Martial arts without the sparring?

[Ioio18]

Does such a thing exist?!

Background: I did taekwondo for years, got to black belt and then stopped when I got pregnant with my first. Two kids later I'm looking to get back in to exercise that I enjoy. I loved taekwondo and it was great for my fitness... but absolutely hated sparring- I basically just don't like being hit.

Anyone able to suggest a similar for of exercise which doesn't include getting punched?

body combat classes?

Yep, combat.

My son does karate. Sparring is optional where he goes

Kung-fu and aikido are less 'sparry', but still involve physical contact. Vene less, something like tai chi?

A lot of kick-boxing gyms run non contact fitness classes which might 'feel' like martial arts.

Ju-Jitsu

My Dd does shotokan karate and sparring is optional in her club.

I've done boxing (terribly badly, I am unco-ordinated but enjoy it) on and off in several places.

A high street gym chain - officially pads and gloves only but instructor let the more experienced people who chose to spar at the end.

Small group community gym - just pads and gloves.

Local boxing club - has range of classes from total beginner through to prepping for comps - most classes involve a bit of sparring at the end but some don't (bag blast for example) and it would be fine to just go to those. (This is my current one and the first time I have sparred - so weird at first and I was very tense, but I now really enjoy it and it helps makes the drills and combos make sense. The class is mostly men and they only really tap me while sometimes encouraging me to hit them harder.)

Also, in parks and local gyms there are a range of combat fit/boxfit etc that are either no contact at all or just pads and gloves.

I do Shotokan karate. We do set sparring drills as part of our syllabus, with pre-determined moves for both the attacker and defender. You don't get walloped during these. It's more about learning technique. We do free fighting as well, but people can sit that out if they don't want to do it. It is not on the grading syllabus until you get to 2nd Dan, and even then, if you are age 36+ you can choose to do set sparring instead. We also do other drills where you'll hold pads for a partner rather than getting hit yourself.

Thanks, this sounds like it could be an option. Will have a look and see if there is someone running classes in my area

In jiu jitsu or aikido it’s pretty unusual to get hit (but they are very physical and you do hit the floor a lot).

Capoeira

@Ioio18 did you find something in the end, op? I was also going to suggest aikido as it is a defence only martial art. I did no sparring at all.

I started karate in the end, found a club where sparring isn't essential, can do so the bits I enjoy without the fear of getting battered 🙌

Hate sparring too! Do TKD but have stalled at a belt because of it. Now also do kickboxing, and sparring is an add on. I do the add on because it is less pressured. I have started to wonder whether it is TKD sparring I hate.