What'd U come 2 appreciate first time U sparred?

You know what I really wasnt anticipating? How a strong body shot slowly starts to **** with your legs. They really don't hurt that much unless they hit a sweet spot, but if you take some solid midsection punishment you just end up feeling like jelly... :dead:dead

 

It never bothered me.

When I was new, I found it easier to hit the body instead of the head. I was a southpaw, and my footwork wasn't great enough to get the proper angles to land headshots. The bodies were always there and available. I would throw str8 lefts, left shovel hooks, etc all towards the body.

The first thing that actually hurt me in early sparring sessions was a light left hook to my liver. I was lucky that he only managed to TAP the liver, and it was towards the end of the round. I had 30 seconds to regain myself from that body shot.

It didn't feel good to get a taste of my own medicine.

That's how I learned to love roadwork and bodyshots.

 

I remember recently I tried catching leads with an open and countering over the top ala johnson/norton.... Very difficult, and you can easily hurt your wrist doing so.... You know what I think is worse than blocking/catching? Getting a big punch of yours blocked on the shoulder or elbow. very, very hard surfaces and hitting them off center hurts.

 

I noticed as a young lad that guys who came in with a reputation as a tough guy and a hard man, felt a little embarrassed being outboxed by a wee skinny 12-13 year old, and being gassed after 10 seconds.

Head guard still obscures my vision.

My first sparring was against a mate of mine who was a big rugby player who had been going maybe a month or so longer than me. Well he pounded me around the ring, and I realised how much I wanted to win, and also how hard a punch to the face is.

 

I first sparred when I was 8 against my 10 year old brother. He whooped my butt. I trained until high school at a PAL gym until it closed down. I didn't really care because I didn't really love the sport at the time. My dad's an old school Philly guy, he used to know Joe Frazier pretty well. We've had pictures of Marciano, LaMotta, Pastrano, Basilio, etc. on our walls.

 

That it's not the same as hitting a big bag. That all the technique you thought you'd learned goes right out the window in the heat of battle, and you find yourself throwin' arm punches, off balanced. That combinations are not so easy to put together when your guy doesn't wanna cooperate. The first day they had me in with four or five different guys, weight or experience didn't seem to be a consideration. I actually got lucky with a right hand and knocked one guy down, but the next guy who had about fifty pounds on me, caught me with such a body shot that I got that buzz in the liver that turned me to jelly. I don't go to the gym anymore, but I do get some sparring in with my son in the backyard. He goes to the gym regularly and we get some pretty good sessions in. He's a stalker, I am on my bicycle, jabbing and moving, the occasional right hand when it looks like he intends to render payback for all the tough love I've given him over the years. It 's fun, and probably the best way I've found to stay in shape. Only wish I was younger.

 

The very first time I sparred I did not learn a thing. The coach put me in with another kid who had very little experience, and I beat the crap out of him.

The coach said something like, "Okay, that was nice." Then he put me in with his very best 106 pounder, a kid who had even been on TV a couple times, and I immediately learned that DEFENSE MATTERS!!!!

 

First time in the ring was with this guy. Journeymen pro but amateur army champ. 3-3 minute rounds.
I remember thinking "Where have I felt this before?" and recalling a basketball slamming into my face as a kid.


Barry Funches W Mike Koranicki PTS 10


Name: Barry Funches
Alias: The Fighting Postman
Born: 1949-06-01
Nationality: US American
Hometown: Manhattan, New York, USA

 

Hey Leon -- I'm curious! What division were you in at 14-15 years of age? How tall? et, et, ? i ask because it sounds like you and I would have been very similar.

 

I found out how unsettling it is to have punches flying at your face very quickly, and that it hurts a lot to get hit in the nose. Body shots suck to hit with, I'd rather take shots the ribs than to the pit of my stomach though. It seems like almost every time I get hit in the pit of my stomach I was not prepared for it and it knocks the wind out of me. Knowing how much body shots suck, I've worked on mine quite a bit and find myself frequently looking to land my shots to the body. It's much easier to slug it out with someone (which is my style) when they are sucking air and just hoping that I would quit digging in my bodyshots.

 

you need to pace yourselve being tired in the ring ain't fun.body shots are nasty.ignore your instincts to curl into a ball