Punch to the back of the neck while sparring

[remac]

That’s a rabbit punch and no you can’t do it. I’d tell them to watch out for my neck.

He sounds a bit of a dick. I’m just learning too and I’d much rather spar the way you wanted to.

When it’s open sparring and they’re hitting hard I don’t feel in control yet. I can’t really plan or practice any moves because they don’t come to me quick enough as I’m preoccupied with defending. I know this will come but I feel I learn quicker if you actually get to practice things in a more controlled environment when there’s less danger to be concerned about. You can then add moves to your repertoire allowing you to use them with less thought later on.

I try to change what I’m working on depending on what the other person is doing. If the sparring partner is hitting very soft I’d try to be sharper and quicker on my feet, slip punches and counter. Many of the things I’m not really ready to apply if someone is wailing away at me.

If they do hit too hard I would try practicing blocking harder shots without breaking my guard or being knocked off balance, moving my feet and head and to trying keep looking where I’m supposed to despite the punches. I’d keep my offence simple and if my technique is ok maybe it doesn’t matter if it’s predictable and easy to block. When I get better I can mix it up with other punches and it won’t be.

People seem to have different views on what they want to get out of sparring. Some like to simulate the aggressiveness of a real fight without being 100% there while others want to practice the technical side with moving targets. Personally I'd rather feel comfortable with the moving targets before I do too much of the aggressive stuff.

[Joao]

Thanks for the reply remac. Seems that the way i spar is not that dumb after all, i was afraid to be the "pussy" that would prefer light sparring instead of full contact uncontrolled and ape shited ring brawl :P.

As anyone else here ever got rabbit punched? the head ache is gone, and the neck soreness is going away little by little but i still feel a bit of discomfort...i swear to god i could kill the guy right now haha .


as for the TL.DR. types regarding the questions on my first post:

- i have short range. Not short but i think im below average, and the way i feel confortable while fighting is on the outside, working the jab, parrying punches and countering. should i change my style since i fall short on most counters? or is it a matter of timing/experience/practise more than range?

[Gray Lion]

I have in fact been 'sucker punched" in fights outside the ring and received punches to the back of the head inside the ring..which is illegal. Without going into a lot of medical terms and reasons for not allowing punches in the back of the head, the short answer to your question is : Yes, you can be knocked out or will feel dizzy...tha'ts why it's the preferred punch of a street fighter. Yes, your neck will feel very stiff...even to the point it hurts to turn your head. You might even experience headache. My advice is to lay off any head blows for the next couple of weeks. My best advice is to find another sparring partner...this guy has no idea of what is expected of a sparring partner and sounds like someone who could get out of control real fast.

[Joao]

Thanks for your reply gray lion! um feeling much better now, already sparred today, lightly and i felt no pain at all! Thanks for telling me the important stuff in order to prevent a punch like that to become a bigger and cronical issue !