time to master all of them will become one of the confident, dangerous, and hard-to-hit strikers in his gym. That's because he will always be in a good position to throw devastating counters, while finding a way out of even the most relentless of offense.

The training protocol for intermediate trainees is not much different than beginners. Simply slow down the Virtual Sparring footage speed to a comfortable level, have a set of defensive reactions or counters to master, and drill them until they become automatic at full-speed. Here are a few examples of what an intermediate trainee might drill in Virtual Sparring. Once he masters these set of reflexes, he can proceed to another set, and another, until he reaches the advanced stage:

• Opponent throws a jab: slip and body shot
• Opponent throws a straight right: side step and kick
• Opponent throws a hook: throw a faster push kick
• Opponent throws an elbow: throw a faster straight punch
• Opponent throws an uppercut: lean back and counter
• Opponent throws a body shot: throw a faster straight punch
• Opponent throws a kick: catch and kick the pivot leg
• Opponent throws a teep: catch, push to the outside, and kick
• Opponent throws a knee: inside step with side hook

At the advanced stage, a trainee will have mastered just about every defensive response to any strike thrown at him, and feel confident sparring with even the best in his gym. But that doesn't mean the usefulness of Virtual Sparring goes away. In fact, Virtual Sparring still continues to offer the advanced trainee four "unfair advantages" that regular sparring and pad work won't be able to replicate.

1. Keeping skills sharp outside the gym. Outside of shadowboxing, Virtual Sparring is the only training methodology that requires virtually no equipment - only a phone and a decent internet connection. But unlike shadowboxing, Virtual Sparring actually enables you to train your reflexes - without requiring a sparring partner or even putting on any gear. That means you can continue to improve with low-impact activity while others are on their couches binge-watching Netflix.
2. Overspeed Training. By increasing the speed to 1.1x, you literally force your brain to improve in a way you could never inside the gym, as it scrambles to adapt to the heightened stimulus presented to it. In other words: It's Virtual Sparring on steroids. You'll push your existing techniques to a new level of speed, sharpness, efficiency, and timing, and come back to the gym better than ever. Sparring partners won't know what hit them... literally.
3. Practicing against a variety of styles. Virtual Sparring allows you to step outside the limitations of your gym and train against a variety of styles you may not find anywhere else. Maybe your gym doesn't have many skilled southpaws to test yourself against. Or you tend to struggle against taller, rangy fighters, but there aren't many available to spar against. Virtual Sparring solves that with the largest growing video database of sparring footage out there. Consider buying more footage to continually grow your skillset.
4. Continuing to learn new skills. The advanced trainee can also continue to use Virtual Sparring to acquire new and challenging skills he couldn't easily train in the gym. For example, while mastering the southpaw stance would undoubtedly add dimensions to your sparring game, it can feel difficult and awkward to learn it in a gym setting. Virtual Sparring solves that by giving you the space and privacy in the comfort of your home to do so, making mistakes and learning from them in the process.