Sorry I'm such a newbie. Anyway, how exactly do you spar?
To start,
>kill <keyword>
To end
>flee
Probably a good idea to turn mercy on, too. Just type "mercy" and you will set it on, type it again and you toggle it off. You can type status to check if you are being merciful or not.
When deciding when to flee, people usually do it before they are badly injured (before you are below 50% health).
You'd probably be using sparring weapons that are dulled, since you aren't intending to do any serious harm.
You could also check "help combat" while in the game.
You spar in two ways.
One, you and another player use sparring weapons in an approved part of the game, and actually combat each other. This is tricky, and you need to know what you are doing, so you don't kill or get killed.
Two, if no one is around, you use emotes and roleplay to spar a virtual opponent. This type uses no combat codes, and is more storytelling. Good practice for learning how the emote system works.
Seeker
hit (person) works as well.
I would recommend typing stat to make sure you've got mercy on as well, to prevent any accidents.
Sparring is just regular combat, but the weapons are blunt or hollow, so any damage done will be greatly reduced.
One thing that everyone is leaving out: location
Don't spar in the middle of the city, as it will get you wanted. Most clans have certain rooms where you can spar without running afoul of the local law enforcement agency. Barring that, find somewhere private where you won't have concerned citizens running to tell the Templarate that there's a disturbance of the peace.
It's always an unpleasant surprise to think that you're somewhere private only to get arrested for fighting as soon as you come within shouting distance of the nearest Templar or militia.