Body sparring - How good is it Really ?

[Theron]

To me it seems pretty pointless i see the point in it but i mean its not really amazing for you, cant land full clean punches most of the time and end up just hitting shoulders ect, anyone disagree? you cant really show any potential or that much skills body sparring cause you know you dont have to worry about your head and as well if your a taller guy your at a disadvantage because you find yourself having to lean in some of the time to get a clean shot in and then the shorter guy gets an opportunity because the way to beat you is to go to the body obviously and thats all you can do your thoughts on body sparring ??

[Matt Ldn]

I think Body sparring is done incorrectly far too much. I've seen people with weird defenses where their entire body is covered by arms its ridiculous. If you treat it like proper sparring keep your hands up etc it has some use but there are many things that will see greater improvements that you could be doing with the time so why. You'd be better off doing a really light full body sparring sesh.

[Theron]

Originally Posted by Matt Ldn

I think Body sparring is done incorrectly far too much. I've seen people with weird defenses where their entire body is covered by arms its ridiculous. If you treat it like proper sparring keep your hands up etc it has some use but there are many things that will see greater improvements that you could be doing with the time so why. You'd be better off doing a really light full body sparring sesh.

Agree yeah, or at least just light jabs to the face along with body sparring

[Matt Ldn]

Originally Posted by Theron

Agree yeah, or at least just light jabs to the face along with body sparring

I used to body spar some guys who would throw a lot of feints to the head and maybe even a jab to the forehead so you didn't focus too much on defending the body. Like I said its not bad if done right but there are much more productive things you could spend time on.

[brown bomber]

Worked for the ingle gym

[Matt Ldn]

How much would you get the lads you train to do this?

[Thracian]

Originally Posted by brown bomber

Worked for the ingle gym

But did they do it differently or with special rules?

[Bazzel]

Ive not seen any ex ingle fighter talking punchy or slurring.
Then you hear defensive masters like toney and whitaker sounding damaged. It wasnt in there pro fights that most of the damage happened, not many hit them clean. IMO its from years of blocking, slipping,parrying headshots in sparring. Built up damage over years.
In that way a body spar is good, timing without too much damage

[Aplin]

Originally Posted by Theron

To me it seems pretty pointless i see the point in it but i mean its not really amazing for you, cant land full clean punches most of the time and end up just hitting shoulders ect, anyone disagree? you cant really show any potential or that much skills body sparring cause you know you dont have to worry about your head and as well if your a taller guy your at a disadvantage because you find yourself having to lean in some of the time to get a clean shot in and then the shorter guy gets an opportunity because the way to beat you is to go to the body obviously and thats all you can do your thoughts on body sparring ??

What is better is for one person to do body punching and the other to do body and head. The person body punching then learns how to body punch whilst defending their face. Otherwise, body punching vs body punching I think is pointless.

[Matt Ldn]

Originally Posted by Aplin

What is better is for one person to do body punching and the other to do body and head. The person body punching then learns how to body punch whilst defending their face. Otherwise, body punching vs body punching I think is pointless.

Good idea. However, the guy who can go body head knows that nothing is coming back to his head so he will possibly pick up bad traits, throw unrealistic punches etc. which takes away from the use of the excercise. Surely better off just having a spar where the head shots are light and a real focus on body?

[daly5050]

I'm not an expert on body sparring but we've always used it as more of a tool to create angles which then translates to proper sparring, as you mentioned it's hard to hit a guy in body sparring which is where the angles and footwork come into play

[RichC]

Originally Posted by daly5050

I'm not an expert on body sparring but we've always used it as more of a tool to create angles which then translates to proper sparring, as you mentioned it's hard to hit a guy in body sparring which is where the angles and footwork come into play

I agree. It's easier to practice angles, positioning, range and footwork against a live opponent when you don't have to worry about getting punched in the head.

Once you have "mastered" certain scenarios through body sparring you can attempt to apply these techniques in normal sparring.

Also, good for fitness.

Definitely worth including a couple of round now and again provided the boxer uses these sessions to work on specific techniques rather than just using it as an opportunity to punish someones body / arms.

[captain hook]

body sparring is very important.. if you get hit in body sparring its obviously you will get hit in head more..

also, when doing normal sparring people get too cautious which decreases speed of movement. body sparring teaches to relax and use LEGS for feinting, entering distance etc..

we played body sparring on points, who gets hit 2 times he does 10 pushups, very nice game

[thejokerswild]

Usually ends up a spoilt rugged mess if done incorrectly. Create some distance, feint to the head and practice footwork. then its all timing and placement. and obviously defence. when you throw a bodyshow you are open to one.

[Speechless]

I'm not gonna judge anymore, I think there's value in all types of sparring.

I made a thread not long ago about light sparring (thinking it was pointless).
Then I actually did a session (reluctantly) with a girl boxer who is quite good (she's pro) but about 20 lbs lighter than me. So lightening up on power actually made me focus heavily on technique, and it was actually a very different and enlightening experience. Not to mention actually enjoyable because it became a very mental session.

So all in all, my thinking is, you can learn from almost any type of sparring. Overuse of ONE particular type of 'conditional sparring' is bad, because of the potential to overfocus on one area and neglect another - but if you do different types of conditional sparring (such as body sparring, and others), then there is great potential to learn.