Avoid closing eyes/looking away when sparring.

20 rounds of sparring in 10 months?

Well that's what your problem is - you don't spar enough

 

I agree, you need more sparring. Eventually you'll just get used to it and won't do it.

 

Yep, like Silvio said, that is a pretty weak number of sparring rounds for all that time in the gym. An eternity ago, when I was training, we'd go no less than three 3 minute rounds at least 3 times a week of sparring, but our gym was considered small with no more than a dozen or so guys working out on any given afternoon. Matter of fact, our sparring was limited to me and only 2-3 guys near the same size so we'd often head to a larger gym and spar with some of their guys a couple times a month.

If you are closing your eyes and turning your head a lot, that tells me you are also getting hit a lot. Perhaps that is contributing to your being nervous and tense-----the knowledge you are going to get hit often. Our trainer use to tell us to not look at your opponents face but to try to take in as much as possible, especially from the waist up. A lot of times your opponents chest and shoulders will give you hints of what is coming at you.

 

Getting punched in the face is something you get used to over time.. your natural instinct is to flinch, overriding it isn't easy to begin with.

 

Natural instincts. Look at Shane Mosley punching

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Absolutely not. I think there is something wrong with somebody who does not start out scared to get hit. Exposure to sparring is your biggest problem as most have already said. Try to get 4-5 rds 2-3 x week repeatedly over time.

I am a therapist so this sounds very "shrink like" but pay attention to your self talk in the ring. Tell yourself "I will relax when I get punched at or punched" "I will breath when punching" "it's no big deal to get hit, I'll live" or simply "relax." Pay attention to your tension in your legs, shoulders, breathing, etc. Some times the best thing to do is not overthink it at all and just say, "I'm gonna have fun today and not care." Regardless, the idea is you begin thinking about these things.

In theory, the first thing you have to do is have more exposure to the anxiety producing event, whether it is spiders or a grown man hitting you in the face. Next is to rationalize how you interpret the situation. We have a guy who has been sparring forever, but is scared to death to get hit, gasses by the second round due to all the tension he has, etc.

I think that this "self talk," although we are not cognizant at times of it, improves almost subconsciously due to repeated exposure to sparring/boxing for most. However, as my example shows, not all the time.
Good luck

 

Yea you really do need regular sparring, it will go away. I sparr more in a couple of weeks than you have in that 10 months!

 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

 

I used to close my eyes when punches would come in. What helped me was getting a bud at the gym to lightly throw jabs at my forehead, and i'd sit there and concentrate on keeping my eyes open and him as they connected. Eventually you get used to having gloves close to your face without freaking you out.

Worked for me anyways.