I started on ipod touch in 2010. I didn't know much about sparring, and didn't know how fun it could become. My spar stats were very negative at first, so I tried to see what I was doing wrong. I would watch good people spar and try to mimic what they do. I got my stats to 2100 wins and 2100 losses. After that, I started getting better. Always trying to spar good people, until I saw how crazy quick people were on PC. I switched to PC by the time I was at 4000-3000. I started to practice my movement a lot, always forcing my fingers to react faster by moving side to side while I would wait in spar. Always tried to spar people like ihercules, Male, Talbourn, Clops, etc. I eventually got better and better and earned my 2:1 ratio naturally last year in 2014, when I hit 10,000 wins and 5,000 losses. I still had to get better and I am still working my way up to a 3:1 ratio. But, I have never liked to spar in any other room besides mixed, unless I see someone with a good ratio. I eventually caught up to the people I used to think were amazingly good, that I had no idea how to beat them by just fighting against them a lot. I made my own style of sparring which is fast-paced and combos. It works for me. Now I am 17,000-7,000. There are so many tricks I learned about sparring. Sparring in this game isn't just 4 buttons and swinging your sword. After 4 years of experience, sparring is all about positioning, timing, patience, and most importantly believing in yourself.
Never forget
It's better to try to beat someone good, win/lose, and learn. Rather than to beat some nub, and not learn anything, then when someone good comes around you will run out of room and go find more nubs to feed your fake ratio.
Ratios don't justify how good you are. Spar for fun and for yourself, not for stats.