Hi,
I've whinged about being a midget before but I'm having another whinge now - not because I'm getting bashed (because I'm not - I have good sparring partners) but because I've noticed my form against heavier people is not as good as it is against people my own weight.
All the sparring partners I have within my own gym are heavier than me so I'd like to be able to spar them without developing bad habits.
I'm finding I make the classic mistake of "fighting their fight". I slow down my rhythm and I am heavier on my feet. I move back more than I attack and predominantly counter fight even though I don't enjoy this as much as I enjoy attacking when I'm competing against someone my own weight.
I tend to want to throw more messy looking loopy punches perhaps because I'm off balance more and sort of swaying my upper body a lot to over-slip punches which I can see coming a mile away. I guess I kinda start slipping as soon as I see it but then over-slip rather than allowing it to just miss.
So is this just a bad mindset I have developed? What should I do to try to correct it?
How can I keep my own rhythm and style and speed despite my sparring partners? Surely I should be able to do this even against people my own weight since sometimes I might be faster but to be honest I've always fought at the pace my opponent sets. Looking for counters too much and not initiating enough perhaps?
Advice would be greatly appreciated!
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