Effective Sparing

[iffraff]

Hey,
I still confused about how hard to go in a sparring session and how to know how hard your going. I've been sparing a couple of 6'2" 6'4" guys and when I come in if I don't pound them with a straigh right to the body or stiff jabs to the face then they just beat me back. They do me the favor of not killing me when they have me on the outside, so I feel weird about pounding them on the inside.
Secondly sometimes I feel like I haven't even got the guys full attention when I spar and sometimes the guy looks like I feel, ie all beat up. I can't tell whether I'm landing punches that are too hard even though I"m not loading up or conversly if I'm landing good punches but the other guys just tough as nails.
I'm kind of analytically minded and when I can't measure something I start second guessing.
Does any of this sound familiar or make sense? How do you guys know when your going hard enough and not too hard?

[iffraff]

I guess I could give some visual aid. I have some vids up on youtube.
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?us...alahelDinHarik
they're a couple of weeks old and I've learned a lot and developed a lot as a result of watching them. I'm going to be posting more recent stuff this weekend which might be a bit more relevant to the above discussion.

[voodoo_dude]

I feel weird about pounding them on the inside

I only watched round 1 but I didnt see anyone doing any pounding. It just looked like light sparring to me.
I really like doing light sparring, you can try out new things and not worry about getting too hurt

Im in no real position to give advice (still learning myself!) but I think you should do something about your guard. You were eating way too many slomo jabs to the head.

[Gutbuster]

I've been sparring a couple of months and I still feel a little unsure of how hard I'm hitting and whether its appropriate. It helps to have a good trainer keeping things in order, but aside from that I think that feel just comes with experience. You can always ask the other guy, but personally I would never tell someone they hit me too hard.

One thing I try to keep in mind is that the goal is to touch the guy as many times as I can. That way the focus is on speed and making contact rather than power.

[Tito BHB]

If its me..

If i am sparring a lad who is better then me then i do not worry about how hard i hit them..

Its hard for me to really tell you to say, just stop caring and bash him if hes better then you..
The lads i sparr with are very good lads and have been hit alot harder then i could possibly hit them..
So its alot of wait of my shoulders so if i see an opening i can just hit them and not worry..

But at the same time you should ask yourself.. Does he hit me hard?

So does he? Is it hard? his hardest..Or do you think he is going easy on you?

Some of my partners go easy on me skill wise.. But not power wise.. You have to get comfortable with getting hit.. And once you do you will feel more comfortable to try new things instead of bieng safety first..

Im gona watch some of your sparring now and if i can i will give you any advice i can
But i will say fair play to you on posting the vids!

Not many people have the guts to put themselves out like that and be put under scrutiny or criticism,
I havnt seen it yet myself.. But dont worry i shant give you any crap about it

Cc brother

Bodyhead

[Tito BHB]

Ok so i have a couple of tips...

But remember this is not horrible..Im sure you wont think it is.. Think of it as constructive criticism

First your guard..You have a good gaurd.. You are like me ..You keep it high!

You keep it so high that when you throw a jab it comes down when it is fired strait..

Instead of having your hands at your chin and firiing it out totally strait so that when your arm is fully extended your chin is tucked in behind your arm.. You have your glove up by the side of your head about paralell to your eyes or forehead..

You also dont bring your jab back fast enough to guard..

So the first thing to work on is the jab.. Try to quickly lower it slightly before you throw a jab but dont bring it away from your face..And dont make it obvious..

Then once you fire it fire it strait while remembering to keep your chin tucked in and once your jab is extended fully, your chin should be tucked away behind your jab..

Now.. Another thing is your range.. You are walking in with your hands up to get in range to punch him.. Now this has been ok for you because your partner seems to be fairly inexperianced also..

But if your just walk in with your guard up ..yes you are getting into range for your shots..
But with your partner bieng so tall you are infact walking right into his range before he is in yours..

Practice your speed.. And your jab.. Try to snap your jab out..
If i try to explain this in a simple way it would be that you throw your jab out strait,relaxed but yet as fast as you can.. and just before it hits..whether its the bag or someones head..

Turn your fist in the last few inches or so and tense.. I will try post some simple video's of this maybe tomorow if i can steal a video cam..

And with this new and improved jab.. Work on stepping in with your punch..
Your stood on the ball of your right foot..And when your step you push of hard on the back foot and step in with your front foot and throw the jab at the same time.. Double the jab..

Aside from the jab.. Its just the commitment to your punches..

I can tell you have thought about this quite often... How hard should i hit him.. How do i fight such a tall guy.. Its this thought and unsureness that is effecting your sparring..

Commit to your punches..want to hit him.. Be patient..

For example.. Your right.. You throw it good at times.. But at others..You throw your jab and then just put your right hand out there with no commitment...

Try firing your improved step in jab..And turn in with your shoulder and try the same snapping motion with your strait right hand..

I have babbled to much for now.. If it is of interest to you..And you would like me to post a vid or two dont be afriad to ask..If i lost you a while ago and i am not helping you then do not worry about hurting my feelings and telling me to piss off :P Lol..

But i hope this helps somehow :P

Bodyhead

[Tito BHB]

Also in my opinion that guy will is best for you to sparr with.. He is of course the same heigh as you and you can gain more experiance with him as a better target...

He is more hittable just because of his size..Even though i can tell he is better then the dane guy

The dane guy admittedly looks awkward to work with because he is very tall and his hieght serves his enexperiance well as when you throw shots at him he fumbles and waves his arms which makes it difficult

[iffraff]

Tito,
This is great stuff. Thank you very much for your attention. I would like to view any videos you have as I"m sure they would be helpful.
I have learned a lot from viewing these vids and one thing that is clear to me is that I'm not comiting at all. I think I have addressed this somewhat and that is kind of what is making me wonder about how hard to go.
I will be posting new videos this weekend and I think I will post one or two to this forum for critique. It would be great if you could check those out when they go up.
I'm not afraid of gettng ripped a new one when I post videos. I don't care. I take advise where ever I can get it and if someone wants to break my balls over the internet fuck'em I got people breaking my balls in person, I don't have time for virtual ball breaking.

The Dane and another giant are regularly there for me to spar with so I spend more time with them. Will is only there one or two days a week, but I do feel like I can work on more stuff with him. He's kind of a prick and he hits really hard. on the up side I feel comfortable hitting him plenty hard. With the big guys I focus entirely on trying to get inside and figure out what to do when I get there.

As per this business of my jab, I know that I need to cover up with my shoulder, but I hadn't noticed that I keep my hand real high and that it was hampering my effectiveness. I'll have to watch again and check it out. I know my speed, especially on these videos is painfully slow. I don't know if this is a result of my tentitveness or what but I definitely need to work on throwing quicker and as you say getting back to guard faster. I tend to throw a jab to the body and just leave it there untill the guy wakes me up with a straight right. definitely a problem.

Anyway, my brain hurts right now.
Thanks for the help.
R

[Tito BHB]

Yea lol.. Funny this..You say will is a prick.. He fights like it!

Lol.. You can tell he has experiance, But he is not as good as he seems to think he is..

I kinda like his style.. But its easy to look good with that sort of cocky style against people who are not as good as you.. But considering he doesnt seem as good as he acts..He shouldnt fight like he does..

You can work him out easy.. For him just keep the jab going and keep moving and wait to see what he does everytime you throw i bet he does that whole bend down to the right thing.. So you paw with the jab.. and instead follow his head as it goes down with a left hook and follow through with a right to his head after.. But i agree.. The fact that he hits hard is good rather then bad..

When he his you hard.. You will get used to it..And not feel bad for hitting him back hard..
And him bieng the more experiance crafty lad you will learn more from fighting him

I will try get some simple short vids to you this weekend

Peace bro

[Scrap]

Thats your level at the moment, you seem to be enjoying it. We all have to start somewhere, its up to the coach how you play it, youre play sparring which has its place in every gym. Its up to the coach and his knowledge where you go from there ask him you mite get some answers.

[Von Milash]

Hazmat, you're the shorter guy, right? Like tito said, hit em as hard as you want. The TRUTH is, you suck. (someone's gotta tell ya. we all do at first. ) The key is to go in with better guys who will know how to handle your full-out efforts. You can swing for the fences...the better they are, the less you'lll hit them (especially when they really try to avoid getting hit) That's why trainers put newbs in with experienced guys...so someone's in charge at all times, even if you think it's you, when it really aint.

[iffraff]

Hey Von,
I've read alot of your posts so I know your all right. So try not to read any sexual inuendo into this next paragraph you sick bastard
Von the thing about sucking is that it's relative. For instance if I were in there with your mother, I believe she would suck. relative to me. If I was in there with Ann Wolf, I would suck. relative to her.
Now to tell someone they suck is easy. to tell them why they suck is more impressive. I believe that Tito has told me several reasons why I might "suck" ( although he doesn't phrase it that way. quite the opposite. Thanks tito ). Let's see what you can do.
But wait! I'm in the process of uploading a shit load of new rounds. They will all be up by the time you read this. They are named by date and round. Try viewing some of those and telling my why I "suck" as I believe the older ones to be out dated.
R

[Von Milash]

lol, you don't suck. was only messing with you. My point was that the better guys are in control no matter what you so so don't worry about how hard you hit them. In fact, the only way you CAN hit someone better than you is to try harder than they are.

[Chris Nagel]

yeah try not to read too far into anything you see.

[Von Milash]

I watched some new stuff. some feedback: you walk in too much as though to get in range. Get into range behind the jab and by staying low, bobbing, weaving, slipping jabs etc. Dare a guy to throw something and then come in and counter HARD. There's your window... as he's throwing he can't defend as well. Throw the jab out there. Snap it. Throw 2..even three, THEN throw the right. Or feint. See wht your man does. What does he do if you feint low, or high. Then bait him. You're also very tight and seem to throw a punch only to ease up on it half way through. Throw the thing. You're also very flat footed... with little movement. Try to relax and keep moving. Keep the hands up but disguise the jab. Relax the arm and keep the hands moving a bit. You're persuing your man very statuesque. Come in behind the jab, throw some punches with conviction and keep moving. Bottom line, you're too stiff, you wakl too much, you're too heavy on your feet and you don't snap enough jabs. you come in behind your guard only and that renders you a target.

BUT you CAN see improvement over the course of the vids. Keep it up.