I remember being so nervous the 1st time I ever sparred, heart racing and feeling tense the whole time. It eventually got better the more I sparred with someone, but then it'd happen all over again whenever I sparred someone new. Now it hardly ever happens, and I look forward to sparring new people. But I'm sure this is the common case with most people. I'm wondering, though, how much does sparring help with overcoming nerves for your 1st actual fight? Do you think the more you spar before your 1st match, the less nervous you'll be? Or does it not really make a difference since they're such different situations in terms of scale and pressure? Share your 1st time fighting stories. I'd like to hear what other people went though before going through it myself.
Fight is totaly different. In my first fight I just forgoted everything and brawled **** out of my opponent
My first time sparring, before the bell sounded I did a little checklist in my head: (1) chin tucked (2) hands up (3) stay relaxed (4) move to your right (5) don't back straight up. Then the bell rang and I'm pretty sure I forgot about most of it. Most of my punches fell woefully short, and when I got clocked 'hard' the first time and my headgear slipped I remember sort of turning from my sparring partner to adjust it. Luckily the guy was experienced and didn't make me pay for the fact that my back was basically to him, even though the clock was still running. Never had a fight though.
The best advice I ever heard before my first fight was 'have fun'. And that totally relaxed me and allowed me to fight without any real anxiety. But then again, i've never been that nervous in sparring either. It helps when i'm one of the smaller guys in my gym and competing against people my own size doesn't intimidate me too much. It's not like i'm amazing or anything, definitely still learning. But I have a little confidence (at least at the novice level) knowing that most of my opponents are often jittery nervous guys who blow themselves out in the first round. I think my ability to stay calm and cool helps a lot. But yeah, for less experienced guys - I agree, that a lot of technique and strategy goes out the window in a real fight. In my first fight, my opponent literally tried to kill my ass in the first 30 seconds. It would have been easy to lose composure, but have confidence in your defence, return fire and definitely have fun.
I wasn't nervous before sparring because I had been training fOr so long so I just wanted to get in there. Sparring more should help you overcome nerves when your 1st bout comes. I sparred for 2 years before I fought and I know I would've been much more nervous had I not But yeah like the others said its like 2 completely different things though. Now I feel sparring only scratches the surface of what you feel in the ring
I was really nervous before sparring because I had been working for a few months learning to box and didn't want to get in there and find out that I sucked after all that work. And I had been itching to spar all that time just to get it out of the way. First fight I was literally pacing around behind the spectators while I was waiting for the other fight to end. A guy walked up to me and was like "Son you gotta calm down and save it for in there!" I had been drinking yerba mate and listening to RATM right up until I put the gear on and I was bouncing off the walls. Just wanted to get in there and get to work, was concerned about putting on a good show and not looking bad, etc. Other guy looked too muscular, figured he'd get tired...then the guy who was gonna work my corner told me the dude was "strong as ****" had a good gas tank on him, so one minute before the fight I had to rethink my strategy =D But yeah I was nervous before both. More intense nervousness before the fight, but the months leading up to sparring were probably worse because I was questioning myself and didn't have any way to get answers.
What weight class do you fight at? I'm 5'9" and really hope I don't get matched up with a significantly taller opponent at 70 kg. I've noticed that most of the experienced boxers at my gym around my height are a lot skinnier than me though, so I wouldn't be surprised if I do face a taller guy. And to all you guys who didn't get nervous before your first fight, props to you. I get nervous sometimes just thinking about my match coming up. :nut
I fight at 139 lb (63 kg). So you can imagine, at 6 '5 he was a bit of a rarity at this weight class. At 70 kg, i'd guess you're close to average height, so roughly half of the guys you fight will be a bit taller.
I didn't have a first bout yet, but I when I first sparred I was holding my hands up and throwing jabs and straights until I got hit in the face. After I got hit in the face I just started throwing wild hooks and just ended up getting countered for 3 rounds. It felt like hell, but now that doesn't happen since I've sparred more now so I'm getting used to getting hit and the situation.
Think this is pretty standard. One of the really experienced lads said to me af ew days before my fight. Don't be too overly concerned with your first fight its mostly about who dogs it out because most people forget everything and just start swinging. The first time I sparred I was 14/15 and I remember it not being that nerve racking at all because it was against smaller people and my mate. I remember sparring these bigger ald one time and being really nervous but then realised he tried to parry shots with both hands so all I had to do was feint and then he was wide open for any shot I wanted. I think the more you spar the less nervous youd be until a certain point because eventually your going to be as ready as your going to be for the different emotions. Although everyones different. I was really nervous for the week before my fight but on the day I was pretty chilled I'm the same way with exams when I know that nothing I can do now is going to help I tend not to get too stressed and just get down to business. Did get a bit nervous as I had to walk through the guy I was fighting mates on the way to the ring and it was a big uni vs uni event and people were going pretty mental.
