Hey. I joined a kickboxing/muay thai class about 3 months ago, I go 2 days a week, and so far I am really enjoying it. BUT in sparring I feel so disscouraged when I get beat by guys that have about the same amount of experience as me. I realize that sparring isn't really about trying to beat your opponent but more about building your technique, but I still feel so disapointed when I felt I lost. I feel like I have to be the best. Do you guys ever feel discouraged because you felt like you lost to someone you shouldn't have? Any help with getting over this would be great. And this is is my first post so don't hate on me too much haha
Stop comparing yourself and focus on your own skills. Plus do you belive your the one who can "grade" how your doing, dont think about what your doing enjoy yourself and you will improve and when your teachers say something take their word for it.
Not everyone picks this stuff up right away. At three months you shouldn't be worried about your performance while sparring, you need to focus on your technique and getting a feel for your personal style. Keep shadow boxing and work on your form, and start running. After things start to click you'll be able to get more out of your sparring sessions.
How are you at defending p unches and taking shots? If not very good, learn - parrys are simple and can be worked on almost whenever a punch is coming at you, and th emore you do it the better you'll get. Also, work on throwing counters - if you ever get stung with a hard shot fire back immediately if you can. This will help condition you to reply when you get hit. Finally, get some stiffness behind your jab, so that peopel dont just swarm you easily (as someone else said to me before which helped a lot), if they don't have any respect for your punches they'll jus walk thru you. also teeps and kicks for range or to lead into / end combos. gd luck.
I think it takes maybe half a year to a year for all this stuff to really sink in. Really, it's so complex you're going to soak up all the information in the beginning (combos to throw! How to block! how to evade! how to do footwork!) but it'll be FRUSTATING AS HELL trying to put it all together and of course, you'll feel like you suck. Everyone here's felt that feeling. (except for maybe a few naturals but hey, how many of us are naturals?) Stick with it and give it time.
I get beat a lot in sparring. I practice the punches and movements that I need to work on. Why keep going back to the moves and combos that you know down pat? Take advantage of the fact that if you throw a sloppy lead right you just get hit hard instead of a broken jaw. Not to mention you learn more when you are getting beat on (not excessively, but in the sense of sparring). If you want to hit and not get hit with no risk go find a heavy bag.
no joke. about a little more than a year, and theres still certain punches and shit i cant pull off in sparring. Hitting bags and being in the ring is ridiculously different.
You have trained for a very short time to be so hard on yourself. Do alot of drills. Try to improve on something each week and work hard on it. Losing to some one you should not is a good way to keep your ego in check. One thing I used to do alot is I would think of the one thing I hated (or sucked at) the most in fighting and that is what I would on. I would do this as a way to know what I had to improve on. Everyone likes to workout on what they are good at but they do not improve that much as a result. Good luck and keep it up. MT is a great sport and style.
3 months and your worried about "losing" sparring sessions? You can't "lose" at sparring period. Either way you learn. My biggest complaint about sparring with new guys is that they try to win. They start hitting hard and aren't working on anything. I actually hit a guy with a combo last week and he said, "that didn't hurt me." No shit...I wasn't trying to hurt you idiot. I could run around nailing those kids all day long. But I'm working on a new combo or a new kick or some defensive technique. The process is simple. First you learn something. Then you work on it on the bag. Then on the mitts/pads. Then in sparring. Then in competition. You only move up a level when you are confident with it at the level you are at. If all I did was use my best combo or best single strike over and over again in sparring that would be all I had in a fight. You'd study tape and know exactly what I was going to do. That is STUPID!!! Don't get me wrong,l I still throw my favorites, but mostly I'm trying to work in my new stuff to get confident with it. You need to be working techniques. Against other new guys you'd probably have more success throing one big shot after the other and rely on his inexperience to force him to button up and take abuse. But you're doing it right. My opinion, work on counter punching/kicking with your coach. Check a kick and return the kick with the same leg asap. Block a kick/punch and counter cross or hook and so on. This will stop the newbies from overwhelming you with sloppy action. Then you'll notice all the techniques you've been working putting you way ahead. But again, there is no "losing". Its just training bro. Good luck.
Don't get frustrated. In ANY combat sport you learn by getting your ass beat. Your 100% effort from yourself is all you can ask for. Leave knowing that you learned something, not lost.
Everybody's had some really great points. I would just like to add that we should all keep in mind that its all about the journey, not the finish line. Sparring's just a tool to get better; with it, we figure out what works and what doesn't and discover our strengths and weaknesses. Then we work on those weaknesses. good luck!
