i dont like bein hit....

[fraidycat]

Physical pain is a highly-tuned and extremely efficient learning mechanism. It has been perfected in humans since the dawn of mankind. You touch your hand to a hot stove, you get burned, you've just learned not to touch a hot stove. It's a survival mechanism that has been ingrained in us since we were living in caves. In boxing, this enables us to quickly learn how to not get hit. For instance, until you learn to slip effectively, you get hit. When you learn to slip effectively, you learn to avoid pain. The body remembers, and catalogues this as a survival mechanism, and effective slipping becomes second-nature.

Bad habits also become second nature: an awkward or ill-conceived move may evade a dose of pain once, even by sheer luck; the body remembers this, too, and files it away under "avoid pain."

Boxing is frustrating sometimes, because we THINK we've learned how to avoid pain -- say with a slip, or a skillful parry -- but the opponent is constantly adapting to our tactics, and learns to work around what we've learned. Now, what worked before -- and hence what was ingrained in us as a survival mechanism ("slip the punch = survive") -- may not work the second time. Suddenly, "slip the punch" does NOT equal "survive," and our immediate reaction is surprise; if it continues to happen, our reaction becomes frustration. It's instinctive.

You're going to get smacked around. You're going to **** up while sparring, which means you're going to bruise, you're going to bleed, and you're going to get pissed off at yourself. Work through it, keep learning. It gets better, I promise.

[Southpaw Stinger]

Physical pain is a highly-tuned and extremely efficient learning mechanism. It has been perfected in humans since the dawn of mankind. You touch your hand to a hot stove, you get burned, you've just learned not to touch a hot stove. It's a survival mechanism that has been ingrained in us since we were living in caves. In boxing, this enables us to quickly learn how to not get hit. For instance, until you learn to slip effectively, you get hit. When you learn to slip effectively, you learn to avoid pain. The body remembers, and catalogues this as a survival mechanism, and effective slipping becomes second-nature.

Bad habits also become second nature: an awkward or ill-conceived move may evade a dose of pain once, even by sheer luck; the body remembers this, too, and files it away under "avoid pain."

Boxing is frustrating sometimes, because we THINK we've learned how to avoid pain -- say with a slip, or a skillful parry -- but the opponent is constantly adapting to our tactics, and learns to work around what we've learned. Now, what worked before -- and hence what was ingrained in us as a survival mechanism ("slip the punch = survive") -- may not work the second time. Suddenly, "slip the punch" does NOT equal "survive," and our immediate reaction is surprise; if it continues to happen, our reaction becomes frustration. It's instinctive.

You're going to get smacked around. You're going to **** up while sparring, which means you're going to bruise, you're going to bleed, and you're going to get pissed off at yourself. Work through it, keep learning. It gets better, I promise.

Great post. And we know from you avvy that you're a guy who has experienced pain first hand!

[KingDosia]

dont agree with that,bein hit with full force,meanin harm in the face,intending 2 hurt,isnt gonna make anybody feel good really is it?

when i get hit,even tho i dont like it,i dont lose my composure,or fight differently,unless its really hard and im hurt,like everybody else if they get hurt,i was basically askin if i would get used 2 it,and if the frustration would go away,i can deal with gettin hit,was just wonderin

and i wouldnt say im a bad boxer sein as i have only been doin it about 1-1/2 months,in boxing ur supposed 2 hit and not get hit,ive mastered the hittin part,surely cause i havent mastered the not get hit part,doesnt mean boxin isnt for me?

Who does like being hit? I still get frustrated when I get hit in sparring. I expect better of myself. You just have to deal with it. Don't let the frustration interfere with your training plan. And focus. A good boxer will notice that in a real fight and light you up with quick shots to get you out of your game plan. before you know it he wins on points because you spent the time frustrated trying to kill em. "ok it happened to me once I got a chip on my shoulder" Experience will teach you better. Just stay determined and focused it will become part of second nature you will adapt to it. Spending a lot of time on defensive drills and sparring helps with the problem tremendously

[Kid Achilles]

Great post fraidy. I'd give you karma but it won't let me.

[..........]

its not that ive never been hit,or that it hurts,its jus different in the ring boxin that fightin out of anger,i cant retaliate in the ring,cause i dont hate the guy and want him dead or anythin,hes done nothin wrong hes helpin me if anythin by sparrin with me,but it frustrates me gettin hit while boxin,is this sumthin ill get used 2,cause im fairly new,am i not the only 1 that didnt like it at first?

You have to get mean back though, I'm not saying tackle his ass and start throwing knees, but you have to fight with some emotion. It's not like football where all you play with is emotion, because if you do that in boxing it will turn into a brawl and you will forget your skills, so don't fight with raw emotion. However, you have to have some will to fight or some anger, you have to want to hurt the guy more, plain and simple.

[yrrej]

I can't see what's the difference from the ring and the street. He's hitting you, isn't he? Clock the bastard.....

[Nacho_Analstain]

yeh my style is quite aggresive,but thats prolli why i get hit alot lol,but **** it im pretty new to it,i jus need 2 adjust a few things

[London]

Hey my first post here, maybe I should make an intro, I'll get to that later.

I don't think anyone enjoys getting hit, I kinda know what you're saying because when I'm sparring, I don't go 100% but sometimes I feel like my sparring partner is probably doing 100%, I used to chill and one day, I thought, f*** this and just ****** one hard backm not even 100% but enough to be make him think about swinging at me...he flew halfway across the ring and I promise you even today he was telling someone how that shot was so hard, split his mouthguard too.

I was even telling one of the more experienced guys that sometimes in sparring it seems you're fighting instead of learning because people are just tryna **** you hard, he told me, hit them hard back and then tell them "chill" kinda makes sense to me.

It's to the point where I get my "friends" to come in and I learn my drills and defense on them since I'm not tryna take their head off, with sparring partners, it's whatever.

[yrrej]

Hopefully, you will never enjoy getting hit. If you do, quit boxing.....

[j]

since this thread got bumped up, i may have something usefull for you.

to really enjoy the fighting part of boxing/MA, you have to be a little sadomasochistic(not the sexual definition of it!). i, for some reason, don't mind getting hit and sort of enjoy it. weird, i know!

anyways, you can get past it. here's a few tips i've found helpfull when teaching people who are new to the contact involved in boxing.

1 - don't focus on getting hit too much. to clarify, don't let your mind dwell on the fact that you just got hit. keep going and work through it. ideally, you don't want a pause between when you get hit and you're next action/response.

2 - try to start off with lighter contact and gradually increase the intensity of the contact when you spar. this will certainly help you get over the fear of being hit. that's a huge key for a lot of people - the fear of being hit actually makes getting hit worse than what it is. when i've taught people fighting basics, i've always started them out very lightly and let them progress naturally. this way, i don't force them into bad habits such as cringing or locking up - which leads me to another tip:

3 - relax!!! there is an effect called "the relaxation response" by doctors which will help you overcome distressing situations and help to maximize oxygen efficiency. this is a very critical and necessary thing to have if you want to get used to contact and progress through it. you know, it helps if you don't panic when getting hit.

and be mentally prepared when you do sparring. if you get yourself in the proper mental state, you'll find that you will be sharper and not get hit as much. also, taking a punch will not be as much of a shock if you are prepared for it.

azza, take my tips for what you think they are worth. however, if you put them into practice, i bet you will progress in no time. update the thread in a few weeks so we can see where you're at.