Hey guys, I just kind of wanted to put this out there because I am getting very frustrated. I have been training for a while now, and my fitness/technique/punching power is great outside of the ring, but I am having a lot of trouble with sparring. There are quite a few people who I have sparred with at our gym under the supervision of our coach (i am 23 btw, and still relatively new. I've sparred maybe 10 or so times). I am trying so hard to get rid of my flinching habbit but heres the problem. Take today for example. I had to spar against someone who is a bit heavier (he is 178 and I am 158 ). My coach was trying to get me to work on defense and just see all the punches coming and blocking them. The weight difference is just very intimidating, and whenever I saw a combo coming, I go turtle shell which doesnt help either. When I spar with lighter people, it isnt as bad. I pick off shots but I get nervous to engage first in fear of fast counters I can't see. Does any one have some solid advice for what to work on to get rid of this flinching. This has happened quite a few times where I go home with a throat ache or a headache because I was not smart enough to relax and pick things off, and I keep going back. So I know I'm either motivated enough to fix it, or just stupid enough to keep getting back in the ring. It is quite a snowball effect too because I have been working hard on conditioning, but because I dance around so much trying to stay out of the way, I get tired very quickly. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you. This is also in a way just myself venting as well. I train every day and I'm just so sick of fear when I get in there. I want to get over it.
This happens to pretty much everyone when they first start mate, it will stop with experience. I think mentally you have to accept you are going to get hit, punches hurt a lot less if you see them coming and you can counter their punches. The problem with just shelling up and hoping for the best is it gives the other guy a target that he knows can't hit back so you are actually helping him beat you up.. Depending on resources ect you can have a guy throw medium pased punches at you while you have your back against the wall, this will get you used to defending while not being able to 'run' Otherwise you can go in there and force yourself to look for counters and throw when he throws
I had a shelling up problem against a bigger man as well, though he didn't pull his punches as much as he should have. I would try to get a partner and drill defense. You throw a thousand or more punches a week in training, and your opponents/partners do the same, I'm starting to think you should prepare to block a thousand combinations as well. Drill slipping and bobbing and weaving and blocking and parrying and side-stepping. Take turns throwing common combinations and blocking them. Is it that you're not used to getting hit? Just try not to fall for feints, get comfortable in your guard so you don't have to leap back or take away your own punching angle.
You just have to face your fear. If I were your coach, I would get you to practice a few rounds of just inside boxing. In a controlled manner - where your partner does a 4-5 punch combo, then you sort of trade off back & forth. That way, rather than jumping around trying to avoid shots, you just put up your hands and try to block shots from close range. You have very few options except to block, deflect, slip and roll with the shots and you are forced to keep your eyes on your partner. Forcing you to take shots makes you come up with more creative ways to nullify or lessen the impact. That's why newbies tend to jump in and out erratically, and more seasoned fighters more calmly work their defense while standing their ground. You need to build confidence in your defense.
comes with time, getting use to getting hit and realising its not that bad- [edit seen this has all already been said! some good advise there from speechless in practising 'controlled sparing'] best to spar with someone better than you but wont being hitting hard, and will stop and tell you what your doing wrong. turtle shell as in looking at the ground? I did that when i first started, its worse thing you can do! the punches you dont see are the ones that hurt the most. keep your head up but chin tucked in, try to look at his chest/head, this way you can see the punches coming, hands up elbows in. maybe work on defence more before sparing by just practicing taking and blocking shots.
Getting punched in the face several times will help. It's the same with pretty much everyone when they start, but once you take a few punches and realize you aren't going to be KO'D every time someone lands, you become a bit more relaxed. Also, the more you spar, the more used you'll get to seeing punches coming at you which will make it easier. Basically, just keep sparring and it will get easier and you'll become calmer and more confident.
Below is something I made that I really learned a lot from because the speed I set it to, it stays there so I can gradually increase it as my skill increases. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADcgYi4MyTc It's taught me to follow the punch to block it rather than blinking as the response. It does get more of a challenge not to blink as the speed really gets up there.
