I tried out some boxing sparring recently. The thing is when the guy started doing head and body shots I just wanted to knock him out (if I could). I laid into him and wanted to keep going (as I can punch quite hard) but it's a sparring class and so I backed off. And because the sparring partners were better with technique I was just getting hammered. I wanted to ask - what use is doing sparring if I'm just going to get angry and want to finish it but I can't - I have to keep backing off? What attitude do you take?
With practise you should be able to start to control the adrenelin rush which is what I imagine is making you feel 'angry'. When you can stay calm and in control then you will be able to defend better and to attack better. I experienced the same thing when I boxed (a bit) when I was young.
Andrew, sparring is not fighting, it is physical chess. Sparring is where you practice your technique, see what works, learn your distance and timing etc. There is nothing wrong with backing off, sparring is not all offence. Take a look at the advice I offered Yuen of the subject of sparring. You will see that tactics and cunning win the day, rather than aggression http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103183 Feel free to ask further questions later.
How are you going to practice your power strikes? What if the person you are trying to strike has some good technique and you can't land a clean power shot? What if you hit him with a clean power shot and all he does is smile at you? I've only been training boxing a couple of months but what I have been getting out of it so far is that the most important thing is footwork. Now being 6 foot 250 lbs and 57 years old I have all the footwork skills of a tree stump. My goal is to work up to Butter Bean for footwork skills. :hat: There is a lot more to it than just hitting hard. Talk to your instructor about what to do and how to handle it.
I've had a look. Thanks for the tips. For an almost complete beginner, what would you recommned? The most useful stuff I found from your post was - controlling distance - keep moving - try to intercept You mention blocking, trapping or disrupting. By disrupt I take it you mean parry? What about collision of gloves?
Controlling your emotions is a big part of learning how to fight. If you "get angry" and lose your cool, a smarter fighter will use your emotion against you. As Simon said, sparring is not a fight. There's no winners or losers in a sparring match. You're there to learn how to properly apply what you've been learning, see what you need to work on, see your strengths and weaknesses, and yes even have fun.
It's the same in BJJ man, I'm not so experienced as other people. I've found that playing defensively will make it last longer and more enjoyable. Keeping my distance at the start, I can do things like pull guard and keep there head down, and unable to attack. I still lose, but I'm practising my distancing and my defence. Eventually my defence will be good enough to stop them,then I can practice offense As for disruption, I've found that just bridging quickly (kind of like bucking up your hips) will disrupt a lot of submissions from mount. At this level it seems to work. xD I just wanted to let you know that distancing, movement and disruption.
There are many ways to disrupt. This may include, but not limited to: - Disrupt their timing. Disrupt them physically - power shots. Disrupt them mentally - phsycological. Do not expect any of these things to come to you quickly. I would like to back up Kuma when he says have fun. I like to teach my guys to keep the mental load to a minmum, so they have the approach that they are playing with their opponent, almost teasing. This at an early stage helpt with the distance and timing, holding the guard well and not using up all of your gas trying to relax. Pressure and power come later.
