do you work w/diff styles-i.e. approaches

[devante]

kinda based off the discussions we have about how certain arts don't translate over because all the guys fight the same way; which brings me to the point of this thread, do you guys face guys who take diff approaches to striking or do you train w/a group of guys who fight/spar in a manner similar to yours.

brawler
counter guy
sharp shooter
mover
defensive guy
outside guy
infighter
offensive guy
etc

i know guys who FIGHT have to do this to some degree; but guys who don't fight amateur or pro really don't have to, if someone has a style or approach that is too much for them or not easy to deal w/..then they may avoid them all together or just sleepwalk through the session cus they have no reason to take anything away from it.

i will use myself as an example, as when i spar certain guys; an the simple act of me fighting off the backfoot or good forbid maintaining dist/using angles as a a line of def seems to befuddle guys who have for all intents and purposes, have legit-solid skills. These competently and in some cases very skilled guys are befuddled by me cus im fighting defensively, im trying not to get hit or create distance, im picking my shots off angles and footworks circling away or backing up. Instead of looking for contact and closing distance and using angles coming forward. Some guys refuse to even really make an effort to spar, some guys refuse to; they don't take anything from it at all, because they don't like or respect that approach.. Which i guess is fine since most of them don't fight; but as a martial artist and striker, it limits you and your development.

Or to put the neg spin on myself, for a min i was training exclusively alot w/point type guys and things of that sort; so i was used to a certain respect for shots, a certain focus on getting away from, blocking, parrying and/or countering shots. Alot of feints, setups, footwork, timing, etc; so when i start training w/guys who did ALOT of contact, then i had issues cus i wasn't used to the workrate..the aggression or the willingness to absorb punishment to distribute punishment. So it gave me issues, for one i don't hit all that hard; an i had totally lost my point of ref of the power necessary to do damage gain respect, secondly i wasn't used to deliberate and intense pressure. Finally the tma guys i was training w/were MUCH faster-explosive-dynamic-fluid than the other guys i got to work w/; but due to the fact that the tma types were more meticulous-careful-respectful and judicious w/shots it didn't prepare me for guys who were gonna come harder or be more wideopen in applying their offense, to me these guys seemed much faster than the guys i was sparring. But that had to do w/how they attacked much moreso than their ability..etc; it broke down my tech and my ability to process cus i had gotten so far away from that approach. Now i got back to my approach of working w/alot of diff styles again and i think it has really helped my growth as a striker/martial artist, for awhile i got stagnated..now im back to growing.

so do you guys make it a point to get the good work in sparring, i.e. work w/guys who will expand your skillset and/or perspective; or maybe force you to find interesting ways to apply the strategy that you use (as listed above). When you do spar these diff styles, do you make it a point to improve or do you just get it over w/and leave it at that; part of improving isn't just improving the tech or application, but learning how to use it against guys who aren't doing what you do, guys who emphasize diff aspects of the standup game. I know in boxing working w/the diff styles; even for those who DON'T fight, is prominent.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

kinda based off the discussions we have about how certain arts don't translate over because all the guys fight the same way; which brings me to the point of this thread, do you guys face guys who take diff approaches to striking or do you train w/a group of guys who fight/spar in a manner similar to yours.

brawler
counter guy
sharp shooter
mover
defensive guy
outside guy
infighter
offensive guy
etc

i know guys who FIGHT have to do this to some degree; but guys who don't fight amateur or pro really don't have to, if someone has a style or approach that is too much for them or not easy to deal w/..then they may avoid them all together or just sleepwalk through the session cus they have no reason to take anything away from it.

i will use myself as an example, as when i spar certain guys; an the simple act of me fighting off the backfoot or good forbid maintaining dist/using angles as a a line of def seems to befuddle guys who have for all intents and purposes, have legit-solid skills. These competently and in some cases very skilled guys are befuddled by me cus im fighting defensively, im trying not to get hit or create distance, im picking my shots off angles and footworks circling away or backing up. Instead of looking for contact and closing distance and using angles coming forward. Some guys refuse to even really make an effort to spar, some guys refuse to; they don't take anything from it at all, because they don't like or respect that approach.. Which i guess is fine since most of them don't fight; but as a martial artist and striker, it limits you and your development.

Or to put the neg spin on myself, for a min i was training exclusively alot w/point type guys and things of that sort; so i was used to a certain respect for shots, a certain focus on getting away from, blocking, parrying and/or countering shots. Alot of feints, setups, footwork, timing, etc; so when i start training w/guys who did ALOT of contact, then i had issues cus i wasn't used to the workrate..the aggression or the willingness to absorb punishment to distribute punishment. So it gave me issues, for one i don't hit all that hard; an i had totally lost my point of ref of the power necessary to do damage gain respect, secondly i wasn't used to deliberate and intense pressure. Finally the tma guys i was training w/were MUCH faster-explosive-dynamic-fluid than the other guys i got to work w/; but due to the fact that the tma types were more meticulous-careful-respectful and judicious w/shots it didn't prepare me for guys who were gonna come harder or be more wideopen in applying their offense, to me these guys seemed much faster than the guys i was sparring. But that had to do w/how they attacked much moreso than their ability..etc; it broke down my tech and my ability to process cus i had gotten so far away from that approach. Now i got back to my approach of working w/alot of diff styles again and i think it has really helped my growth as a striker/martial artist, for awhile i got stagnated..now im back to growing.

so do you guys make it a point to get the good work in sparring, i.e. work w/guys who will expand your skillset and/or perspective; or maybe force you to find interesting ways to apply the strategy that you use (as listed above). When you do spar these diff styles, do you make it a point to improve or do you just get it over w/and leave it at that; part of improving isn't just improving the tech or application, but learning how to use it against guys who aren't doing what you do, guys who emphasize diff aspects of the standup game. I know in boxing working w/the diff styles; even for those who DON'T fight, is prominent.

you should come to my gym ........where nobody likes to spar. Even guys who have fights scheduled !

 

[austinlarg]

Yeah I do all the time. I haven't even had a fight yet and I like to spar different styles. For example, I'll go from sparring my cousin (all power shots) to my brother who likes to try and pick me apart.

I think it's necessary so you don't get used to fighting against a certain style.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

Yeah I do all the time. I haven't even had a fight yet and I like to spar different styles. For example, I'll go from sparring my cousin (all power shots) to my brother who likes to try and pick me apart.
.

dont tell me its in the backyard !

 

[darkgojira]

You should always spar against people with different styles. No one spars exactly the same and no one is the same size, weight, and height. These are all contributing factors to how to fight someone, and you should be as experienced as possible with all styles.

 

[Smw]

I make a point to spar against people with different styles. Its actually a funny story. I go to LA Fittness and work on a lot of techniques on my own. Every now and again, someone will use the heavy bags next to me. I check em out for a while to determine what they have trained in. After determining the individuals skill level, I initiate a convo on their fighting history. After talking and bullshit, I pop the question to see if they wanna spar for a few rounds.

I realize to the average person how sick and twisted this must sound, asking complete strangers if they wish to fight. But the opportunity to learn and adjust is too great to pass up. Funny thing is, everyone I have asked so far has agreed. Im even thinking of starting a sort of fight club, without all the blood and terrorist plots.

Its all about exchanging ideas and keeping an open mind. I fuckin love it.

I wish I could find sparring partners so easily.

I also want to start a local fight club or weekly "Open Mat". There is a facility in my city that has an enclosed 75 x 75 room completely matted that is only $25 an hour to rent.

 

[RealDealSteele]

Ie found it very helpful for me to fight different styles. I'm a striker and I train with strikers a bunch but I make sure to get in with a wrestler when I can. Wrestlers react so much different than a striker to getting hit it's crazy. I used to wrestle so it doesn't bother me to be in that type of match but it's so much different to fight those guys when compared to a striker. And BJJ guys are even a more of difference due to their style of grappling and the wrist control they try and mantain.

 

[Vil7]

you should come to my gym ........where nobody likes to spar. Even guys who have fights scheduled !

Why's that?

 

[quikkick]

Devante, you gotta use cliffs homles.

If you're in the East Bay N.Cali or La hit me up.

 

[td82394]

I actually change my own approach a lot, and sometimes in the same session. One second I'll be circling around using straight punches and kicks, the next second I'll be working my way in and pretty much just beat up their belly with hooks an, blocking if necessary.

 

[Snowman3459]

I've sparred with quite a few different types, mostly aggressors. It's always the newbies who try to be aggressive though.

I'm a bit more of a technical boxer and I would pick apart these aggressive guys and some other technical guys.

I recently found a new gym there and every single person seems to be more technical and I've had trouble keeping up.

 

[c0r1nth14n]

I'm still a beginner, but I do light sparring against a variety of different styles. We do a thing at my gym pretty frequently where we'll rotate through partners until we've done light sparring with everyone else there. So the different guys tend to have different styles - there's Clinch Guy, who always pushes in for the clinch, a couple of boxing guys who are a lot more punch-heavy, a speedy guy, a brawly guy, and so on.

On a related note, I don't feel like I have a style. Is that something I should try to develop, or should I focus on being more well-rounded?

 

[Marvin Covar]

I think it's important to spar with people of differing styles so that you can round up your game more and not get stuck being comfortable with fighting with one style alone. As for my own personal style, I'm more of a pressure/brawler guy. I like going toe to toe but if needed be, I'll play the outboxer and try to pick my shots and counter. It's all about adapting to your opponent/sparring partner.