I hear the phrase all the time but what are you actually doing when studying fighters and how do you apply it to your training?
pick a fighter with a style you like. Pick a specific fight of his that you enjoy. Watch the fight repeatedly. Pick up on a few instances where he scores or does something you like. Break it down. Watch that specific move/exchange in slow motion. Ask yourself "why did it work." Be picky. Look for details.
The first thing i watch is the footwork, then how he applies that footwork to work off angles, combinations, etc. And also the jab, see how they incorporate the jab
it takes patience to "study" film. 1. take each round and ... watch it completely ... again focusing on the footwork of red. what's working, what's not working ... now footwork of blue. what's working what's not working ... red offenses/defenses ... blue offenses/defenses ... after a few rounds, recognize "patterns" of what is working and not working 2. watch each fighter individually and evaluate if they are using their assets and how they are using their skills eg. tall using long punches? short using pressure/headmovement/short shots? are they fighting a southpaw appropriately? are their hands up or down? head up or down? what are they obviously open for? is the opponent "setting up" to score on the openings or are they just trying to take it? effective use of headmovement? punches and bunches? counters? body shots? angles? that's how i watch film.
I watch and see why they choose to fire off at a specific time, and why. A lot of times I'll see them land a punch and slip a counter, or land simultaneously without getting hit, and I rewind and see the punches land again and see why they had success in an exchange against their opponent. In general with the tempo of the fight, I try and put myself in the shoes of the fighter, and think what I would do would be different, and think why they choose to do it their way. The pace, their foot placement, etc. I try and figure out how it all works together and what they're looking for.
