My advice to you for your first time sparring

I've been watching a lot of first time sparring vids on youtube and I couldn't help but wish that I could have given myself at least one piece of advice for my first sparring session.

Here are a few things for those of you new to sparring:

-Manage distance. This is the most important thing because beginners pretty much don't know how to manage distance. Most beginners stay in the mid range which is where BOTH of you can land on each other. You want to stay on the OUTSIDE. The distance that is right for you usually seems a slightly too far. If you can touch your opponent without having to take more than a 3 or 4 inch step then you are too close. Everything will come off of this. When I learned to manage my distance I really started making guys pay.

-Focus on your jab. Don't really try to throw any special counters or anything elaborate until you at least establish your jab. You can win entire rds in a fight with just a good jab. In amateur boxing, having a frustrating jab that is hard for your opponent can win you two rds easy.

-Look at your opponents chest/upper torso/glove area. Sorry for the vague terminology but I don't know how else to describe it. This really ties back into distance management. If you are too close then you won't see any punches coming which will in turn make your head movement suffer. Sit back and try to observe. A lot of my old sparring partners used to somewhat "bore in" and I didn't really have an answer for it for a long time because I didn't know how to manage distance. I also kept looking at their eyes/head and turned into a head hunter.

-Don't be shy about clinching. You should utilize clinching whenever it suits you ie whenever your opponent has success with their game plan and you don't. That does NOT mean to be a Klitschko type who clinches seemingly non stop for long periods of time. Be rough in the clinch and fight it out. Its sparring, your coach isn't going to be there to break it up. If you're trying to establish the jab and he keeps boring in straight on just clinch. You don't have the experience yet to counter punch effectively, it will get you into an unnecessary war. I'm not saying avoid the action, just don't play to his tune. Dictate the sparring on YOUR terms.

-Move your feet. Don't stand still if you aren't throwing anything. Don't stand still and trade punches.

-Don't lean back and throw punches at the same time. I used to do this unintentionally because I didn't want to get hit. I wasn't scared, I just didn't know how to manage my distance and just focused on landing my own punches. What this does is it takes all of the power off of your punches. You also can't move correctly either. Try it, lean back and try throwing punches while stepping diagonally backwards. Awkward right? Well in sparring in the heat of the moment you will probably fall down and look like an idiot.

Summarize

Distance Management is probably the most important thing in boxing. Its THE cornerstone to everything. It separates a winner from a loser and a novice from a champion. You can win tons of fights based purely on that. I sparred golden gloves state champs who couldn't manage distance at all. Once I figured it out I started winning those sessions instead of getting utterly outclassed. I got a bloody nose from the LONE fact that I couldn't manage my distance. I had to teach myself because I had a sh*tty coach who imo dksab even though he has trained many pro fighters and successful amateurs on the usa boxing team.



Tell me what you think, anything to add, your own beginner sparring stories, and feel free to ask questions regarding yourself if you need help with any of the things I mentioned.

 

Heavy bag work helped me the most, shadowboxing and sparring help as well. Its just something that you have to find and once you find it you have to just stick to it over and over again.

If you're a shorter guy in the division then work on slipping and stepping inside. If you are a taller guy then make sure you land the jab at the end of your punch not where your elbow is half bent. On the bag you want to be able to fully step in and fully extend the punch, making contact with the bag about 4 inches before you straighten you arm all the way.

If you are too close then he doesn't have to move very far to touch you. If you are too far away then you have to make a large unnecessary movement just to land your. jab. When shadowboxing look at your front foot and not where you are BEFORE you throw the jab then when you throw the jab try to step in approximately 6 inches to land the punch. AFTER you throw the jab look at your front foot and note how far you stepped in. Adjust accordingly. Another thing is to put down right in front of your foot, measure out six inches and put another piece of tape down. Drill that for as long as you want.

Sparring you do the same thing as on the heavy bag. The right distance will feel a LITTLE too far but it isn't. Once you start working from the range it will feel normal.

 

When you step in, you step in with your feet lmao

 

You are supposed to throw a jab by stepping into it because it puts your body weight behind it. Not by just leaning, that's just an arm punch.

Like I said, if you can land on your opponent without having to take a step in then you are too close. This is rudimentary boxing. If you can touch them, they can touch you.

What you said is the entire reason this thread was made. Distance management, without it you are just another novice brawler who will get clipped as soon as you face someone who can manage distance.

Try this, get in the ring with a well experienced amateur. Get to a distance where you can land all of your punches without having to step in and tell me how that goes for you.

 

All words. Meaningless. None of which can even be verified. Arguing from the position of authority is incredibly stupid. In fact it doesn't even mater here.

What exactly are you saying? Are you saying that the right distance is the one where you don't have to move your feet to land on your opponent? Are you saying that the right reaches farther than the left? I fully understand and acknowledge that but that isn't the point of this thread. Are you saying to measure distance with the back hand? I understand that principle as well.

We are talking first time here. I'm trying to keep this as basic as possible because introducing a little bit more advanced concepts isn't a good idea and will confuse folks.

Everything is built off of the jab, if you can't land your jab then you aren't going to have much success with anything else. There is a reason that fighters measure distance by pawing with the jab.

Please just be a little more clear about what you are agreeing and disagreeing with.

 

Oh, I see. I thought you were disagreeing with what I wrote and saying what you thought was correct.

Thanks for the input!

 

Don't worry about it at all man. If what you say is true then you have every right to tell people what you know.