Getting my act together

[ignitH]

Hi guys.

The last couple of weeks i have been attending the sparring class in my mt gym (i couldn't make it to the class before bc of school) the thing is that i can box pretty well for the time i have been doing mt (couple of months or so) and i have been told that i can kick fairly well too with my right leg (the left leg is a dif story)

When doing box only sparring i do pretty good with guys that have been more time than me, but when i have to mt or kickbox sparr, i just can't get my act together, and i tend to throw only kicks and get my face smashed several times or box only and get my legs crushed by lowkicks. Its like every combo that i have learned in class is forgotten and the only thing i can do is throwing single jabs, single crosses and single kicks.

So here's my question. Is this a thing that you just learn by sparring more, or is there any drills/rouinds that i can do to improve this "combining thing". I currently have a heavy bag in my room so i can practice a lot, it's just that i lack the knowledge and imagination to create some drills. So any combo kick-punch drills that you guys could give me will be very appreciated.

Thanks a lot. Greetings from Chile.
PS: Sorry if my english is kinda sucky sometimes, it's not my Mother Language.

 

[Knucks]

if i was you id just keep drilling basic shit on the heavy bag like jab lead kick or jab cross rear kick, jab jab highkick.....simple short combos, keep doin em n focus on ending your boxing combinations with kicks or something when youre sparring

 

[MonstrositY]

i'm gonna get flamed for this, but try it and let me know how it goes.

get on a bag by yourself, and forget about the "combos" they taught you. go in there and think of every combination you can think of, do it slowly on the bag, then speed it up. think of as many combinations. it's about being sporadic, and not about memorizing a couple of combos they teach you and regurgitating it in sparring sessions. just like studying, it's about incorporating your learning and really understanding what you learn, rather than just memorizing, and regurgitating it in an exam.

you should look at your opponent and design an combo on the spot. i actualy don't like the idea of a combo. i wanna be able to look at my opponent and react to whatever is happening and be able to throw strikes in succession to be affective.

of cource, this is very hard and elite fighters can do it, but why not aim high?

do that, then get in a sparring session and look at what the other dude is doing and react, insteading of trying to think back to the combos you learn and then trying to excecute them even though they may not be right for the situation. try it and let me know how it goes.

 

[ignitH]

it's not a thing of not knowing how to react, but it's more of a thing of discordination of my top body and my lower body, i mean when im kicking i eat jabs like it's a buffet coz i neglect my upperbody , and when im punching my legs get crashed by lowkicks coz i don't remembber to block.

 

[Vector_X]

For just getting used to throwing hands and kicks together I guess I have a bit of beginner advice. At the end of every hand combo you throw just end it by throwing a kick. This can help you with distance and rhythm. Obviously you aren't going to want to throw a kick after every hand combo in sparring, but just to get comfortable being able to throw both try this out. It helped me out incredibly when I first started and I still like doing the drill on the heavy bag.

Edit* This is really solid when you have someone watching you to make sure you keep your form accurate, but regardless give it a shot.

 

[Gregster]

Sounds like you could seriously use two things:

1) Partner-assisted drills that focus on defense and-- perhaps more importantly-- countering. Ever fight someone whose game is at the level where when you throw a punch or kick, by the time it's halfway to the target he's countered it as though he was reading your mind and knew when you did what you were gonna do? That's probably because he learned some good counters, and through drills and experience made them instinctive to where he doesn't even need to consider a reaction, but instead-- *BOOM!*-- makes it and the capitalizes on it when you're thrown off.

You'll only go so far trying to batter your way through a better fighters' defenses, and you'll sure as hell never win playing on defense most of the time while you get attacked and deflect blows. And targets don't hit back.

See if your trainer, or a better fighter whose knowledge and skill you can trust, will work with you on some simple attack/counter-attack drills to give you some tools to use to fill in the gaps between offense and defense.

2) Bag/pad drills on combos that involve transitioning from kicks to punches. At my school, we used to do a lot of those sorts of drills, and with enough practice I found that as it got easier for me to seamlessly shift form punches to kicks-- or combine them-- the harder it was for my opponents to size me up and find holes they could exploit to their advantage.

The way you describe the problem, it sounds to me like when you punch, you only throw punches, and when you then shift to kicks, you only kick...and after observing this for about 30 seconds, a knowing fighter will figure this out and know that that he can kick the crap out of you when you punch/punch the crap out of you when you kick and not worry about being surprised by a counterpunch/counterkick.

 

[CanadianMMAFann]

To me it sounds like you are doing the right thing. I give you alot of credit going out and sparring with guys that are much more experienced then you. It sounds like you just started so I'd just keep on doing it learn from the guy you are sparring with and eventually you will get it. Also front push kick!!! It may not seem effective but it gets him away and you can throw a combo at him.
Good luck with what you're doing!

 

[ignitH]

Hi guys, just got back from more training (been training 4-5 times a week 3 hours each last couple of weeks, and i have never been in a better shape) got a lil thai pad work and bag work (didnt sparred because my couch doesn't like us to sparr when there's no advanced student around) Worked a lot on some basic combos and they're really starting to feel natural right now (1-2-roundhouse, push kick roundhouse, hook cross rh) and as Vector suggested i ended everyone of my box combinations with a kick.

What can i say, i can't run even if my life depended on it right now, but it feels awesome, really felt that i improved today.

Greetings from Chile

OFF TOPIC QUESTION: Does it matter if i leave my bag hanging all day, or should i put it down when im not using it? Its starting to get kinda hard at the base and kinda like an used diaper :icon_chee

 

[NoviVavilon]

i'm gonna get flamed for this, but try it and let me know how it goes.

get on a bag by yourself, and forget about the "combos" they taught you. go in there and think of every combination you can think of, do it slowly on the bag, then speed it up. think of as many combinations. it's about being sporadic, and not about memorizing a couple of combos they teach you and regurgitating it in sparring sessions. just like studying, it's about incorporating your learning and really understanding what you learn, rather than just memorizing, and regurgitating it in an exam.

you should look at your opponent and design an combo on the spot. i actualy don't like the idea of a combo. i wanna be able to look at my opponent and react to whatever is happening and be able to throw strikes in succession to be affective.

of cource, this is very hard and elite fighters can do it, but why not aim high?

do that, then get in a sparring session and look at what the other dude is doing and react, insteading of trying to think back to the combos you learn and then trying to excecute them even though they may not be right for the situation. try it and let me know how it goes.

great post ... when i was starting sparring this was the problem always.. i always first think of a combination in my head then attack..now i just do it on instinct..

 

[Gregster]

i'm gonna get flamed for this, but try it and let me know how it goes.

get on a bag by yourself, and forget about the "combos" they taught you. go in there and think of every combination you can think of, do it slowly on the bag, then speed it up. think of as many combinations. it's about being sporadic, and not about memorizing a couple of combos they teach you and regurgitating it in sparring sessions. just like studying, it's about incorporating your learning and really understanding what you learn, rather than just memorizing, and regurgitating it in an exam.

I kinda agree, kinda don't.

When I do bagwork, sometimes I'll focus on repetitions of basic kicks or simple rote combinations that I'll gradually build in a predictable, predetermined sequences that increase in complexity.

Other times: I just go at it like you describe (or I think you describe) here and just randomly conjure up combos and run through ten sets in my "offensive" stance, then change feet and do ten in my "defensive," or change feet with every set ten times.

I've found that a common denominator to good training in any form of combat-- be it punching, kicking, grappling, and even shooting-- is that you *MUST* memorize a few basic reactions and perform them until they are reflexive. This might be a jab/cross punch combo, push/roundhouse kick, or drawing a pistol and double-tapping. Once you get the basic tools and the experience to deal with simple situations, you move up to the hard stuff.

I guess what I mean is that a modicum of "regurgitation" is not all bad. Or maybe I don't quite get what you're saying and I'm agreeing with you without realizing.

you should look at your opponent and design an combo on the spot. i actualy don't like the idea of a combo. i wanna be able to look at my opponent and react to whatever is happening and be able to throw strikes in succession to be affective.

A simple yet marvelously effective partner-assisted drill we used to do at my school was to pair off with someone, with one guy as the attacker and the other guy holding a pair of focus mitts or kicking targets. The attacker and defender move around (maybe just back/forth, maybe a little lateral movement) and the pad-holder holds the targets back, then randomly brings them around in some fashion so as to present a pair of targets; the attacker then strikes with any combo that springs to mind.

This is great for building reaction time and speed, and instinctively setting up combos; hard as hell at first, but once you get the experience, you find which ones feel right and which work best for you.

Difficulty may be added by the pad-holder counting to three (or two, or one) and pulling the pads back; this helps break the habit of "thinking through" combos and instead reflexively taking advantage of openings as they arise.

 

[MonstrositY]

sweet post gregster. i agree with the first part too...

 

[Gregster]

sweet post gregster. i agree with the first part too...

Thanks...I was hoping we were on the same page, and that you weren't taking it as me trying to "school" ya.

 

[MMAftfw**]

It might just be your nerves. If you practice the combinations and everything fine on the bags already then more bag work might not be the answer. Try fighting some more laid back or slower fighters where you can get more in your grove of throwing combinations without worry about getting smashed as you said.

 

[hulkout]

Don't ever forget to regularly practice individual punches and kicks by themselves. You've got to make them instinctive so you can use them without thinking. If you only practice punches in combination, you'll only know those combinations and you can't possibly train every one. Of course, you need your combos but don't be too mechanical about them. Fighting should be alive and unpredictable. Also, I see too many guys getting fancy with their combos. Emphasize 2 and 3 hit combos. You'll have a much better chance of pulling them off than those crazy 5 and 6 hit combos. Although there may be a place for them, it's pretty hard to actually execute.

 

[ignitH]

Hi guys, just came home after a long 3 hour session of mt with my trainer. Been working a lot on short and easy-to-pull combos (12roundhouse, front rh, jab jab lead rh) and today i think i performed better in the sparring session. Today i got told that, as my kicks were very good (my trainer told me that i was at the level of ppl that have been training twice as long as me, and with all the practice that i have been doing with my left kick, it's starting to feel really good. it doesnt have that "awkard" feeling anymore), i would devote one class each week only to box (3 hours) as my boxing is still subpar and i have to cover the holes in my game if i want to have my first fight in june as planned.

I was thinking that maybe its just my nerves, since im not the "fighting" kind of guy (im kinda hippie tbh lol) its kinda difficult for me staying focused in the fight bcoz of all the nerves. i think it will get better with more sparring and time.

Thanks a lot for all the help guys.