Is sparring against people who are better then you the best way of getting better at sparring?
When i sparr agaisnt less skilled ones i feel really good and the end of the day that most my punches landed clean, successfully slipped some punches etc...
But when up against the better ones im having difficulty getting close and slipping and basically just getting a whooping, which makes me feel like **** rest of the day.

A balance is better, obviously your not going to be able to chose your opponents, you cant get cained everytime in sparing or your confidence will drop and like you said ull feel like ****. But its always a better move stepping up to challenge better people, aslong as the experienced ones know you have less experience they should help you learn aswell imho

To an extent. It will be difficult at first but as long as you don't get discouraged you will become a better fighter because of it.

Before my first few fights I did all my sparring for my first fight with people who were 10+ lbs bigger (some of them even 50lbs bigger) and had atleast a couple fights or had been around the gym for years. I took a lot of shots especially at the very beginning but they were all good guys (and girl) and knew I was new so didn't go too hard and the intensity increased as I got better.

The first time I ever got in the ring with someone my own size and experience level I finished him in 1 minute. He looked like a punching bag compared to what I was used to in sparring and I got hit maybe once.

Other new people in my gym since then have had to do their sparring with other guys who are just starting out and are around their size. They haven't had the success that I did in my first fights because their opponents are the same or even better than the people they spar against.

You should be using sparring to improve your skill, not to feel good about beating people up or trying to 'win'. If you do this you will be fine sparring with people better (as long as they aren't jerks and are willing to work with you and not try and beat you up).

Is sparring against people who are better then you the best way of getting better at sparring?
When i sparr agaisnt less skilled ones i feel really good and the end of the day that most my punches landed clean, successfully slipped some punches etc...
But when up against the better ones im having difficulty getting close and slipping and basically just getting a whooping, which makes me feel like **** rest of the day.



Don't get discourage if you can't beat you sparring mate.But you must always study their movement and try new moves to counter theirs.

It's better to spar with bigger and or better one's otherwise you would become stagnant and will stick to your bad habits.


BTW I never beat my 2 elder brothers but I love to spar with them always.

if you always win, even in sparring, its hard to keep the edge.. So I say taking a bit of a beating in sparring, even for a great fighter, isn't bad.

So take your licks in sparring, and then go train harder in preparation for your next time. Next time, they won't get the better of you like that.

You should be using sparring to improve your skill, not to feel good about beating people up or trying to 'win'. If you do this you will be fine sparring with people better (as long as they aren't jerks and are willing to work with you and not try and beat you up).

Every sparring match I have been in, they have tried to knock my head off. .. lol

At my gym I'm the biggest guy (220 Lbs) and usually to offset this they have me fight very experienced people. I feel that fighting skilled opponents makes you become a better fighter the more you do it, as long as you don't get discouraged because you are taking a pummeling lol. Everytime I spar this guy who is about to make his debut I always find something new to work on because he'll exploit all my weaknesses and expose them.

In my opinion it should be a combination of a)working with people lesser than you to learn fluidity b)working with someone equal to you to learn how to box and c)work with someone better than you to learn how to fight. That's the way I've doing doing it and so far so good.

Every sparring match I have been in, they have tried to knock my head off. .. lol

Well I think your gym needs a bit more respect for one another, sparring's for learning not hurting each other

I like working with skilled, taller and heavier sparring partners. It makes me overall better. So when I face someone my height or close it's a lot better.

No, it's actually better to spar retarded dwarves with no arms. That's what makes you better, not a stupid idea like sparring "skilled opponents" LOL! What is this?

the worst feeling is getting beaten up in sparring.I really hate it, unless your sparring somebody way bigger than you , then it isn't as bad.

I am the most experienced fighter down in my gym, and I usually get thrown in with newer fighters after they have been in the gym for a little bit.

I always work with them and go as hard as they go. I try mostly to touch them on the elbows or top of the headgear so they know and realize when they made mistakes.

Such as floating the right elbow, pulling it when they jab, not bringing hands back, that kind of stuff. Against a little more experienced people I will push them a little harder, using angles pivots and combination's, but nothing hard to hurt them.

The only time I will deliver a strong punch is if I get some ****y kid in the ring who wants to take my head off or taunt me even though I am working with them. I do not try to knock them out, I just slip a nice hook to the body to let them know who their daddy is =)

You should not be going against someone better then you all the time. You will get discouraged, and it can happen quick.

Most the guys in my gym spar with each other, and then I hop in once a week or every other week to give them a schooling. This gives them things to work on through the next week on the bag, pads, shadowboxing, and trying to fix during sparring with others.

A mix is best. If you are sparring against the same quality fighter all the time, you will progress slower and find you're still making the same mistakes over and over.

To the guy who said people are always trying to knock him out. I would start questioning your coach. No one should be going into sparring to hurt someone. It is just another exercise just like any other we do in the gym, except this is full contact. So the coach is either retarded and does not realize this, or he is favoring certain fighters. Either way, someone should not be trying to boost their self-esteem by beating the piss out of a less experienced fighter. That is just bullying. They should be in there working on things as well, not just a schooling session.

I often work on my slips, my pivots, counter-punching, and what not while sparring a newer fighter. It would be way to easy and counter productive to go in, slip and land a big punch to end sparring, on both ends.

I spar with two heavyweights in my gym(I am a featherweight), which allows me to put more sting on my punches. They hold back, and it is obvious. I am comfortable and know I can take a pretty solid punch, and am also very slick and hard to hit. But I am not stupid, and realize these guys could probably hurt me with one punch. Thankfully, they don't.

It's all about respect.

man howd u get to 220lbs?msg me lol, thats my goal