Exposing lack of head movement in an opponent.

[Rockin']

Originally Posted by fvanesbeck

There is a guy in my club who I find it difficult to spar against. He is slightly taller than me(I'm quite tall for my weight) and physically stronger than me. I think that I'm the better puncher of the two of us but I find him hard to hit because he stays behind his guard the whole time and counters when I stop throwing. One thing I've noticed though is that he stands up straight the whole time and has virtually no head and upper body movement.

I've had more success inviting him onto me rather than attacking him because he is by nature a counter puncher so he's not as much in his comfort zone when he's on the front foot. Nearly every round we spar together is a close round whatever way you look at it, but I really want to beat him conclusively and I think that perhaps taking advantage of his lack of head and upper body movement could be a key element in making me do this.

Can anyone offer me any tips on how to do this?

I had a guy who was a sharp counterpuncher. I was always the aggressor and was having trouble with him.

So one day I go to the gym having decided that I'm going to wait on him and counter punch him.

So I did just that, waited on him to initiate. Everytime that he would step forward I'd step back and wait. Eventually he became the aggressor and I'd just step back and fire on him, step back and do the same. I made him look like an amatuer everytime after that we met with ME being the counter puncher. Bill Millers draw was dropped seeing how easily I was handling his boy.

Take a counter puncher out of his comfort zone by making him be the aggressor. People might yell to start working but don't give in, just wait and use your eyes and you'll see the light.........Rockin'

[them_apples]

Originally Posted by fvanesbeck

There is a guy in my club who I find it difficult to spar against. He is slightly taller than me(I'm quite tall for my weight) and physically stronger than me. I think that I'm the better puncher of the two of us but I find him hard to hit because he stays behind his guard the whole time and counters when I stop throwing. One thing I've noticed though is that he stands up straight the whole time and has virtually no head and upper body movement.

I've had more success inviting him onto me rather than attacking him because he is by nature a counter puncher so he's not as much in his comfort zone when he's on the front foot. Nearly every round we spar together is a close round whatever way you look at it, but I really want to beat him conclusively and I think that perhaps taking advantage of his lack of head and upper body movement could be a key element in making me do this.

Can anyone offer me any tips on how to do this?

How does he counter when you stop throwing? A counter punch usually works off your opponent's punches. But anyways, if he's got no head-movement it means you can put combos together.

Also, if his guard is tight, hit his guard to keep it there and aim a shot around it afterwards (in combination). Or hit him when he tries to hit you (counter) since his guard will have to leave his face to hit you.

[Rockin']

Originally Posted by them_apples

How does he counter when you stop throwing? A counter punch usually works off your opponent's punches. But anyways, if he's got no head-movement it means you can put combos together.

Also, if his guard is tight, hit his guard to keep it there and aim a shot around it afterwards (in combination). Or hit him when he tries to hit you (counter) since his guard will have to leave his face to hit you.

In obvious cases like this it is apparent that the guys defensive/countering skills are superior to his offensive skills. Take the guy out of his comfort zone, making him be the aggressor and see what happens......Rockin'

[fvanesbeck]

I sparred him today again and it was pretty even but I can sense progress because I landed shots that I didn't normally land against him. My two main focuses in todays sparring session were landing the right to the body(although I didn't feint to land that shot, but that's something I'll work on next time I'm sparring) and using lateral movement to set up hooks more. I punched well to the body, but other than a nice left hook that landed cleanly(and one pretty nice right hook too), I wasn't too happy with the way I utilized my footwork to attack him from angles.

I guess I need to work on my lateral movement and my combination punching over the next few weeks. There's a lot more advice in this thread and I intend on testing all of it over the next couple of weeks in sparring. Thanks for all the help.