Been overmatched..

[Jack Johnson]

Basicly im sparing the same guy most of the time, the same guy that bashed me the first time i ever spared! hes had loads of fights, is real slick, fast hands good movement etc,hes gone reasonably easy other times but today he didnt go easy on me i blocked alot of his punches the old gloves over face move, but he got a few in and i could barely hit him, i was also a bit conscious about my nose gettin busted again,it didnt atleast.Few questions:

I was moving back a bit when i was blocking his shots this is a no,no right? what should i be doing?

im starting to feel like this is a hinderance sparing someone as good as him all the time,im having to use a tight guard and i find it hard to hit him,i done decent tuesday but today he went tough on me and i couldnt get near him, he could read my punches and was quick to counter.

Now im no idiot i know this guy has loads more experience then me and is real quick, but when i asked my coach after training what do i need to work on, and he just said your man is too good for me???i know hes too good for me thats why i was askin for some areas to really focus on, he said i just need to keep training until things come more natural..which i suppose hes right but still..

And so im on here yet again looking for others to guide me, do you think this would be a problem for developing sparring someone that is much better then me?or is this a good thing? Im probly too good for any new guy there, and he is too good for me!

[Bazooka]

Honestly if your new to the sport, it shouldnt be fully loaded like that, it should be controlled sparring, in which the man with more experience acts responsible and allows you to work and holds back a bit.

I would suggest look for another trainer cus obviously this guy is more focused on his prize gems that he has had for a while, all in all your just lunch meat and that is not the way to learn.

[achillesthegreat]

don't stress it. do be a better fighter you need to fight better fighters.

he is presenting you with situations and physically he is asking you questions. think hard and try to find the answer.

[brown bomber]

You need to spar under conditions. You don't learn anything under those circumstances, getting shelled. Your trainer sounds like a bucket holder.

[Jack Johnson]

The trainer has loads of experience and was a champion amatuer boxer in his day,so he has bags of experience however he seems to chose not to bother to really help people most of the time.its great.

[RightHooker]

Originally Posted by Jack Johnson

I was moving back a bit when i was blocking his shots this is a no,no right? what should i be doing?

Correct. If you move straight back it's very easy for him to move forward and keep punching. Step away to the side, or even just walk right into him to smother his punches. You have to be fast through and throw punches while you do it. If you just take a step to the side and stand there he will turn and keep punching. Quick step or pivot to the side, throwing punches to create space to get away.

im starting to feel like this is a hinderance sparing someone as good as him all the time,im having to use a tight guard and i find it hard to hit him,i done decent tuesday but today he went tough on me and i couldnt get near him, he could read my punches and was quick to counter.

Now im no idiot i know this guy has loads more experience then me and is real quick, but when i asked my coach after training what do i need to work on, and he just said your man is too good for me???i know hes too good for me thats why i was askin for some areas to really focus on, he said i just need to keep training until things come more natural..which i suppose hes right but still..

Sparring someone who is better than you is the way you learn the quickest. I did all my sparring with people who were bigger and more experienced than me when I was starting out. The first time I was in the ring with someone my experience level was my first fight, and I won in one minute.

However your trainer should be giving you better advice than that. You're never going to improve if you aren't sure what you're doing wrong, or what you should be doing different.

If your trainer doesn't give you any advice try asking the guy that you are sparring with. Unless he's a jerk and doesn't want you to get better because he likes to look good in sparring, he should be willing to help you out and give you pointers.

You can also film your sparring and post the video here and we can give advice.

[dfh85]

Hey man I know the feeling. Try spar with the older heads they are wise and humble and happy to teach.

Those young slick guys are too busy with themselves to care about you. They will tell you what they were told because normally they don't care what you're doing wrong.

This older head fucked me up but he did it nicely. He was teaching me that in boxing you have to get hit. Cause I was always throwing punches without commiting myself - I was too focussed on escape rather than attack so I was leaning back throwing punches which stopped an inch infront of his head. He showed me to roll my back more and extend a little more and I was connecting more. U gotta risk getting hit to land shots. I didn't understand that cause I'd watched Pro's box who never get hit or rarely take shots.

So like dude said above me, ask that guy ur sparring with. If he wont help then do what I do. Introduce urself to the older heads in the gym and just ask if they want to spar a few rnds with you. If u are humble and thankful they become like another trainer cause now my guy will give me tips when I'm on the bag and when I'm shadow boxing.

Only this he did say which I was confused about was "Dont do that with your hands".. I would go into tight guard when I was tired and he said when I did that I was inviting him to hit me.

[Jack Johnson]

Thanks again Righthooker, i was going to ask him yesterday, i have asked him once before on a few tips and to be fair to him he did help me out..i just wasnt in the mood asking him yesterday, but i suppose il ask him again after we spar next week.

I know its hard to be giving advice when you've never seen me spar, but basicly he reads me like a book, ive the hands up high pressing him and he just goes bang,bang. I feel like the only thing i can do is block with the arms up covering my face,and then try and get something off..im still trying to not blink when hes hitting me aswell. Is there any other effective defending that would allow me to counter better..im gonna start by stepping off to the sides more.

[Jack Johnson]

Originally Posted by dfh85

Hey man I know the feeling. Try spar with the older heads they are wise and humble and happy to teach.

Those young slick guys are too busy with themselves to care about you. They will tell you what they were told because normally they don't care what you're doing wrong.

This older head fucked me up but he did it nicely. He was teaching me that in boxing you have to get hit. Cause I was always throwing punches without commiting myself - I was too focussed on escape rather than attack so I was leaning back throwing punches which stopped an inch infront of his head. He showed me to roll my back more and extend a little more and I was connecting more. U gotta risk getting hit to land shots. I didn't understand that cause I'd watched Pro's box who never get hit or rarely take shots.

So like dude said above me, ask that guy ur sparring with. If he wont help then do what I do. Introduce urself to the older heads in the gym and just ask if they want to spar a few rnds with you. If u are humble and thankful they become like another trainer cause now my guy will give me tips when I'm on the bag and when I'm shadow boxing.

Only this he did say which I was confused about was "Dont do that with your hands".. I would go into tight guard when I was tired and he said when I did that I was inviting him to hit me.

Thats a good idea but unfortunitly there aint too many older heads in my gym. The guy i spar was reasonably helpful il try and ask him again, but your right he enjoys sparring me i make him look even better (he is good in fairness)
And yea i feel when im sticking my hands up high to block him im inviting him to hit me which he inevitabley does. My fuckin coach doesnt tell me anything, except to do that.

[Goose]

Originally Posted by Jack Johnson

Thanks again Righthooker, i was going to ask him yesterday, i have asked him once before on a few tips and to be fair to him he did help me out..i just wasnt in the mood asking him yesterday, but i suppose il ask him again after we spar next week.

I know its hard to be giving advice when you've never seen me spar, but basicly he reads me like a book, ive the hands up high pressing him and he just goes bang,bang. I feel like the only thing i can do is block with the arms up covering my face,and then try and get something off..im still trying to not blink when hes hitting me aswell. Is there any other effective defending that would allow me to counter better..im gonna start by stepping off to the sides more.

you dont have to keep your hands glued to your face all the time, but its good technique for counter punching, because it invites your opponent to punch, and it helps to see patterns in your opponets punching/movement. When opponent attacks me, he opens up and that gives me opportunity to get my shots in. You can lower those hands and try to quickly counter by moving your head a little to the side, duck and counter etc......I dont know how tall you are and how effective you are fighting from outside, and how tall your opponent is, most of the people that I have to train with are taller than me so it its best when I invite them in. You do whatever is most comfortable for you given your physical strenghts and advantages/disatvantages

[dfh85]

For real my coach does not even watch us spar the only thin he has said to me in the past month is;

"Hands up"
"Ur losing weight"
"I want you at 195 tell me when u get there"

But I often see him watching me on the bags so maybe hes waiting until I'm ready before he starts getting serious.

[GPater11093]

when i started boxing i was in with all the older guys bigger and more experianced but i learnt quicker and its made me tough.

Also i often get remarked on by some of the older triners that i have great humility as when i take the younger guys in and less experianced instead of battering them i work on things with them. Cause im not learning nything and they arent either

[Jennifer Love Hewitt]

Sounds like you have a bad coach. As said before, the more experienced partner should be holding back and helping you learn, but since he's not... here's what you do.

1. He's better than you, you know that, so don't try to magically be better than him over night.

2. When you are sparring, pick one thing to work on. Concentrate on that, and keep working on it until you start being able to do it more effectively. For example. Practice slipping his punches. Just keep doing that. Sure he'll hit you, but you'll get better at that one thing. It's one thing to put in the arsenal. Keeping this one task in mind, you'll be able to put full attention to it, and improve it.
Next do the same thing with something else. I recommend the Jab. Just go in there with the intention of landing a jab and covering up. Eventually you will be able to land your jabs. Keep building like that, adding new moves to the arsenal.

3. They will tell you to do other things, but don't worry about that. Your better off being a master at one thing then medicore or bad at lots of things.

[Jack Johnson]

Thanks for the advice guys, JLH that sounds like a good blueprint.

[stefanoitch]

Theres nothing you can do but to keep training. The only way to get better is to spar those who are better then you. You'll figure it out