Oh dear :cry: I got a right good kicking, and the 2 guys I was sparring with were taking it easy too. While they were kicking (and punching) the hellout of me, they were also giving me good advice. "you're leaving your stomach unguarded", "put your guard up", "do more combos" etc etc. This was great of them, however, trying to remember everything theyre saying whilst getting a kicking is very hard. We were only doing 2 minute rounds but after the first minute I was knackered. I was telegraphing everything I was going to do and I couldn't even see half of the punches landed at me. I got 3 punches straight into the face and I never even seen them coming. One guy kept lifting his leading leg up and I kept thinking "you need to step to the side, or step in" but by the time I thought it, BANG ! he'd already kicked me. I will admit that I was getting very frustrated and because of it, my "form" was practically non-existent. But I kept on at it anyways. Is this what it's like for everyone at first? or have I left it a bit late to start sparring (I'm 38). Can anybody recommend any tips that'll help? or is it just a case of "keep sparring, eventually you'll get better" . I can hit the bag all night long, but that doesn't remind you of your vulnerabilities the way someone's fist or foot does. So I'm nursing a very small black eye (first one in my life too) and a bruised ego. It looks so easy when other people are doing it. But I'm not going to give up; if anything it's made me more determined to improve.
Keep sparring. Most of us were rubbish when we started Look for openings. It's good that you're thinking "I should move in there", "he looks vulnerable" etc. That's the first step. If you can see what you should be doing, it's only a matter of time before you begin to succeed in doing the correct thing. Then you just have to make it more consistent.
it's a progression process that everyone goes through. you will get better and no your not to old to have started.when you stop to think" should i kick or punch", "move left or right" ? it's too late, let your instincts take over,trust you'll find the opening and explode when it does.
Move!! Silly as it sounds, but keep moving. Be light on your feet, and keep moving out of the danger areas.
Stick at it. Its good that you dont feel discuraged, use that to your advantage. It takes time, try to visualize sparring, and keeping a tight defence, remember the things you do in class and try to use these things in sparring. It just takes time, stay relaxed and try not to get frustrated. after a while it will all seem to come more naturally, and you wont have to think about it so much it will just happen. just like learning to drive, at first its a nightmare, but after you learn you do it without even thinking.
Yer don't worry. Everyone sucks first time! In time the gap between thinking and doing will decrease until it becomes a reflex and then you won't even have to think before you move and jab. At least you're partners seem helpful and encouraging and are giving good advice! What helps me is trying to incorporate one new skill per session into my sparring. E.g. one week I aimed to improve head movement to avoid getting jabbed in the face (big problem of mine a few months ago), then the next week I'd make sure I worked in some sweeps. Maybe give that a try with your own personal goals
Don't worry most of our egos get smashed pretty much the first time we have a real match. Listen to those guys advice, Ask your coach for advice, watch Kick boxing videos (watch how the pros do it) Do lots of shadow boxing and you will get better. Sparring for the first time is kind of like riding a bike for the first time. Sometimes you are gona fall over but you keep trying, Soon after bit of practice it becomes like second nature. So keep at it.
Hapuka Well after watching a few videos of myself sparring I realized that: 1. Head movement (or lack of) was getting me into trouble. 2. When I jabbed I had a tendency to return my hand down to chest level before putting it back up into full guard. 3. Didn't throw enough combinations and therefore threw cold jabs. To remedy it I just put each of these parts into my weekly schedule. So instead of normal shadow boxing I'd focus particularly on head movement. The sparring was extra practice and sort of a test to see if I needed to do more work on that bit or if I could move on. Took 4 weeks to handle the problem to a level I was happy with, my head just didn't want to move lol! So try and get a video or at least think about what could be causing you're problem. There's a few main areas: your guard, combinations, predictability (rhythmical/arhythmical), your actual jabbing technique and anything else you can think of. Also try and work a strategy out for each type of opponent, the guy I normally spar with is a heavy counter puncher (which is why I worked in the sweeps to take away his solid base and open up his guard). Hope this helps Sam
Cheers for the good advice and encouragement fellas. One thing I was told (and I never even realised) was that I was throwing jabs ok, but returning back to guard too slow. So after I threw the jab, my opponent saw the opening and laid into me. That's something I'm going to work on, as well as the head movement.
A question, why should you move your head, does it make it harder for your opponent to hit your head?
I get pummulled on a regular basis too Gaz by the boys.I'm still waiting for my 1st black eye,although I have given someone one. I have a similar problem with my jabs, I don't keep my guard up enough ,so even though Im pretty quick with my hands I don't get the benefit because of my weakness. I also tend to move in too much with my head first,and with me being quite short the guys always get my head too,which is incredibly frustrating and usually painful! I only have 4 weeks to sort it too before my tournament!
Yes. All the time your head's stationary, your opponent's going to be able to target and hit it a lot easier whereas when it's a moving target, it's a lot harder to draw a bead on it
Hey gaz check this out [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdN-B2KweIc"]Maze/Slip Bag - YouTube[/ame] great to practice head movement...if your up for some DIY or you can just buy your own slip/maze bag
hehehe sounds like when i started sparring... but i guess you can never expect to do well when you first start anyways keep at it and ur gonna start kickin a$$ soon
