Hi, I have found a new problem while sparring.... I hate punches! People always seem to punch me in the face including the new students :cry: I find it hard to see what I'm doing when I have a flurry of punches aiming at my face. I know I need to work on my guard but maybe my guard is to far away from my face . Could I please have some advice from you Boxers and Muay Thai guys please? Thanks.
Well, no-one with any real sense goes out looking to get punched in the face. If the problem is that you get punched in the face too often it may be because you are flinching or closing you eyes/looking away/keeping your guard right in front of your face. I've worked a few drills with a training partner who I trust (important to find one). Basically the idea is to acclimatise yourself with the situation and eliminate (or in practice reduce) the flinch response to the incoming punch. Only one partner throws punches. The other blocks them. Start slow and build up. Likewise, start with only jabs, then add crosses, then hooks, then uppercuts, overhands etc. (not necessarily one at a time, whatever you are comfortable with). Once you have all of those add in stuff to the body. The idea is just to keep your eyes open and block. Once you get used to it build up the speed and power. You'll find you can block a whole lot better when you aren't flinching.
Hapuka, A flurry of punches coming out you can be a scary thing. Here's a quick nutshell of what to give a go: 1) Keep your guard up - that means any punch that wants to get to your face via a straight route has to hit your gloves first. Better to take the impact on your gloves than on your head. It takes some time to get used to covering up. At first it will seem like you're trying to defend your head with a slice of Swiss cheese. But it will improve. But remember it's a long process. Keep at it. 2) Learn to 'catch' your opponents punches... when he/she throws a punch swat it downwards with a very short, sharp movement and immediately bring your glove back to the guard position. If you overdo it and parry with too big of a movement you leave yourself wide open. Eventually you'll get to a point where you can pretty much guess what punch your opponent is going to throw. If he's thrown his left jab at you... there's a good chance he's going to follow up with a right cross. Again time will give you more experience to build on. 3) Improve your head movement. Leaving you head in the same place is asking to get pasted. Keep your moving from side to side. Learn to slip to the outside with the smallest movement possible. You don't need have a mile between your face and your opponents punch... and inch or two will work much better. You're going to want to begin to improve you neck strength and flexibility to deal with punches. For now some gentle stretching is in order and some practice with quick side to side head movement. Depending on where and who you're training with this may be hard to come by.... it's pretty much the realm of boxers and not so much nak muays. 4) Counter punch. When your opponent throws a punch - parry it or slip it and throw back. Don't ever, ever let them land something on you without paying for it. Make them respect you. If they can punch you at will they won't respect you and will charge in every time. Make them really think twice about coming in to punch you. Let them know in no uncertain terms that they're going to pay a big price for trying to punch you. eg... punch them in the face. :d There's just a few for you... but frankly this could go on for pages and pages. A good drill is this: One Attacks and One Defends get in the corner and have your opponent attack you... have him/her pull their punches. That means... tapping you lightly - not trying to take your head off. Since you're playing the defender you only defend... that means no punching back. Parrying punches, blocking punches, slipping punches, bobbing and weaving around and under punches... classic defensive skills - but you do not punch back. You want to get to the point where you can nuetralize a lot of their punches and make them miss. Don't expect to have this down for a while... but start working it now. It will seem frustrating at the start because quite frankly... you're going to get punched. But with time comes experience and hopefully improvement. Again it's key that your attacker pulls his punches... this IS NOT an exercise in power... but an exercise in skill. Two very different creatures. One that many novice boxers and nak muays confuse. Key in this drill is to NOT let yourself get worked back up against the turnbuckle... you want to be able to feel the turnbuckle or bottom rope with you rear leg - your calf... let it just lightly touch it... if you end up flat against the ropes or turnbuckle... you are SOL... it's a very weak position to be in... so don't let them work you up that close. If they do... lock them up with a clinch. Then start over... this is good practice for both people and it's good if you have a trainer who knows this drill and understands it's value. This drill works best in a 2 minute round. 2 minutes you defend... 2 minutes you attack. In both roles you pay attention to note what does and doesn't work. Good luck.
Throw the jab out until the rythmn changes, cross\hook or hook\hook? ... is there a rule against chain punching in Muay Thai? Tangle the arms up, clinch, flurries of knees and elbows?
You've been given some good advice, Hapuka. All I can add is don't turn your back when you do get punched, because this is fatal. Also, remember, getting punched in the face doesn't actually hurt. This might sound a bit stupid, but think about it - your partner is wearing great big padded gloves. If you get hit, it isn't going to hurt a great deal. This isn't to say go out of your way to get punched, although it is good to get punched now and again, as you will get used to the sensation.
It depends were they punch me. Sometimes my partner punches me in the nose and tears start coming out for no reason! I think it might be a shock thing. My nose is to big for my own good.
That used to happen to me too, don't worry about it. Did they show you 'long arm guard'? Also, how tall are you?
I know this sounds basic , but the more you take punches the more used to them you will get. It's hard at first- I used to flinch a lot when a punch was coming at me, but after training and training and training I just got used to it
Imagine that you're holding pads and someone's hitting them. You make a forward motion, with the pad, to meet the punch. Try copying that to sparring; when you see a punch coming, don't close your eyes, but try to meet the punch with your forearm in a forward motion. This way you have a chance to block/evade and counter. Just keep those eyes on you opponent's eyes at all times. If you close them, and a punch is coming, you're gonna get hit anyway. Even a slight evade can mean a difference between your head being ripped off or just "another" punch landing.
Ah... also you can fill your sink with water, and then splash water in your eyes, for about 30 seconds, really fast, each morning... to rid yourself from the flinch response. If your opponent is taller, get inside and upper cut, if you don't know how... ask.
