My advice to you for your first time sparring

populistpugilist · Jul 4, 2017

Mr.DagoWop said: ↑

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.
Click to expand...

Excellent, and all true, particularly as it relates to MOVING -- manipulating distance, angles, and levels. Move before you hit, move after you hit. Change your distance, change your angle, change your level. Terrific advice. It's painful to watch two utter newbies stand toe-to-toe launching 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 over and over and over till the bell rings (half the time with their chin out and their eyes closed).

Log in or Sign up

My advice to you for your first time sparring

populistpugilist New Member Full Member

Log in or Sign up

Forums

My advice to you for your first time sparring

populistpugilist New Member Full Member