When you roll, and someone is going a little more intense than you like, the answer is not to match them. The answer is to try to bring it down. Or tap and sit out.

You have permission to stop a round at any time. You have permission to say “no” when someone you don’t trust asks you for a round. While I think it’s good to train as much as possible, it’s more important to stay healthy so you can keep training.

One morning, I was paired with someone a little dangerous. I should’ve stopped and sat out, but I kept going. I made it a priority to keep myself safe. It worked. I didn’t get hurt. It wasn’t a very productive round of sparring, but I only cared that I could keep going.

Don’t worry too much about individual rounds. Think long-term and about being able to to train the next day.