What'd U come 2 appreciate first time U sparred?

I love you (No homo of course).

 

Never trained there but used to go and watch guys train there. Remember Eduardo Lausse an argentinian middleweight i liked and Paddy Young trained there. I not only enjoyed the fighters but the atmosphere. Lots of real characters, yeah, i miss those days. Speaking of the Navy Yard, I was a NYCPD Sergeant and assigned to the 88th pct in 1973-74. That precinct covered the Navy Yard area.

 

I was 13 years old and knocked the dude out cold as a cucumber. No ****.

No would spar with me for a week.

 

I was curious because I started out as a 5' 3-4" 106 pounder. Southpaw, clumsy feet, really good power, and very hard to hurt. I learned to cut off the ring and work the body pretty quickly. Within a relatively short time the kid I referred to in my first post; the one who used to beat my ass, found himself trapped in a corner takin' a whoppin' pretty regularly.

 

I mentioned in another thread about how tiring the 16oz gloves were after 3 rounds. Also learned pretty quickly that those 'big gloves' CAN hurt you whereas beforehand, and bear in mind i was only 12 or so, i thought they were like clown gloves or something equally innocuos. Took me a long time to move in both directions with equal speed and ease as i had a terrible habit of boxing off the one foot and when it got to the stage where i had to show variety in my movement, i couldnt do it due to the tiredness of the one leg. Even though i realised this very quickly i still found it hard to switch. Terribley bad habit to get into.

Oh yeah, another one is not to go near the gym when the seniors were sparring, especially if your a big kid for your age, because if they are short of sparring partners........

 

I’m a lover not a fighter but loved the training and was happy to go into sparring but then realised how tense I was. 2 minutes of sparring and I was totally exhausted.

When I sparred with other beginners I didn’t have the same fear and had a far better time but with anyone who had even an iota of experience I was stiff.

 

My first time went very well actually. After reading everything I could about starting boxing and sparring on here I was sure I'd gas after a couple of rounds, but the lad I was in with tired faster than I did. I think throwing my jab regularly really drained him, and by the third he was practically leaning against the ropes, finished. The thing is I didn't have the heart to really let my hands go at this point. I hit him with a few token straight rights to his headguard and a few left hooks with the snap taken out of them, but that was mostly just to satisfy the coaches

Actually it felt like that scene in Gladiator when he refuses to finish off the guy on the ground :yep

My second time sparring I started the round keeping a high guard and plodding forward. My plan was to absorb whatever this guy throws at me then I'd have him when he tires. I took some combinations bravely before being shouted at and realising it wasn't very smart. Needless to say, I wont try that again

 

I was amazed at how tiring 3minute heated rounds were!! Almost wanted to faint around the 3rd round and i was pretty trim at the time.

 

Bump

 

My first sparring session in an actual gym was between me and a fellow newcomer to the gym.
We weren't allowed in the ring yet because we were new. (they made us spar in a space beside the ring)
But the very first thing I learned was that big muscles mean absolutely nothing in boxing. The other guy was built really well...not really stocky, but he had these bulging biceps and big shoulders. I was pretty apprehensive, I must say, until I landed my first 1-2 right in his face.
It just kept doing it until the trainer told us to stop. I don't think the other guy even got a punch in. The guy never came back to the gym after that.

My first real sparring session was a disaster. I had been in the gym for three weeks at this point and I guess the trainers decided it was time for me to do some real sparring.
I've always been relatively calm in the ring because I had a lot of faith (too much, as it turns out) in my handspeed, and when they put me in with this real slick amateur, I wasn't unduly concerned.

Well, I got a damn hiding that night. It was embarrassing. I would punch and hit nothing but air. He'd come at me, and before I could hit him, he'd drill me with three or four shots, then move away. I swung for the fences one time, and missed this guy not by inches, but by feet.
I guess what I learned in my first real sparring session was that you need to be more than just fast with your hands. You need great footwork and an understanding of your position in the ring at all times.

 

In all seriousness it was that getting hit in the face sucks.

 

Never used a headguard so I can't say. I do remember that itchy nose feeling after walking out of the gym...had it for months before it went away. And the watery eyes thing as well. I HATED that because it looked like I was crying, meantime my eyes just used to water up after taking a sharp one on the nose.

And the smell of a boxing gym...stale sweat and old leather. I can still remember that smell even now.