Non-contact sparring!?

[AaronJW]

I don't know if any of you have heard of this but at my boxing gym here in Japan, we often do non-contact sparring, i.e. throwing punches out of range or stopping short as not to hit the opponent.

Is this normal? Of course I'm a beginner and I don't know anything, but it seems to me that this is like practising your jump shot without a hoop. Of course it's possible to focus on the technique like that but I feel I'd benefit more if I got instant feedback.

People can be very safety-conscious here so maybe that's why. In the 7 months I've been boxing I've only sparred about 2 or 3 times. Should I try to find a gym where they include more sparring?

[nivek535]

I don't know if any of you have heard of this but at my boxing gym here in Japan, we often do non-contact sparring, i.e. throwing punches out of range or stopping short as not to hit the opponent.

Is this normal? Of course I'm a beginner and I don't know anything, but it seems to me that this is like practising your jump shot without a hoop. Of course it's possible to focus on the technique like that but I feel I'd benefit more if I got instant feedback.

People can be very safety-conscious here so maybe that's why. In the 7 months I've been boxing I've only sparred about 2 or 3 times. Should I try to find a gym where they include more sparring?

Well Japan does have many top level p4p fighters...
inoue, yamanaka, uchiyama...

but to actually answer your question, yes its actually useful. especially for beginners. and it's not like you never spar, but maybe spar more often than 2-3 times in 7 months.

you will probably get different answers from machos who think u gotta experience indescribable pain to gain though hahaha.

[SplitSecond]

Your trainer likely feels you're not ready yet. 7 months is an extremely long time to have only sparred 2-3 times(just in my opinion, I was made to spar first day and spar every time I go to the gym). But if you are that determined and feel you can handle it just ask for some sparring and I'm sure you'll be put in there with a fairly experienced guy to take it easy on you to gauge you.

[Rockin']

you will probably get different answers from machos who think u gotta experience indescribable pain to gain though hahaha.

It's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner...... intolerable pain.

[nivek535]

It's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner...... intolerable pain.

[Ray Corso]

If your given the proper direction on what to work on shadowing with a gym member is very useful for a beginner.
You can work on your movement in regards to pressure, lateral, side stepping, pivot moves etc.......Concentrate on blocking, slipping, parring and body and head movement.

The exercise is to learn how to focus and relax at the same time in the ring.
Plenty of experienced fighters like to move with an opponent too! Your looking for "give away" moves and simply sharpening your mind!
Ray

[LoadedWraps]

I don't know if any of you have heard of this but at my boxing gym here in Japan, we often do non-contact sparring, i.e. throwing punches out of range or stopping short as not to hit the opponent.

Is this normal? Of course I'm a beginner and I don't know anything, but it seems to me that this is like practising your jump shot without a hoop. Of course it's possible to focus on the technique like that but I feel I'd benefit more if I got instant feedback.

People can be very safety-conscious here so maybe that's why. In the 7 months I've been boxing I've only sparred about 2 or 3 times. Should I try to find a gym where they include more sparring?

uh....not to criticize training done elsewhere, who knows how successful that gym is, but I have never done anything of the sort, and never heard anything of the sort, and I have been boxing since '06. Sparring is sparring, freestyle contact usually about 75-80% in intensity, sometimes more controlled if it's a beginner giving a seasoned amateur/pro some rounds, or a fighter needs to focus on something in particular etc, but always actual contact. Always.

[BennyST]

If your given the proper direction on what to work on shadowing with a gym member is very useful for a beginner.
You can work on your movement in regards to pressure, lateral, side stepping, pivot moves etc.......Concentrate on blocking, slipping, parring and body and head movement.

The exercise is to learn how to focus and relax at the same time in the ring.
Plenty of experienced fighters like to move with an opponent too! Your looking for "give away" moves and simply sharpening your mind!
Ray

This is a a very good point and a useful exercise. I find it useful to do still as you can focus entirely on the mental aspect behind what you do without any distraction, and see how you react mentally to things. You then try to 'fix' anything you need to, and you then try to take that improved mindset into normal sparring.

As to the OP, 2 or 3 times in 7 months seems a bit too careful. Ask about light contact sparring, ie. technique sparring, or find a gym where they do some more. The other thing you can try is to ask some of the more serious guys to get together and do sparring sessions outside of your normal gym time to work on things.

[BennyST]

uh....not to criticize training done elsewhere, who knows how successful that gym is, but I have never done anything of the sort, and never heard anything of the sort, and I have been boxing since '06. Sparring is sparring, freestyle contact usually about 75-80% in intensity, sometimes more controlled if it's a beginner giving a seasoned amateur/pro some rounds, or a fighter needs to focus on something in particular etc, but always actual contact. Always.

That sounds weird to me.

Always 80% intensity? There are many different ways to do sparring. Done plenty of non contact sparring, working on very specific actions to a technique, as well as light contact (technique sparring) which can range anywhere from 30/40% to 60/70% up to proper full sparring which can be anything from 70 to all out.

But we do reaction sparring, defensive sparring, limited sparring...ie you can only use your left hand etc. You dont learn **** if it's just 80% freestyle sparring all the time. No offense. You get too easily caught up in the few small things that work for you at that rate and become habitual and stick with them and then forego really learning new things properly and then incorporating them. Even when you do learn new stuff, you find yourself falling back on the old habitual things because you havent taken the time to learn ways to make it practical and second nature.

There should always be a mix of proper hard sparring mixed lots of technique and sparring work on the foundation of your skills, which can't be done properly if everyone is just going in at 80%, more or less, with each other.

[LoadedWraps]

That sounds weird to me.

Always 80% intensity? There are many different ways to do sparring. Done plenty of non contact sparring, working on very specific actions to a technique, as well as light contact (technique sparring) which can range anywhere from 30/40% to 60/70% up to proper full sparring which can be anything from 70 to all out.

But we do reaction sparring, defensive sparring, limited sparring...ie you can only use your left hand etc. You dont learn **** if it's just 80% freestyle sparring all the time. No offense. You get too easily caught up in the few small things that work for you at that rate and become habitual and stick with them and then forego really learning new things properly and then incorporating them. Even when you do learn new stuff, you find yourself falling back on the old habitual things because you havent taken the time to learn ways to make it practical and second nature.

There should always be a mix of proper hard sparring mixed lots of technique and sparring work on the foundation of your skills, which can't be done properly if everyone is just going in at 80%, more or less, with each other.

I don't think 80% is too intense, unless one of the two is a novice. And what you are describing is pretty much what I said, only in more detail, lol. Plus you can still work on specifics going 80%, a fighter needs to toughen up and learn to take punches with ill intent on the arms blocking, for example. You only learn how to exhale when getting hit to the body by experience.

But regardless, in all you described there is still contact, punches being thrown, which was my point. Every now and then a pro or seasoned amateur will work on defense and a novice boxer or two will do some rounds with him and try and take his head off and he is instructed to either not throw back or only jab, etc. And every now and then the novice is either so awful, or the vet is so slick, that rounds could go by where he slips everything and makes the cherry guy look stupid, but the lack of contact is unintentional in those cases. Otherwise it isn't even sparring imo.

The only time I am not making contact is when I shadowbox, and in short spurts of either slipping and rolling shots in sparring, or working the mitts. My trainer will shoot that straight right, right down the pipe if he sees my eyes wandering when he's giving me mitts, he wuuld bloody my nose easily, but if I slip it then I can jump back into the flow of combinations, it's like music. bam bam! bam bam bam! That slap of crisp shots and my trainer getting in my ass: eso! mas rapido vamos!....que, ya estas cansado...