I Need Help With Sparring

[b Murphington]

My first time sparring in over a yr today and i didn't do as well as i was hoping.

I don't always agree with my coaches methods of training, he shows me some basic things, jab-jab-right hand move out of the way, keep throwing punches and move around and keep ur hands up, thats literally all he's taught me, then he'll throw me into sparring against the top guy in the gym who's way more advanced than me.

needless to say i got my ass handed to me, i just feel like i didn't have the tools to defend myself, my coach hasn't shown me any combos before putting me in the ring, seems his methods are real old school, get in the ring and get ur head beat in and try to survive

long story short i just felt overwhelmed in the ring today, any advice?

[LoadedWraps]

My first time sparring in over a yr today and i didn't do as well as i was hoping.

I don't always agree with my coaches methods of training, he shows me some basic things, jab-jab-right hand move out of the way, keep throwing punches and move around and keep ur hands up, thats literally all he's taught me, then he'll throw me into sparring against the top guy in the gym who's way more advanced than me.

needless to say i got my ass handed to me, i just feel like i didn't have the tools to defend myself, my coach hasn't shown me any combos before putting me in the ring, seems his methods are real old school, get in the ring and get ur head beat in and try to survive

long story short i just felt overwhelmed in the ring today, any advice?

What the heck are you thinking expecting to do remotely well if you haven't done it in a year? You want honest advice? don't post for advice, jump in the gym, and into the ring, and spar. Then spar some more, and spar more later. If you get bloodied, give it a few days but still work the bag, and spar again. You will only improve with more sparring. There is this thing called ring rust, it's real.

We can discuss the most intricate tactics all day on a forum, none of it will help you in the ring. Every other person has "the blueprint" to beat floyd, or whatever other fighter "they love to hate". How many can execute it? Exactly.

Just listen to your trainer and spar, spar, spar. Experience is what you need.

People kill me with this "critique my last fight" and stuff, it's great to discuss training but people really need to listen to their freaking trainer and camp/gym mates or find new ones, the day your average BoxingScene poster is giving you better advice than your actual trainer who should be only second in your life to your freaking father, you need to find a new one.

If that's all he's taught you it's because that's all he thinks you can handle, prove him wrong, and he will teach you more. Deal with it. If you can't blindly trust him, again, find another gym.

And for the record, old-school in boxing 9 out of 10 is better than "new school" the more old school your trainer the better training I wager you will recieve. My first sparring session was my bloodiest ever. Boxing is a sink or swim environment my friend, sink or swim, no one will hold your hand to succeeding in the ring. It comes from within.


Also, in case you take any of that the wrong way, which being a boxer you should have tough skin anyway, but look, we can't give you an honest answer if you come with questions on combinations and certain tactics because I would have to see extensive footage of you, and I probalby wouldn't really want to, but the best advice you can get is from someone who has seen you in the gym, there are too many variables to a fighter to just say oh, you need to throw this punch after your jab, because I don't know what that jab looks like, how fast it is, how you look in the ring conditioning wise, size comparisons, etc etc etc etc etc.

[b Murphington]

well thank you for the advice really, i do have some of my fight footage from my first amateur fight, its just not on this laptop and i dont know where the memory card is that has it on there

yea it was just kinda shocking when u think ur ready and u think ur conditioning is up to fighting speed and its not....still not as bad as my first time a year and a half ago, but still pretty bad, i guess im just pissed cuz again im gonna half to take a long break from the gym in only a month and i havent made any real strides so far

[{Pito}]

Besides the fact you just need to spar more period did you stand up to your coach by expressing what you felt in that the guy was very experienced and you havent had anywhere near the experience and personal attention required frok him for you to feel confident with your skills? I mean at the end of the day just do it. Get in there and learn through trial and error its literally the only way but the worst case scenario that I have seen is the coaches feed people to their good fighters to big up their confidence and make them better not in the spirit of growth with competition. If you feel youre getting taken advantage of then speak up. If the guys better and your just not in shape and your timing is off then just get in there and get dirty.

[NearHypnos]

Besides the fact you just need to spar more period did you stand up to your coach by expressing what you felt in that the guy was very experienced and you havent had anywhere near the experience and personal attention required frok him for you to feel confident with your skills? I mean at the end of the day just do it. Get in there and learn through trial and error its literally the only way but the worst case scenario that I have seen is the coaches feed people to their good fighters to big up their confidence and make them better not in the spirit of growth with competition. If you feel youre getting taken advantage of then speak up. If the guys better and your just not in shape and your timing is off then just get in there and get dirty.

I've seen coaches throw in beginners with advanced guys for differing reasons. At my gym theyd always throw one of us in to see if they really want to stick with it or run when it doesnt go their way. From what I was told a few time (this is only MY experience keep in mind) much of it had to do with following directions and trying to learn to implement what youre being told to do.


Now it could also be bullying, though I doubt it in this case. If the guy is his most advanced, they wouldnt need YOU in your sorry state (no offense but as you said its been some time) to boost his ego.

Trust your coach and like above said...if you cant move on. Remember though...like they say..best way to learn to fight is to fight. You need the experience and if you cant implement his teachings then you can bet he wont teach you more. You should know boxing takes time. Take your whuppings like a man! Lol