# Bad sparring :(



## alphacat (Sep 23, 2009)

We had a 3 minutes sparring today, in which us the beginners were allowed to use punches only, and to hit only the opponent's body.​ 
I just couldn't get my fists into her body.
Every time I threw a jab, she blocked it and at the same time punched my body.​ 
All I did was throwing jab-cross combinations, and body shots here and there.
It came to a point where she has stopped the fight and told me that I was being too obvious 
After the sparring was over, she showed me the marks on her hands that were caused as a result of me managing to hit only her hands (I stroke her body about three times).​ 
What was I doing wrong?
What was I supposed to be doing in order to strike her body more times?​


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## Nolerama (Sep 23, 2009)

Get someone to video your sparring session. By your training partner saying you're being "too obvious" you're probably telegraphing your punches. That means something in your body movement is telling your opponent what you're about to do.

In your jab-cross combination, you're probably dropping your lead hand, and then firing it off. Your partner probably smells your jab a mile away from that.

Also, learn to bring that jab hand right back into your guard, if you're working on your jab-cross.

Try setting up your opponent to get those body shots. Go high. Go low. Fake high. Go low. Mix it up and be creative.

Don't fret! You will get better! It's a really good thing to have a training partner tell you about the holes in your game.


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## Blindside (Sep 23, 2009)

Most people refer to it as telegraphing, you are showing intent before you strike. I have no idea what you were doing but some examples might be:

-Drawing back the jab before punching
-Stepping towards the person first, then punching.
-Tensing up before striking
-Inhale/Exhale/or hold your breath before striking
-Closing your eyes as you close to punch
et cetera

For those of us who wear long pants in class, I've watched people tug on their lead pantleg to loosen it up. It can be any number of things, and often with begginers a combination of many. The most common being that the person is so tense that their motion is jerky and slow. 

The next time you do this, have your partner or your coach give you tips on what you are doing wrong, its very difficult to figure it out by yourself.


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## Inky (Sep 23, 2009)

i do 2 or 3 3min sparring sessions at the end of every Thai class with diff partners. It took about 2 months to start to get the hang of it. Now it's loads of fun and you learn SOO much every time you spar. 

Just hang in there, keep your guard up, listen to your Kru and you'll do fine.


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## Akira (Sep 23, 2009)

alphacat said:


> All I did was throwing jab-cross combinations, and body shots here and there.​


 
That's what you did wrong. To work the body you're got jabs, straight punches, hooks and uppercuts. Mix it up! Work on some other simple 1-2, 1-2-3 combos. Double/triple jabs are good for making them open up and giving you time to move arounde. Look for openings, create opportunities as Nolerma said. Don't forget your footwork.

Boxing sparring is a lot different to muay thai sparring as well. It might be beneficial to you to study some boxing videos on youtube, notice the different stance, how they duck and weave a lot more.  But first of all, work on some new combos.


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## mariaclara (Sep 23, 2009)

> It might be beneficial to you to study some boxing videos on youtube, notice the different stance, how they duck and weave a lot more.


yes.  watching youtube vids gives ideas. 

ex.Buakaw. upright stance.
 But, " duck & weave". I hardly notice him ducking & weaving.


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## alphacat (Sep 24, 2009)

Thank you very much fellas!
I benefitted much from this thread and will definitely work on varying my combinations and see how boxing is done by boxers.

Thanks for raising up my spirit.
Too bad I have to go to work now when I'm so motivated


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## Akira (Sep 24, 2009)

Yeah but Buakaw has such a strong muay thai background.  When Boo/Seang-a-tit spars boxing he doesn't do it either because he's so used to fighting upright as you say.

If you spar against someone who's only done boxing you'll notice it a lot more I think.  One of the guys over here does it really well and I have a hard time hitting him for the first round cos his heads moving all over the place and I haven't done a lot of boxing, only muay thai.


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## alphacat (Sep 24, 2009)

You know, what so frustrating in boxing sparring, but just as beneficial, is that it reveals many problems in your technique.

I&#8217;d probably never pay attention to my lack of variety in my fists combinations if I were allowed to use kicks additionally.

One other thing that I noticed (thanks to the boxing sparring) was that I always kept punching at the same pace, instead of (for example) going from a single quick punch to quick combinations.
I mean, I was periodically throwing a combination and getting back to a few seconds of defense.

Akira, I read in your blog that you used to hate boxing sparring sessions.
Was that for these reasons? (feeling helpless while getting punched).
Were there any others?
By the way, I really like reading your blog.


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## Akira (Sep 24, 2009)

Why did I hate boxing? Because I would always get smashed around the ring by people who had strong boxing backgrounds or had done many years of training...people who were ex lumpinee/raja champions, k1 fighters, people who had been on that Contender show etc.  I had exactly 0 years of boxing training and I hadn't done any boxing sparring before I came to Thailand.

The attitude of the gym owner used to piss me off. He would watch me get my head smashed in and afterwards I would ask him for advice. "Mai pen rai" (its no big deal) he would say. "Sometimes it's good for you", and he would leave it at that.

It used to annoy me, but now I can see why he was like that. He wanted me to figure things out for myself and see what worked in the ring and what didn't. The trainers would teach me about techniques and movement, distance, counter attacking and what have you, but when it came to practical applications I had to figure that out myself. Some people would think this is a strange way to teach, and they don't do it this way in the west, but Sasiprapa has turned out a lot of champion fighters and the sparring there is incredibly tough. I've seen one guy get his arm broken, several people get knocked out, broken noses, one guy got stitches in his head.. and this is just from sparring (not fighting). 

Anyway, thanks for your comments about my blog. I haven't been training so much lately (just 3/4 times a week, once a day) because I've got a cracked sternum from my last fight and I'm going back to Australia next week to see my doctor and get him to check my heart and lungs are ok before I get back into it again. So I'll start updating it again soon.


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## denmyos (Sep 25, 2009)

Akira: why do you go back to Australie to get you sternum checked, is it the thai doctor good enough?


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## alphacat (Sep 26, 2009)

Hey,
I wish you health and to get back on track soon.
Keep up the light training so your body stays in shape as much as possible, it will be easier for you to return to your original workout plan once you're healthy again.
Also keep resting and eating well so your body will fully recover in shorter time.

Say, do you get any time to work on your flexibility?
Do the trainers emphasize that?
For example, how are you high side/roundhouse kicks going?​


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## Akira (Sep 26, 2009)

Thanks guys, I'm sure it's nothing serious.

The doctors here are good sometimes, depending on where you go.  Because the hospitals aren't funded/owned by the government like they are in Australia, the quality of care you get varies a lot.  I have a nice scar on my chest from my last experience of being given the wrong medicine, and having to have a lot of minor surgery as a result (getting an infecton cut away from the muscle daily). This could have been avoided if they'd given me the right medicine from the start.

If you're in Thailand and need to see a doctor, take a thai friend with you.  

Anyway, as far as flexibility and stretching work here, it doesn't exist.  Because it's over 30 degrees every day, your muscles are always warm, so the warm up is only running and no stretching.  You can always do your own work if you want, but the trainers don't emphasize that at all.  My head kicks are fine but I find it easier if I throw a couple that aren't so high or hard first.  Also, because I'm usually sore most of the time, I get a lot of massages/go swimming/do stretching at home anyway.


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