Revelations after first real sparring match.

[Bendigo]

So, here I sit with a sore nose, an eye which has a little purple creeping in underneath it, and plenty to think about. I had my first real sparring match at the club on Wednesday night.
I was up against a relatively new guy at our club. He's been boxing seriously for 9 years and has real aspirations of turning pro. I, on the other hand, have only been boxing for around 3 months. So, we were talking before we went rounds about how we just wanted to work, not being in there to kill each other and what have you. So, I was feeling pretty confident about not spending the night in the hospital. And it was only for 2 rounds, just to see what each other was bringing to the ring.
Needless to say, taking it easy went right out the window as soon as leather started landing. This guy could move. Granted, he forfeited a serious height and reach advantage against me (I'm 6'3" and he was more than a head shorter than me), but he had loads of experience. So, 2 rounds turned into 4, and we were both standing at the end of it--I a little worse for the wear than he was.
So, I was sitting down for a bit after the spar, swallowing my pride along with what seemed like gallons of water, and the guy comes over to me and we talk about the match.
He tells me I need to keep my hands up more.
He tells me I have decent footwork.
But he also tells me I had the best jab he's ever seen. He told me he knew it was for real when I caught him with it and he said he felt his body buckle. Then he told me that was the closest anyone has ever come to putting him on the canvas. This was a nice little feather in my cap, as my jab has received praise from trainers and fellow boxers alike. So, yeah. That was pretty rewarding, coming from a very good, soon to be pro boxer.

On that note. Anyone know how to help a sore nose along the path to recovery?? I could sure use it.

[msagrain]

if you just sparring in you local gym you should not get hurt they should only be punchin at no more that 50 % power

[Hazmat]

Hey, good work! what msagrain there is saying is true, however, if your jab is as good as you say it is, often time when you hit someone with a realy good shot they forget all about 50%. This is kind of an issue, for me anyway. a) you have to get there respect or they'll walk right through your punches but b) if you hit them too hard they'll up there power and if they're a lot better than you, you will pay. It's a fine line. Try to aim for there forhead where the padding is. It's a common curtasy and then you can hit harder with out pissing the other guy off.

[Bendigo]

Hey, good work! what msagrain there is saying is true, however, if your jab is as good as you say it is, often time when you hit someone with a realy good shot they forget all about 50%. This is kind of an issue, for me anyway. a) you have to get there respect or they'll walk right through your punches but b) if you hit them too hard they'll up there power and if they're a lot better than you, you will pay. It's a fine line. Try to aim for there forhead where the padding is. It's a common curtasy and then you can hit harder with out pissing the other guy off.

Hey, thanks for the advice, man. I'm still new to this game. Increasing the power of the punches in those rounds wasn't something I consciously did. It's something I need to work on, though.

[j]

if you just sparring in you local gym you should not get hurt they should only be punchin at no more that 50 % power

absolutely agree. even 50% power with thin padding on can be more than enough( my style of boxing focuses on efficient use of power punching.) me, as well as other people i train with who are skilled can punch very, very hard with little effort so sometimes we use a bit less than 50%. however, 50% power is a lot more than many people think it is if you know how to put power into your punches.

glad you had fun! perhaps an ice pack can help you out with a sore nose. it's also best to wait until it's healed before getting into more sparring. otherwise, a constantly sore nose will eventually become a problem for you. one form of sparring i do is limiting punches to the ribs and stomach only, or to the whole torso only. not only will this give you time for your nose to recover but it will help you advance your body work fast.

[mataio2341]

Alot of it depends on the glove. I was using a Fairtex 16 oz sparring glove before and compared to the Grant 16 oz I just got it its SO soft.