Being First

[ThaiClinch]

How important this is ?

I´m no great, I´m a fan of praticing all Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Boxing, but I´m no fighter, so I´m dealing generally with rookies in sparring.

Okay, that said, maybe this is something that works well against rookies but not so much in the most advanced levels.

So, going to the thread title, I notice that Being First is very decisive, you gotta be first, I least it works so much better with me, everytime I shoot a few double jabs right on the get go, I´m fine for the rest of the session.

Maybe it´s all mental though, for a guy without much experience like me, it´s a mental thing.

How do you feel about this ? For the guys out there that are more high level, is it very important ?

Sure, it depends of the guy though, if you are well trained to counter and stuff, I guess you deal fine with not being first, personally I´m a guy in love with the jab so if I get jabbed too much by the other guy in the get go I don´t do well, I get a bit lost.

Maybe I made it confusing, sorry english is not my first language.

 

[MuyThaiTom]

I do think being first is more important at the beginning levels. Once you and your opponent progress in defense, distance and counters things change and aggression becomes less significant.

 

[Brendon Katz]

Yup the important thing is to get moving. I find that if you start out still, without movement, you'll tend to stay that way. So as long as you get moving (feet, head, hands), the game will flow. It's like dancing, you've got to move to the rhythm all the time, or you get left behind.

 

[FenoxSky]

Well it depends. If by "being first" you mean attack first, then no.
But having the initiative is always an advantage, as you're leading the direction of the fight, in that sense being first is something anyone can benefit from, and if you watch elite fighters they're always being first at something. You can take the initiative even as a counter fighter, not via strikes, but by drawing actions with footwork, feints and distance management, even as a reactive fighter you want to narrow the possible actions your opponent may perform.