Taking breaks from sparring

[biscuitsbrah]

Been sparring about 3-5 days a week for almost 4 months now. Leave sparring sessions much different than before not quite concussed but you can tell the perceptions changed a bit, kind of like my chin or brain is just not recovered. I don’t know if it’s in my head or what, but it almost makes me not want to engage in sparring, just so I get hit less. Almost like a mental block. (I already don’t like getting hit as it is)

Anyone take a month or more off sparring? Maybe just one month right? Because I still want to improve and take fights, but in the mean time just grapple and hit the bag/mitts and drill more

 

[spacetime]

Been sparring about 3-5 days a week for almost 4 months now. Leave sparring sessions much different than before not quite concussed but you can tell the perceptions changed a bit, kind of like my chin or brain is just not recovered. I don’t know if it’s in my head or what, but it almost makes me not want to engage in sparring, just so I get hit less. Almost like a mental block. (I already don’t like getting hit as it is)

Anyone take a month or more off sparring? Maybe just one month right? Because I still want to improve and take fights, but in the mean time just grapple and hit the bag/mitts and drill more

I think it's a mental thing more than anything. Especially if you have done this for several years. Some reflexes could get a little rusty but nothing crazy. As for getting hit. Is it against particular opponents or in general? I have mental blocks against particular guys for sure. It's very tough to get over. I am definitely intimidated by some, at least when it comes to sparring. And these guys struggle against guys I beat up, so styles make fights..

 

[spacetime]

Also, you need to spar with full mental dedication. Be "in the moment" . Don't think about ifs.. "What if this happens if I get it". Shut down the analytical brain and just go for it, and the results will get better. This includes being more offensive.

Whenever you hesitate and tense up, you run a greater risk of getting hit.

 

[shincheckin]

Been sparring about 3-5 days a week for almost 4 months now. Leave sparring sessions much different than before not quite concussed but you can tell the perceptions changed a bit, kind of like my chin or brain is just not recovered. I don’t know if it’s in my head or what, but it almost makes me not want to engage in sparring, just so I get hit less. Almost like a mental block. (I already don’t like getting hit as it is)

Anyone take a month or more off sparring? Maybe just one month right? Because I still want to improve and take fights, but in the mean time just grapple and hit the bag/mitts and drill more

nothing wrong with taking a break, listen to your body.

if your coming out of sparring with your bell rung, your either sparring too hard, or not with enough protection, do you use headgear?

3-5 days a week of sparring is great, but when your sparring that frequently, the sparring should be lighter. you cant be doing a "smoker" sparring session 5 days a week.

no one likes getting hit (one of the reasons bjj is so much more popular than MT). anyways, dont focus or worry about getting it, focus about how you can hit them.

to quote cus d'amato: “A man who’s thinking or worried about getting hit is not gonna have a good sense of anticipation. He will in fact get hit.”

 

[j123]

Happens to me all the time. Work gets in the way so I miss sparring ocassionally. I've came off an injury away from sparring for 5 weeks before and I've gotten heaps better. Mentally you feel like you're going to regress, but you dont.

Really your sparring would be very sparring-like anyways so you wouldn't feel too away from it. Basically for me sparring is a testing ground for techniques, tactics, etc. In the off time from banging, I end up drilling alot more and banging pads so when I got back I didn't miss much, and have so much new material to try out

Also, you need to spar with full mental dedication. Be "in the moment" . Don't think about ifs.. "What if this happens if I get it". Shut down the analytical brain and just go for it, and the results will get better. This includes being more offensive.

Translation :

Just bang harder

 

[spacetime]

Translation :

Just bang harder

Yes. Or in Matrix terms: "free your mind"

 

[ARIZE]

Listen to your body man. Talk about it around you, take some advices, but listen to your body.

If you don't have a coach that you could trust a 100% about those things (and even then...), you are on your own. Trust your experience when you feel there is a problem.
A month without sparring is really not a big deal... There are a lots of other stuff you can focus on during that period.

After a month, if you still feel the same way, not really excited to spar, it may be a different problem, but until then, just rest man...

 

[Kirks]

I think combat sports have such an attitude of “go harder” but there’s a lot to be said for backing off for a few weeks.

Depending on how hard you’re sparring, four months of up to five times a week is quite a bit. Muay Thai we do that but sparring is much lighter in MT usually. Boxing I’d only want to be sparring that much leading up to a fight. Otherwise I’d only want to be sparring once or twice a week.

Again it depends on how hard the sparring is but that’s the attitude I have towards it. Listen to your body, you’ll get a lot more out of your training if you’re feeling good about every session.

 

[j123]

I think combat sports have such an attitude of “go harder” but there’s a lot to be said for backing off for a few weeks.

Depends on the camp and if the coach actually has control. A head coach who set boundaries clear on day one doesn't have a gym war culture, whereas one who got lazy, complacent, and couldn't control their fighters let it pass, and in the end everyone does it because "if he's doing it, so am I, why not".

At the root of it, we're all here to improve and better ourselves in the sport, but all bets are off when it comes to getting injured. Personally I don't care if you're world class champ or top prospect, if this guy/gal's trying to give me head trauma or break joints which prevents me from working or even walking, I'm not going to play along, who cares if they have a fight coming up and we all have to patty cake them so they don't feel bad and get injured leading up to it.

My old gym was a bit better in the earlier years, but eventually the coach got laxed and its slowly becoming bang city. The current gym I'm at, (and another gym a former teammate is at) you do stupid shit, you get the boot and go home.

 

[Kirks]

Depends on the camp and if the coach actually has control. A head coach who set boundaries clear on day one doesn't have a gym war culture, whereas one who got lazy, complacent, and couldn't control their fighters let it pass, and in the end everyone does it because "if he's doing it, so am I, why not".

At the root of it, we're all here to improve and better ourselves in the sport, but all bets are off when it comes to getting injured. Personally I don't care if you're world class champ or top prospect, if this guy/gal's trying to give me head trauma or break joints which prevents me from working or even walking, I'm not going to play along, who cares if they have a fight coming up and we all have to patty cake them so they don't feel bad and get injured leading up to it.

My old gym was a bit better in the earlier years, but eventually the coach got laxed and its slowly becoming bang city. The current gym I'm at, (and another gym a former teammate is at) you do stupid shit, you get the boot and go home.

I agree 100%, but I didn’t just mean in sparring but training in general. I should have been more clear.

I think there’s a huge attitude of “don’t be soft” and to push through. I’m a huge believer in listening to your body. Have a day off or have a light session if you’re not feeling it. Just don’t be lazy about it or hide behind it as an excuse not to train properly.

 

[j123]

I agree 100%, but I didn’t just mean in sparring but training in general. I should have been more clear.

I think there’s a huge attitude of “don’t be soft” and to push through. I’m a huge believer in listening to your body. Have a day off or have a light session if you’re not feeling it. Just don’t be lazy about it or hide behind it as an excuse not to train properly.

Yeah thats true, its been with me that way for awhile. Its surprising how far communication gets, why I didn't see it before was beyond me. Thought calling time and telling them meant I was soft, but at the end of the day we're teammates and if they don't know then they won't, and retaliating just makes them think you're being a prick while they assumed things were fine.

If a guy throws oblique kicks and you came off an injury, say so, and most of the time they back off. If not, then just duke it out. Gentlemen's agreement works for the most part.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Yeah thats true, its been with me that way for awhile. Its surprising how far communication gets, why I didn't see it before was beyond me. Thought calling time and telling them meant I was soft, but at the end of the day we're teammates and if they don't know then they won't, and retaliating just makes them think you're being a prick while they assumed things were fine.

If a guy throws oblique kicks and you came off an injury, say so, and most of the time they back off. If not, then just duke it out. Gentlemen's agreement works for the most part.

Lmao dude are you concussed?? He just said he was talking about training and your body and not necessarily just sparring and then you replied to him talking about hard sparring.

I agree on both points though. I don’t like talking to people so I mostly just train with guys I trust. If it’s a random/new guy I either don’t train with them or expect to bang, bro

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Also, you need to spar with full mental dedication. Be "in the moment" . Don't think about ifs.. "What if this happens if I get it". Shut down the analytical brain and just go for it, and the results will get better. This includes being more offensive.

Whenever you hesitate and tense up, you run a greater risk of getting hit.

That’s very good advice. I’m actually just talking about lighter sparring I tend to not engage, while if it’s harder I’m not worried about getting hit. Still good advice for a lot guys though

 

[j123]

Lmao dude are you concussed?? He just said he was talking about training and your body and not necessarily just sparring and then you replied to him talking about hard sparring.

I agree on both points though. I don’t like talking to people so I mostly just train with guys I trust. If it’s a random/new guy I either don’t train with them or expect to bang, bro

Sometimes thats my prob, I see a basic headline and I go all in on it

I just bang words breh

Spoiler

Despite the baging I've done, I've never been concussed or KO'd, I actually wonder what its like. Maybe I'll let a car hit me just to know what it feels like . There's been times I've sparred with gym heros (hit me harder than guys I;ve fought against) with my hands down, and it still didn't give me the juice

 

[biscuitsbrah]

nothing wrong with taking a break, listen to your body.

if your coming out of sparring with your bell rung, your either sparring too hard, or not with enough protection, do you use headgear?

3-5 days a week of sparring is great, but when your sparring that frequently, the sparring should be lighter. you cant be doing a "smoker" sparring session 5 days a week.

no one likes getting hit (one of the reasons bjj is so much more popular than MT). anyways, dont focus or worry about getting it, focus about how you can hit them.

to quote cus d'amato: “A man who’s thinking or worried about getting hit is not gonna have a good sense of anticipation. He will in fact get hit.”

Yeah I’m gonna take a break. My team had 4 different guys fighting on 4 seperate months back to back. So we have been going pretty hard most of the time. I love to light spar and nowadays I don’t even look forward to it anymore

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Listen to your body man. Talk about it around you, take some advices, but listen to your body.

If you don't have a coach that you could trust a 100% about those things (and even then...), you are on your own. Trust your experience when you feel there is a problem.
A month without sparring is really not a big deal... There are a lots of other stuff you can focus on during that period.

After a month, if you still feel the same way, not really excited to spar, it may be a different problem, but until then, just rest man...

Yeah I think you hit the nail on the head. There’s lots of stuff you can do without sparring and you guys just confirmed it.
My enthusiasm to spar is so low so that must be a sign

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Sometimes thats my prob, I see a basic headline and I go all in on it

I just bang words breh

Spoiler

Despite the baging I've done, I've never been concussed or KO'd, I actually wonder what its like. Maybe I'll let a car hit me just to know what it feels like . There's been times I've sparred with gym heros (hit me harder than guys I;ve fought against) with my hands down, and it still didn't give me the juice

Lmao. Just let him bang words!!

But damn, if you ever get your first concussion, it’s kinda scary. You’re like wtf is wrong with my brain? and it puts your fragility and morality into perspective. You should try it out brah

 

[biscuitsbrah]

I think combat sports have such an attitude of “go harder” but there’s a lot to be said for backing off for a few weeks.

Depending on how hard you’re sparring, four months of up to five times a week is quite a bit. Muay Thai we do that but sparring is much lighter in MT usually. Boxing I’d only want to be sparring that much leading up to a fight. Otherwise I’d only want to be sparring once or twice a week.

Again it depends on how hard the sparring is but that’s the attitude I have towards it. Listen to your body, you’ll get a lot more out of your training if you’re feeling good about every session.

Thank for the advice. You guys are pretty much all confirmed my thoughts and put it into perspective

 

[j123]

Lmao. Just let him bang words!!

But damn, if you ever get your first concussion, it’s kinda scary. You’re like wtf is wrong with my brain? and it puts your fragility and morality into perspective. You should try it out brah

Alright breh gonna do 5x5 of 10min rounds of chin conditioning

Its all good, I'll just claim disability benefits and get paid to post on sherdog

Spoiler

I already get paid to post on Sherdog

 

[Sano]

You definitely do not want to be taking repetitive hard shots on a weekly basis, or even monthly. I'm doing my bachelors right now in brain trauma, concussions and PCS and the more I see the more I regret the way I did it myself. Your ego wont save you from the damage down the road. I don't care who you are, if you spar (hard) enough, often enough you'll take damage. The brain is not meant to take hits over and over again. Some might be able to tolerate it better, but it'll show years down the road.

I myself have never been KO'd, but looking back I've probably had minor concussions dozens of times between the ego slugfest wars in the gym, and getting socker kicked in the face, jumped, and hit in the head with a brick (seperate occasions), and more, in street scuffles. I wish I could go back and train smart, but I guess having a strong chin is a detriment sometimes when you rely on it. That's before my PCS started kicking in for real a few years ago.

This is not to say that you should be scared of getting hit, not at all. Taking damage once in a while in a fight is no big deal, but you should train smart and not get tagged hard in sparring. It's accumulation and no rest that's worst usually. 3-4 times a week with legitimate contact is way too much. That's the thing, it's very hard to compare sparring as well, because sparring at a boxing gym and sparring at an MT gym is like two different worlds. Recovery is also a HUGE factor, and stressors as well. You need to let the brain rest. When you get concussed basicly it's a cascade of certain biomarkers and inflammatory signalling, like various cytokines, in your brain. The more you rest your brains metabolism, the better.

If you're feeling off, take time off from sparring. Relax, and when you do spar do more shadow sparring, body sparring or very light sparring. Or practice with more drills and defense. It'll save your career, and save you a lot of trouble.