Had my first sparring session two days ago. Quite an eye opening experience.
My coach gave me a headguard but said I didnt need a mouthpiece as there would be no headshots (led me to wonder why I was given a headguard!)
The guy before me was wearing a cup, when I asked about one they said that I would be ok without one.
The guy i was sparring with has had 60 amateur fights and unbeaten in 2 pro fights. He is a super featherweight and my natural weight would be light welter. But he has about 2 or 3 inches on me in height. All the japanese fighters in my gym have thin legs, tiny waist, wide shoulders and rangy arms.
Sparring starts, I keep my guard low waiting for a body assualt, and I got hit with a triple jab !!! I gave my coach a bit of a "whats going on here look"!! Lol
Anyway I was trying to corner him and I landed a few decent shots but i was finding it hard to block anything he was throwing. I was pacing myself because although they said i would be sparring one round only, my coach always pushes for one more.
The round finished and of course the coach asks if I can handle another round. I felt OK so i said yes.
2nd round and I am starting to get a bit tired. My natural style/physique lends it self to inside fighting so basically me and the other guy had our chins on each others shoulders and went for each others bodies. I was a bit nervous as i wasnt wearing a cup!!!
Then came a turning point, the other guy came bobbing in to get inside and as he done that I went for a straight right to his heart but because he was coming in I landed a solid shot straight to the face. That seemed to be his cue to open up and he was absolutely hammering me with body shots, my solar plexus took a bit of a hammering. I honestly couldnt block anything even though i was covering up as much as possible and i didnt have the stamina to throw constant combinations to keep him off.
Anyway, sparring finishes and I got praised up by the sparring partner and the coaches. Because it was my first time sparring and I am a foreigner the whole of the gym stopped to watch which was a bit embarrasing. The pro was praising my punching power but I was a bit suprised because I wasnt really putting much weight behind my punches as i wasnt quite sure about sparring etiquette. Although i know I have a fairly solid punch because the coaches have praised me up about it.
Anyway, thats my first sparring session, i was supposed to spar yesterday but as i was finishing the potential sparring partners came to the gym a bit later. i feel a bit ill today so I am giving the gym a miss today.
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