Theres a guy at my Muay Thai gym who always goes for me when we spar,and he always just comes out hell for leather and usually gets the upperhand. My problem is that when he comes for me i tend to just back off adn take his attack, throwing the odd punch every now and again. can anyone offer me some advice on how to deal with this sort of fighter?
Do you think this guy is more intent on hurting you than honestly training? If so I would just ask him to take it a bit easy as you there to learn not to fight.
circle out and counter. If you don't give him reason to stop coming at you then why would he. It's all about the counter. Hey, most knockouts come a counter too. More reason to do so. Are you shorter or taller than him?maybe same height? let me know
don't fear him. if he's intent on hurting you, then hand him back his ass with a smile on your face. confidence is the name of the game.
I'm pretty new to the standup sparring myself and there are a couple of guys at my gym that are the same. So I'm not good enough to really to counter punch my way out. Usually I side step and circle out. Sometimes I get cornered though. But luckily I'm bigger than they are and I can cover up step in and push them off. I think they may have a little "Naploean "complex going on because of their size. Also since these guys are coming in at full throttle from the get go . If I use movement(circling, not backing up straight) they usually punch themselves out pretty quickly and usually I am doing much better by the later part of the rounds. Take it for whats its worth ( since I'm relativiely new to the the stand up) Don't go straight back. I was getting my ass handed to me constantly until I broke that habit. I've found that side movement works much better.
Spinning back kick. When ppl attack continously they tend to square them selves off abit. Back off like u do normaly he i will think that u are just defending as usual and will make a move to press. Suddenly turn your defence into offence with a spinning back kick. Aim for the mid section and try to knock the wind out of him to discourage him from closing u. Spinning back kicks are very poerful so even if he gets his hand down to block his body will still be shifted backwards. Worth a try.
Give as good as you get. If he goes light, go light. If he wants to go hard, go hard. There's good training to be had going light or hard; the trick is finding out where your fellow students' comfort level is. If he wants to mix it up and go hard, hit back hard. As long as things don't get out of hand, you'll get good conditioning, and you'll be a better fighter for being pushed hard; you wont't progress very far fighting at a comfy level where you're not challeneged, or pushed to drive yourself beyond your own limitations.
i sparred with a guy like that, except he was smaller than me. he always used to just close the distance and start bombing overhand rights and left hooks, he would knock me down and keep on trying to knock me out after i got up. the next time we sparred i was trained, he tried to come in on me like that, he was winding up to throw the overhand right and had his left hand up to block my right hand. what he didn't realize was i am a southpaw. i tapped him with my right on his glove to find my distance and then unloading a fucking huge left counter cross. only punch i had to land, broke his nose and busted 2 of his teeth out. he immediately fell holding his mouth and nose. never sparred with me again.
I have the same problem with one of the guys I sometimes train with. I'm intimidated by my instructor and one of the other guys (big guy, about 6'5", close to 300lb), but they have control and I'm not worried about getting my head knocked off, but this other guy, who isn't the most technical fighter, but he's big, strong, and swings for the fences. It gets frustrating, but I can't do much but throw a kick just to stop him from closing in on me. Of course, I was talking to some of the other guys in class, and they have said the same thing of me, so I guess, karma-wise, I have it coming. I've toned it down a bit, though, especially with the newer guys. As far as the other guy, I just don't spar with him much.
Personally, I think it's great experience sparring against aggressive fighters like that. Work on circling him, counter-attacking and things like that. Use it as an opportunity to learn to deal with opponents like that instead of just staying in your comfort zone. And if he comes at you hard, don't be afraid to put together a mean flurry of your own once in a while.
Bruce Lee said something along the lines of the best person to train against is a bigger, stronger fighter who will go all out and fight you in a beastly manner. If you can't learn to deal with this sort of fighter in training, what can you hope to do up against a similar opponent in the ring or worse, on the street? Most of the advice these guys are giving is really good for stopping him or avoiding his attacks. I personally like to throw a stiff front kick to the midsection or head to stop an oncoming opponent but then, I have pretty long legs (6'1''). The best advice you're probably going to get on it will come from your trainer since he knows your strengths and weaknesses best of all.
if hes trying to impose his will on u play a smart game. pick ur shots use movement and when hes in ur face or rushes u launch ur attack or counter punch him hard then move and set up another attack. dont become afraid of him. fight his fire with ur fire excpet pick ur battles. dont let him come in on u let hinm know that if he catches u with a good punch he'll recieve a punch to the face and kicks to the stomach. also if u have a weak jab throw the right hand into his guard if he rushes u stright on and let him know. make him move though. guys like that want to trade or to corner u and wail on u. make hm work to engage u and luanch ur own attack then move and set up again. he'll be the one whos pissed.
this never happend 2 me before at my gym...but i like to spar with people that are more advanced with me. My coach says your only as good as your partners....so therefore if you want to get better you got to train with the best. For this guy, look to couter punch...and if you can slip the liver punch....bas style!
