Being relaxed vs being switched on

[biscuitsbrah]

I normally like to be switched on but lately I’ve been finding being relaxed to be more helpful for my development. I’m getting hit more but I’m letting my hands go and not being as scared to get hit and being too defensive.

Im finding I’m not trying to punch as hard in sparring and my training partners pick up on that and we get better work in. More exchanges in general because we aren’t as tense and scared to get bombed.

This has been happening partly because I’ve been sparring really hard lately and quite frankly I’m tired of getting hit super hard during sparring. I’ve also been going ultra stoned lately which helps me flow, but also makes my eyes super bad to the point where I’m flinching or closing my eyes lol.
I need better eye and defensive training.

Idk I was bored and wanted to get my thoughts out. I’ve been hard sparring for the past 2-3 months with a week or two intermission but I finally feel I’m hitting a rhythm with my training partners who are all bigger/better than me and improving. Feel free to talk about anything semi-related lol

 

[j123]

Have you tried rubbing one out before sparring? It might help

 

[II Muchetto II]

Sparring switched on tends to be if you are a counter fighter or have an explosive style. Taking a more relaxed approach can definitely be good for development, even if it's a different style to your own, as you get to try new things out. It usually helps if you have training partners you trust though otherwise you just revert back to what you know.

 

[Rob-G]

I love relaxed sparring. For me it definitely comes down to who I’m working with. I spar a pro who’s 0 wins - 6 losses lol. When we spar it’s super chill and I can actually go 5 rounds with him. Some amateur I spar with regularly gets super aggressive and I can barely make it through to the end of the 2nd round with him. I think a little bit of both is good

 

[Woldog]

I love relaxed sparring. For me it definitely comes down to who I’m working with. I spar a pro who’s 0 wins - 6 losses lol. When we spar it’s super chill and I can actually go 5 rounds with him. Some amateur I spar with regularly gets super aggressive and I can barely make it through to the end of the 2nd round with him. I think a little bit of both is good

Are you from Australia by any chance lmao

 

[tekkenfan]

one thing gyms dont do enough of is play sparring not trying to hurt each other at all

in my hometown gym we had 2 trainers who had completely different styles and methods my coach wouldnt even let me spar till 6 months in even as a kid the other had guys sparring their second day and going all out claiming you learn on the job was kids and adults always walking around with black eyes busted noses he had great technique and his son went very far but they only went 1 speed all out everytime which if eel is horrible in developing someone technically

my coach we would do sparring drills some where we wouldnt even fully try to hit each other learning how to see punches being thrown at you and not blink learning the proper defense and seeing it and learning to be able to work counters i find without doing things like this its will take much longer to get comfortable with defense

its a lot like jiu jitsu too theirs gyms and guys who just go out and hard roll and sure after years they can be pretty good but would be much better if they did specific drilling working on certain areas theirs a time to go hard and a time to work working is helping both people

 

[tekkenfan]

I love relaxed sparring. For me it definitely comes down to who I’m working with. I spar a pro who’s 0 wins - 6 losses lol. When we spar it’s super chill and I can actually go 5 rounds with him. Some amateur I spar with regularly gets super aggressive and I can barely make it through to the end of the 2nd round with him. I think a little bit of both is good

depends on the guy usually experience has a lot to do with it just like in grappling too you have some guys who are pure spazzes or ego is out of wack you shouldnt spar hard over 3 times a week i feel but sparring drills shadow boxing in front of someone working together and doing light sparring drills you can do daily and i feel is the fastest way to getting timing,defense and counter punching down also helps build more confidence in your boxing and confidence is key into letting your hands go at the right moments.

if your getting beat on everytime you spar its a war most people will be very defensive afraid to open up i feel

 

[shincheckin]

I wouldnt suggest sparring/fighting high.

Relaxed vs switched on.....in a fight, I think you need to be relaxed, to be able to get switched on. Start the fight relaxed, begin the feeling out process, and get switched on when you do.....and if you do......man its awesome when your in that zone and you react counter move etc without thinking and no hesitation.

Hard sparring...........hard sparring is good, but I feel that even when you do hard sparring, its not the same as a fight, in regards to what your partner can pull off on you. For example, in a fight, no shinpads, if I blast you with my hardest body kick, your not gonna just eat it on the arms and counter, and after one or two, your gonna be afraid of it, and react to it.........in sparring because of the shinpads, guys can eat alot more and keep pushing or countering off of it.......so in sparring you got guys eating your kicks and countering, and in a fight they would be running from them.....I even see MMA guys being taught to eat leg kicks by leaning into them, this is the goal/plan/intent......so they can counter with the hand. That is not going to work after maybe 3 good leg kicks....and the guys is gonna be forced to evade or block the kick rather than eat it and counter..........so I guess what Im trying to say, is in sparring, guys can eat more attacks and counter them, where as in a fight, they would be "afraid" of them, forcing a reaction, be it block or evade.

 

[spacetime]

My boxing coach was big on relaxation at all times and claimed this would improve my reflexes. We had a pad holder who complained that I hit too hard and thrvinstructor said that I would punch even harder relaxed. It was a mantra of his, clearly

I think Kickboxers, Nakmuay and MMA guys stiffen their shots more wheras boxing is all about snapping. Then when you have a guy hurt on the ropes, you stiffen the shots, since the target is now stationary..

 

[AndyMaBobs]

I normally like to be switched on but lately I’ve been finding being relaxed to be more helpful for my development. I’m getting hit more but I’m letting my hands go and not being as scared to get hit and being too defensive.

Im finding I’m not trying to punch as hard in sparring and my training partners pick up on that and we get better work in. More exchanges in general because we aren’t as tense and scared to get bombed.

This has been happening partly because I’ve been sparring really hard lately and quite frankly I’m tired of getting hit super hard during sparring. I’ve also been going ultra stoned lately which helps me flow, but also makes my eyes super bad to the point where I’m flinching or closing my eyes lol.
I need better eye and defensive training.

Idk I was bored and wanted to get my thoughts out. I’ve been hard sparring for the past 2-3 months with a week or two intermission but I finally feel I’m hitting a rhythm with my training partners who are all bigger/better than me and improving. Feel free to talk about anything semi-related lol

So one of my muay thai fighters has a similar "issue", in sparring he tends to look a bit rough, he's always very relaxed and has nothing behind his punches. He takes the light in sparring to a real extreme. This was good for him, but was making me nervous for his fight camp.

So a few weeks before the fight, we go to train with Damien Alamos, his gym + our gym have got a friendly relationship so I think 'fuck it why not'

So we are sparring with him, now the thing about sparring with him is that he is a Lumpinee Champion, which means he is ungodly fast. I am desperately trying to check his kicks and I'm having 0 success, I'm there like 'shit if I even slightly move the wrong was, Damien is going to kick me into next sunday' and I look stiff as fuck.

My fighter literally just sparred with him like any other dude in the gym - that is, just sort of relaxed and pawing and of course, getting his ass kicked. After the session, I go to him 'okay so should I be worried his sparring pace' and he's like 'no, not really'

Fight actually comes, and he completely controls all three rounds in his debut, and while his technique is still raw and in progress, he has the composure like he's done it a thousand times before.

When I see your fights, to me you look like you HAVE composure. It really doesn't matter how you're looking in sparring, unless it's super BAD, you shouldn't worry about the intensity too much. Just focus on training, if things start going poor for you in your next fights, maybe re-evaluate - but you are still a developing athlete. You might find you're settling into a new way of sparring that works better for you and that's the main thing.

Due to health problems, I've never been able to fight as much as I wanted to, which I know rustles the jimmies of some posters here - and weirdly as a result, I found that even though I practise technical sparring mostly, in the last few years as I've made real strides in my own technique and physical conditioning my want to start hard sparring went up. Maybe it was pent up irritation on my part!

You've got to remember you're on a journey! You're not necessarily 'switched on' or off, but finding something different.

I will say though please don't spar high. It's an accident waiting to happen + I'm at a 10th Planet Gym, I know full well what it's like to train with someone who smells of weed

 

[trendnick]

Move like a butterfly (relaxed) and Sting like a Bee (the moment you connect) M. Ali. . Or be like Water.... Relaxed. To be relaxed saves Energy. On the same time train your eyes... see it comin and Hit the to the hole.

That's what I focus on the last 3 month.

We sparr boxing in general half hard til light (body shots more hard)... depending on your opponent.
Sometimes we sparr just bodyshots, infight...., just standing without moving legs backwards, stand your ground and or turn left or right only. There we go 90% at least or with the right opponent 100%.... the most fun! As long you did not get caught unexpectedly and/or youre opponent dont weight some 20kg more than you. Liver is to some a specialety.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

I wouldnt suggest sparring/fighting high.

Relaxed vs switched on.....in a fight, I think you need to be relaxed, to be able to get switched on. Start the fight relaxed, begin the feeling out process, and get switched on when you do.....and if you do......man its awesome when your in that zone and you react counter move etc without thinking and no hesitation.

Hard sparring...........hard sparring is good, but I feel that even when you do hard sparring, its not the same as a fight, in regards to what your partner can pull off on you. For example, in a fight, no shinpads, if I blast you with my hardest body kick, your not gonna just eat it on the arms and counter, and after one or two, your gonna be afraid of it, and react to it.........in sparring because of the shinpads, guys can eat alot more and keep pushing or countering off of it.......so in sparring you got guys eating your kicks and countering, and in a fight they would be running from them.....I even see MMA guys being taught to eat leg kicks by leaning into them, this is the goal/plan/intent......so they can counter with the hand. That is not going to work after maybe 3 good leg kicks....and the guys is gonna be forced to evade or block the kick rather than eat it and counter..........so I guess what Im trying to say, is in sparring, guys can eat more attacks and counter them, where as in a fight, they would be "afraid" of them, forcing a reaction, be it block or evade.

So one of my muay thai fighters has a similar "issue", in sparring he tends to look a bit rough, he's always very relaxed and has nothing behind his punches. He takes the light in sparring to a real extreme. This was good for him, but was making me nervous for his fight camp.

So a few weeks before the fight, we go to train with Damien Alamos, his gym + our gym have got a friendly relationship so I think 'fuck it why not'

So we are sparring with him, now the thing about sparring with him is that he is a Lumpinee Champion, which means he is ungodly fast. I am desperately trying to check his kicks and I'm having 0 success, I'm there like 'shit if I even slightly move the wrong was, Damien is going to kick me into next sunday' and I look stiff as fuck.

My fighter literally just sparred with him like any other dude in the gym - that is, just sort of relaxed and pawing and of course, getting his ass kicked. After the session, I go to him 'okay so should I be worried his sparring pace' and he's like 'no, not really'

Fight actually comes, and he completely controls all three rounds in his debut, and while his technique is still raw and in progress, he has the composure like he's done it a thousand times before.

When I see your fights, to me you look like you HAVE composure. It really doesn't matter how you're looking in sparring, unless it's super BAD, you shouldn't worry about the intensity too much. Just focus on training, if things start going poor for you in your next fights, maybe re-evaluate - but you are still a developing athlete. You might find you're settling into a new way of sparring that works better for you and that's the main thing.

Due to health problems, I've never been able to fight as much as I wanted to, which I know rustles the jimmies of some posters here - and weirdly as a result, I found that even though I practise technical sparring mostly, in the last few years as I've made real strides in my own technique and physical conditioning my want to start hard sparring went up. Maybe it was pent up irritation on my part!

You've got to remember you're on a journey! You're not necessarily 'switched on' or off, but finding something different.

I will say though please don't spar high. It's an accident waiting to happen + I'm at a 10th Planet Gym, I know full well what it's like to train with someone who smells of weed

Really good advice guys. Love hearing from the more experienced folks. Stopped going to sparring high too lol.

 

[shincheckin]

Really good advice guys. Love hearing from the more experienced folks. Stopped going to sparring high too lol.

i enjoy cannabis. If your going to use it, and still train martial arts, and fight/compete..........use it for celebration after a fight.....and use a edible......its the healthiest way. Wont affect your lungs/stamina....and edible is the strongest form........win/win/win.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Really good advice guys. Love hearing from the more experienced folks. Stopped going to sparring high too lol.

always happy to help man - just remember it should be fun!

 

[JohnPJones]

i've never viewed the two as being mutually exclusive...when sparring in the dojo i was always relaxed but switched on. when participating in fight night always relaxed but switched on, when when dealing with iranian boats relaxed but on...