Any tips for a Muay thai guy sparring against boxers

[never enough]

So I mainly train in muay thai and Im now doing some sparring against boxers at a boxing gym.
They guys Im sparring against are actual boxers and far more experienced than me obviously.
Im having trouble closing the distance (they are all way taller and heavier than me)
And i think in general boxers are way harder to hit than in muay thai. Better head movement and defense

I ate a few hard shots today and I need to work on my defense, once im inside I feel i do better.
Its hard not to throw an occasion leg kick or teep when im in trouble and see an opening.

Supermen punch actually worked well for me today because they were really weary of my legs, everytime i lifted my knee out of habit their hands dropped way down. Obviously that wont work forever

Im obviously not spacetime dropping pro boxers left right and centre

 

[spacetime]

So I mainly train in muay thai and Im now doing some sparring against boxers at a boxing gym.
They guys Im sparring against are actual boxers and far more experienced than me obviously.
Im having trouble closing the distance (they are all way taller and heavier than me)
And i think in general boxers are way harder to hit than in muay thai. Better head movement and defense

I ate a few hard shots today and I need to work on my defense, once im inside I feel i do better.
Its hard not to throw an occasion leg kick or teep when im in trouble and see an opening.

Supermen punch actually worked well for me today because they were really weary of my legs, everytime i lifted my knee out of habit their hands dropped way down. Obviously that wont work forever

Im obviously not spacetime dropping pro boxers left right and centre

What rules? Are leg grab allowed? If not, sidekick them all day bro. There's nothing they can do to that, and their defence is probably wrong, like you said blocking with their hands down by their waist and leaving head exposed

 

[William Huggins]

What rules? Are leg grab allowed? If not, sidekick them all day bro. There's nothing they can do to that, and their defence is probably wrong, like you said blocking with their hands down by their waist and leaving head exposed

So I mainly train in muay thai and Im now doing some sparring against boxers at a boxing gym.

Read the post.........

 

[never enough]

What rules? Are leg grab allowed? If not, sidekick them all day bro. There's nothing they can do to that, and their defence is probably wrong, like you said blocking with their hands on their waste and leaving head exposed

Boxing rules. Thats why im struggling. I thought my hands were quite good for a muay thai guy but the boxers were much better.
They know I train MT so they treated me like I was an experienced boxer.
Overall a good experience which highlights my faults though. I got some good shots in once I was on the inside. Weirdly I did my best when I was against the ropes. Shelled up and got some solid bodyshots

 

[spacetime]

Read the post.........

I did. It did not state. All it stated was that he did some sparring against boxers in a boxing gym.

 

[spacetime]

Boxing rules. Thats why im struggling. I thought my hands were quite good for a muay thai guy but the boxers were much better.
They know I train MT so they treated me like I was an experienced boxer.
Overall a good experience which highlights my faults though. I got some good shots in once I was on the inside. Weirdly I did my best when I was against the ropes. Shelled up and got some solid bodyshots

Well then that's a hole different can of worms. You sparred pros?

 

[William Huggins]

I did. It did not state. All it stated was that he did some sparring against boxers in a boxing gym.

Against Boxers in a boxing gym, what do you think they would be doing! In a boxing gym?

Boxing maybe......so what do you think the rules would be?

 

[William Huggins]

Well then that's a hole different can of worms. You sparred pros?

Never enough.........spacetime is the great white hope in the boxing world......

 

[spacetime]

Against Boxers in a boxing gym, what do you think they would be doing! In a boxing gym?

Boxing maybe......so what do you think the rules would be?

It does not neccesarily mean that. Joe Rogan got a chance to kickbox boxers in a gym, even koed one of them.

 

[spacetime]

I don't know how common it is but some pro boxers allowed Joe to kickbox them

 

[never enough]

Not pros, just amateurs who have more ring experience than me. All of the guys I sparred against today have at least a few amateur fights under their belt.
Only did 3 rounds changing partners each round. The most experienced one went easier on me, The least experienced guy went hard

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

You need to start drilling basics that were neglected or glossed over in kickboxing. Pay the most technical instructor to drill with you and tell you EVERYTHING that you're doing wrong and any single thing you can do to improve as you do them. Write them down and don't get defensive or flustered.

I don't know you and I've already got a free one for you: stop leaning backwards. Also stop standing straight up (it turns into leaning backwards with every gentle breeze without you realizing it). You need to be a little more crouched and should always be leaning slightly forward (but not too much-- definitely not past your knees. Around 10 degrees is good) to balance the bend in your knees/hips. No more standing with knees straight.

When you stand up straight like a periscope every lite grazing punch knocks you backwards and you are off balance. Since you can't kick it's completely worthless. Even if you could kick, it's still a really bad place to be, your weight going backwards and off balance unable to be able do anything. That's why the ropes help you-- they prop you up and keep you from being pushed backwards into off-balance-uselessness even when you're 'effectively' blocking punches. When you're off balance you can't do **** except eat more shots and get roughed up (unless something else is holding you up)

It's also awkward and inefficient to try to slip shots when standing straight up or backwords-- it just doesn't work.

 

[never enough]

You need to start drilling basics that were neglected or glossed over in kickboxing. Pay the most technical instructor to drill with you and tell you EVERYTHING that you're doing wrong and any single thing you can do to improve as you do them. Write them down and don't get defensive or flustered.

I don't know you and I've already got a free one for you: stop leaning backwards. Also stop standing straight up (it turns into leaning backwards with every gentle breeze without you realizing it). You need to be a little more crouched and should always be leaning slightly forward to balance the bend in your knees/hips. No more standing with knees straight.

When you stand up straight like a periscope every lite grazing punch knocks you backwards and you are off balance. Since you can't kick it's completely worthless. Even if you could kick, it's still a really bad place to be, your weight going backwards and off balance unable to be able do anything. That's why the ropes help you-- they prop you up and keep you from being pushed backwards into off-balance-uselessness even when you're 'effectively' blocking punches. When you're off balance you can't do **** except eat more shots and get roughed up (unless something else is holding you up)

Good point. I do stand far more upright. I feel i shell up more than them instead of basic footwork and head movement. Im actively drilling pivots and slips now which may help
There isnt alot of technique taught in the MT gyms. Its just straight on the pads and learn from your mistakes
I guess I was a little naive thinking I could step up in the ring and be good at boxing

 

[spacetime]

Good point. I do stand far more upright. I feel i shell up more than them instead of basic footwork and head movement. Im actively drilling pivots and slips now which may help
There isnt alot of technique taught in the MT gyms. Its just straight on the pads and learn from your mistakes
I guess I was a little naive thinking I could step up in the ring and be good at boxing

Take days to only drill the jab. You're dead in the water in boxing without a competent jab.

 

[William Huggins]

I don't know how common it is but some pro boxers allowed Joe to kickbox them

Hmmmm Joe Rogan's professional career as a fighter..........and his need to still prove himself to youngster, or maybe it's just an old man taking too much HGH.......who knows...

 

[spacetime]

Hmmmm Joe Rogan's professional career as a fighter..........and his need to still prove himself to youngster, or maybe it's just an old man taking too much HGH.......who knows...

You don't believe he knocked out a pro boxer with a Taekwondo kick?

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Good point. I do stand far more upright. I feel i shell up more than them instead of basic footwork and head movement. Im actively drilling pivots and slips now which may help
There isnt alot of technique taught in the MT gyms. Its just straight on the pads and learn from your mistakes
I guess I was a little naive thinking I could step up in the ring and be good at boxing

Glad you can see that. At least you aren't delusional and can acknowledge your faults. That's the main ingredient that you need to improve above the others

Yeah you're going to have to train your hips and knees a lot more. Not just coordination but also strength and stability. That's where the power comes from. Not from rising like in MT but from dropping while keeping everything compact and efficient yet loose

 

[never enough]

Take days to only drill the jab. You're dead in the water in boxing without a competent jab.

Yeah I guess I got offended a little bit when the boxing coach had me do rounds of jabs on the pads, I guess I should listen more. Its a completely different sport after all.

 

[never enough]

Glad you can see that. At least you aren't delusional and can acknowledge your faults. That's mostly what you need to improve here

Yeah you're going to have to train your hips and knees a lot more. Not just coordination but also strength and stability. That's where the power comes from. Not from rising like in MT but from dropping while keeping everything compact and efficient yet loose

I think learning true boxing will help me hugely in MT. Im unsure if I have the time for doing both, but in your opinon would sparring boxers every few day sharpen my technique. I go to a boxing gym daily for weight training and to use their heavy bags but there are usually the same few guys there sparring everyday

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

I think learning true boxing will help me hugely in MT. Im unsure if I have the time for doing both, but in your opinon would sparring boxers every few day sharpen my technique. I go to a boxing gym daily for weight training and to use their heavy bags but there are usually the same few guys there sparring everyday

Sparring them every day? Not as much as learning and drilling from them 2 or more times a week. Sparring is to test out what you have learned and learn where you are weak-- it's not efficient or healthy to do the bulk of your learning from sparring (in boxing, since it usually is somewhat intense unlike sparring culture in MT).

I don't think it should needs to even be every day, but you should take technical lessons from a technical trainer. Some coaches are meatheads (a lot of them are). Learn from someone who is slick, effective and doesn't "muscle" things. Get private lessons on the basics (footwork, slipping, efficient/technical movement etc.) with drills in them. Spar here and there to test what you've learned. Write everything down each day.

I am 1000% sure it will work wonders when you add it back into your overall standup. It's where almost all kickboxers' weakest spot (by far) is.

---

Look up sinister's tile exercise on youtube. That "simple" exercise will really get you a nice foundation for everything else.