So as the title suggests I did my first K1 interclub today, and as usual I'd like to stick the videos up here for some critique. Put bluntly the fight went terrible and was just an embarrassment. I have excuses such as only having done about 12 sessions and maybe 5 spars, or having taken the last 3 weeks off with flu, but the real reason is just that I react terribly to being punched and backed up the whole thing. it went bad enough that I haven't watched the videos myself other than to check the rounds Buuuuut they'll go on here anyway because it'll do me good to share the bad times as well as the good ones and also hope it might make others less self conscious about posting their own stuff up. The good news is you could sign up for second fights and I took one because only one other guy signed up and it didn't seem fair on him to miss out. He'd only been training 3 weeks and the place was basically empty by that point so we treated it as a light sparring session and I did far better. Still put my back to the cage too much, but much less cowering and more striking. Unfortunately jacked my foot up in the first fight so couldn't kick but I landed a very nice superman punch that stopped the fight for a few seconds. He caught me with some lovely shots too. Sadly that one wasn't caught on tape but it was a much, much better fight for me. An inexperienced opponent and me doing it with a "what the hell" attitude was a lot more fun. The other good news is originally when I did bjj I used to have bad comps and then stop training for a couple weeks. This time round it was just a reminder that I need to get off my butt and train more and the break I've taken for the last month has been stupid. Seriously, who gets told they can talk about fighting on a show in 6 months and then stops training? I also talked to my coach afterwards and asked him about doing a class with me staying in and rotating opponents (shark tank?) if him and the class were willing to do it. I figure I'll cower and be a wimp at the start but eventually I'll give up and start throwing back. Its one of the few ideas I have left and it kind of worked when I did the DART days with jwt. Anyway, videos! Oh also I was told by the dude filming it that the camera went spacky in parts so sorry if it skips bits, or the whole last round isn't there. As with the sub grappling comp I'm the sexy beast in the black Gym 01 shorts [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdAyFyaasnE&feature=youtube"]K1 interclub 11/11/12 - Round 1 - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ1n8gi7zlo&feature=youtube"]K1 interclub 11/11/12 - Round 2 - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJgYaV2Rn4s&feature=youtube"]K1 Interclub 11/11/12 - Round 3 - YouTube[/ame]
I think you're being too hard on yourself Aaron. There are a lot of people who claim to be able to to this, that or the other, but definately can't back it up. You stepped up and not only that you had the courage to post the results. You took some decent kicks, especially in the second round, but came back to the centre of the ring each time ready to carry on. I think it would be wrong to criticise, you and your coach know what you need to work on. I don't do MMA or K1, but as an instructor I saw a young man with plenty of heart who was willing to mix it up and tried to impliment the techniques he learnt in class. The opponent threw more combinations, maybe that was the difference. Your fitness looked okay, so no real worries there. He looked a little stronger, that will come with time served in the gym. A few days off Aaron then back to it. Don't be too hard on yourself and props for posting.
Fair play for stepping up, and being game. Ill watch the videos once I get the deskstop started in a bit. Note - Its really nothing personal but taking a fight after only 12 hours of training is dumb. Dont worry about shark tanking, conc on being good in sparring when your fresh and then worry about adding extra pressure in afterwards.
Zaad, I'm pretty sure clinch isn't allowed in K1, that's what separates K1 from Thai. Lefty I'd be pretty pleased I'd stepped in after 12 sessions never mind critisise myself. You and your coach know what needs working on, like si said few days off then straight in. I think any issues you had stemmed from confidence in standing up to strikes, that will come with time, I really wouldn't be so hard on yourself.
Ok ive watched it now. For only sparring 5 Times you did ok, your gun shy and you need to work everything, but your game which is great, Getting the hours of sparring in and youll do well! PS youve Fought in a cage now, that makes you a CAGEFIGHTER, Grrrrrrrrr!
eh, it didn't go THAT bad, dude. you landed a pretty sweet one at 1:26 in the first clip. also, lol tackle in round 2
my bad - recent rule change - they stopped two hand clinches in 2010 - before that a single strike was allowed out of the clinch
Nice one Southpaw! Basically agree with what the others said. You got in the cage and did so with not much experience and after a dose of flu - respect! :happy:
That was pretty good for such a short training time! With that kind of spirit I'm sure you'll be holding your own in no time!
Dont be too hard on yourself ive seen some terrible first fights and this isnt as bad as you think. Pros: You kept your guard up under pressure Your spirit remained strong Cons: Only throwing one shot and not combinations, your oppnonent used combinations well against you. Not angling off when attacks came in,try to move around the ring not just backwards. Anyone who gets in the ring and gives it a go gets my respect.Many train but never try a bit of full contact and find out about the real person they are.
To be honest, I don't think there were any major problems there. Your guard was strong. You threw some good kicks. Your breathing held up while you took some really hard kicks to the body. I didn't see you being severely outgunned at all. He was just a bit better than you and there's no shame in losing to someone who's better than you. That's how it should be. Next time, when you're more experienced, you'll beat someone who you're better than and karma will be restored.
I think you have a few major problems that take a lot of time for some people to come through and defeat, and it happens through sparring and good coaching. Your guard was good for a little bit until you started taking some hard shots, then you started to flinch/look away. It doesn't matter how much you cover yourself up if you're looking away. If you can't see the attacks coming you can't parry, block, or counter them. It also makes you look bad to the judges and can contribute to you losing a fight based on points. You also give the opponent the opportunity to pick and choose what he wants to do to you without any threat of retaliation. Another thing that isn't good is moving backwards and not answering back with any strikes. That will also make you lose a fight. You HAVE to fight back, there isn't any other option. The worst part about moving backwards is you're taking the full impact of max range strikes (meaning you're taking the brunt of the most powerful strikes) on top of your opponents momentum coming forward. If you can't maneuver out of the way laterally then the safest route is to go into your opponent. Even if you don't do anything and just maintain a guard, it is more difficult for your opponent to land a power punch with you pushing forward on him or being close to him. You don't have to clinch to do this either. This isn't to say you won't catch a powerful hook or uppercut or knee, but it's a lot harder to land them on somebody who has closed the distance into making short strikes the only option vs. medium and max range strikes. Going into the guy isn't a solution to the not fighting back problem, it just lessens the percentage of getting hit hard enough to make you not want to fight. It's more of a "I need to be safe to gather myself" tactic then a winning strategy. I also feel it was visible that the desire to fight back (which is different from staying in the ring and not quitting) started to be taken from you when you started really getting hit. This can come from many different things but I don't think getting hit was what took it from you. I think that a lack of knowledge and tools within your own arsenal probably made you feel a little hopeless (which 12 sessions and 5 sparring sessions is my reasoning for that) on top of the previous situation with the flu and not training contributing to you not being mentally prepared. You also looked exhausted towards the end which I think came from inexperience on how to handle yourself, over exerting yourself in your attempt to not get hit, and the panic/rush you get from being hit and continually being under attack. All in all, you're definitely not a punk. You stuck it out and that speaks a lot. The above is just what I think are your biggest problems and those problems exist for just about anybody participating in combat sport whether they compete or not. A lot of that stuff can be fixed with having a go to counter, a go to combo, learning to work the cage/ring, and experience with sparring. In my opinion, with the conditions you described (flu and 3 weeks off) and your lack of sparring and training, you did exactly how you were supposed to do. You could have done worse (knocked out or given up entirely) and it would have been easier to do worse, and you didn't. If you want to continue to compete and get serious about fighting then just keep working. This in club match is definitely not something to beat yourself up about, and is definitely something you can look to and learn from.
I'm in a rush this morning so I'll reply properly tonight when I have more time but some answers to quick posts: The rules we had were you can clinch but you must break after 1 technique. I tried to clinch more in the 2nd fight but I found it really hard with gloves on and, as anyone who's seen the clips from me training with jwt can verify, I have massive problems throwing hard shots at that range. I think its one of the reasons I put my back to the cage so much too. Its like an instinctive "well come grapple with me then" *ahem* I uh, I sort of panicked. Although I do hold that if I HAD got him down I could of choked him out and technically beat him I need to scoot I'll reply to the rest tonight. Thanks a lot guys. I don't post these up and say I did crap to get an ego massage or anything like that. I know if I post on here they'll be seen by far better martial artists than myself and I'll get good, honest, constructive feedback. That being said, you have made me feel better about the whole thing and made me smile at 8 o'clock in the morning so thanks My foot is screwed today but as soon as its better I'll be back to the gym training as hard as I was before I got ill/lazy. Uh, 12 session weeks. How I haven't missed you. Thank again guys.
No they don't since there's no winner announced afterwards. They're used basically as a mock comp like you say and at higher levels (fights were split into 5 experience levels with relative contact) they're used to prepare fighters for shows. For instance the mma coach makes you do 5 interclubs at a high level before he'll consider you for his promotion.
To echo what everyone else has said it wasn't that bad. Your opponent was obviously more experienced than you , but you kept your composure and your hands up , I'd also second the suggestion to train more combinations.
Oh man that's great! I had thought initially that you were thrown into a legit amateur fight with as little training as you've done. I have a buddy of mine who crossed over into MMA from boxing and they started having him fight a couple months into training. He wasn't and isn't ready for MMA competition yet and it shows in the first loss handed to him in his first fight. It makes me angry that some trainers do this and I thought I was reading an account of a trainer throwing a guy into a fight with so little time training. I'm glad to hear this wasn't the case! Sounds like you're at a decent gym and have some decent coaches. Keep up the good work!
Considering what you have gone through and with whatever training you had, you did well. I'm same as you, I tend to shell up when I get smothered but I'm still moving my head. And its weird to say, but you can "feel" when you slip/weave a hook and you can counter. I would echo what your cornerman is saying and use your hands more. I tend to say that you need to start with your hands all the time. Admittedly the opponent is a lot quicker than you and he has better snaps with his combos. You have done well and also showed character with how you have dealt with your result. So props to that.
Wow that sounds rough. Hope it didn't dent his confidence too much? Yeah I have a lot of respect for my guys. They run a promo as well so I think that gives them a different perspective on how to deal with the guys. edit: I now have a chance to read your big reply Ero and thanks a lot. Sound advice
