imo you are only ready to fight knockdown when you have been pounded with full power bare fist punches and kicks, including thigh kicks and are conditioned to that sort of thing.....it takes a long time.
then you have to be confident about you defence..if it all goes wrong which believe me it can do, you need to be able to relax and take it, covering up.
being able to take it is more important than being able to give it, never forget that.
in your shoes i would do one of two things,
1) approach a friendly high grade, at least the same size as yourself and ask if he would be ok with sparring k.d rules and get somebody like this to take you under their wing and help you progress to knockdown gradually.but be prepared to get thigh kicked and hope the "killer" kick is pulled a bit which most people do when teaching.....if you do get the chance to land a head kick, pull it out of respect.......in every dojo there is normally different levels of freefighting, you should adapt to the "rules" as they come along...if in doubt ask.
2) if you really think you are ready and are being held back which i don`t think is the case with you, i think you are being given sound advice.........but
when you spar with experienced knockdown fighters, especially those with pretty gold lettering or stripes give them a good bashing,don`t hold back and the outcome will determine whether you are "ready" or not.
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