Learning to be a good padholder?

[Kanka]

Any advice? I've held pads for some pretty good pro fighters with some decent merits and they say i hold pads pretty well. As for now though, i mostly work combinations, and make them block kicks and counter etc. I wanna learn how to catch kicks/punches more instinctively though. Is there any way to do it or will it come with time?

And is there any other qualitiies that you find a good padholder should have? My technique of catching kicks/punches is good, but i feel i miss that something extra. Oviously i'm pretty new but i learn quick and i wanna become great, so feel free to give me some advice.

 

[HighestHand]

If you learn quick, then one of the best ways is to watch some Thailand coaches on youtube or something. Holding pads for punches probably isn't that hard, but a lot of people hold pads wrong for kicks.

One giant mistake with pads for kicks for newbies or maybe even some veterans is that they hold the pads elbow to elbow. Pads should have a little space between the elbows so it would look like /\ instead of ||

 

[SAAMAG]

For me, holding thai pads is akin to sparring, except I have shields. That's the way I go about it. I move my feet like I'm sparring, I setup my counters off the attacks like I would in sparring.

So I might have the guy do a 1-2-3 and then throw a counter left hook and a right round kick for them to defend. Or I'll call for a jab and then throw a counter jab to make sure the guy moves after his jab. I'll throw counter round kicks off body kicks, etc etc.

Creativity is a good thing too. Finding way to link up attacks that are quick and allow the fighter to really unload without you getting beat up in the process. E.g. I like using a triangle hold at my hip for body digs and the opposite hand for a follow up high hook for example, then raise up the body hand again for the follow-on cross.

More sparring time will give you the advantage of knowing how to attack and defend and to simulate that in holding pads. At the very least you need to be knowledgeable and study fights if you've never fought yourself and want to hold pads as a coach. It's a skill all it's own and CAN be learned and developed quite well even with no fight time, but I'd say fight time will always be preferable.

 

[NAKMUAY18]

For me, holding thai pads is akin to sparring, except I have shields. That's the way I go about it. I move my feet like I'm sparring, I setup my counters off the attacks like I would in sparring.

No offence Mr Saamag, but I frigging HATE when pad holders do this.
I like to think of pad holding as inbetween bag work and sparring. It's away to rep things on a moving target and get a more natural flow. I've had pad holders basically spar me with Thai pads, they can hit me with anything, but I can only hit where they pad. Fuck that.
I use pad work to perfect my technique, I'm not going to use perfect technique if I know my pad holder is going to wade in randomly swinging 2lbs of Thai pad when I finish. That's what sparring in is for.

When I hold pads, I throw strikes back at the guys mistakes.
If he always moves off to his left when he finishes, I'll right kick.
If he drops his hands after a combo, I'll throw a pad out.
If he doesn't recover his kick properly, I'll leg kick.
I won't just start throwing combos at the guy just because.

 

[a guy]

If you learn quick, then one of the best ways is to watch some Thailand coaches on youtube or something. Holding pads for punches probably isn't that hard, but a lot of people hold pads wrong for kicks.

One giant mistake with pads for kicks for newbies or maybe even some veterans is that they hold the pads elbow to elbow. Pads should have a little space between the elbows so it would look like /\ instead of ||

Holding pads well for punches is such a rare skill. Pair up with the average guy and they'll hold them too wide, at the wrong height, at the wrong angle, without enough feedback or worse slamming the pads into your gloves too early, etc. There are only a few people besides my coach who I don't hate punching pads with.

As for being a better holder work on communication and figuring out what type of guy you're holding for and what he needs to work on. Pads are a tool meant for sharpening and refining. It should be tailored to the individual.

 

[HighestHand]

Holding pads well for punches is such a rare skill. Pair up with the average guy and they'll hold them too wide, at the wrong height, at the wrong angle, without enough feedback or worse slamming the pads into your gloves too early, etc. There are only a few people besides my coach who I don't hate punching pads with.

As for being a better holder work on communication and figuring out what type of guy you're holding for and what he needs to work on. Pads are a tool meant for sharpening and refining. It should be tailored to the individual.

First point is subjective and debatable. For instance, most of the people at my gym hold pads pretty well. Out of 10 guys I'd say a good 3 of them are not decent so there's no use arguing there.

As for the elbow to elbow kick thing, I believe that holding a pad elbow to elbow for a kick is bad because it puts unnecessary pressure on your elbows when there is impact. Yeah you're right in saying that it's tailored to the individual, but that's the trainer's job. Surely, as a drills partner, there is a way of holding pads that the majority would deem flawless. Otherwise, in an hour class time with pretty much a new person each time, we would both be figuring out how to hold pads for each other rather than holding pads.

 

[SaiWa]

When I hold pads, I throw strikes back at the guys mistakes.
If he always moves off to his left when he finishes, I'll right kick.
If he drops his hands after a combo, I'll throw a pad out.
If he doesn't recover his kick properly, I'll leg kick.
I won't just start throwing combos at the guy just because.

this is how i hold pads but for boxing only.

i see an opening and i return fire. i generally workout with one veteran or multiple noobs. with the veteran, we mess around with each other and look for ways of exploiting any of our weaknesses. generally i tend to let my partner hit the pads and observe what they're doing wrong and as soon as i see something i can exploit, i'll counter and try to catch them. if its successful, i explain to my partner why and how i did it and how they can prevent it. i do that a lot with the noobs. most of time they dont have their defense up (or half ass up), they don't move around defensively or are being lackadaisy. i want to take credit for solidifying most of their their boxing. these people have no intentions of learning boxing for seriously (get a coach and eventually do ammy for example) so i tend to show them the basics and help them out a bit.

 

[nomilkforsanta]

No offence Mr Saamag, but I frigging HATE when pad holders do this.
I like to think of pad holding as inbetween bag work and sparring. It's away to rep things on a moving target and get a more natural flow. I've had pad holders basically spar me with Thai pads, they can hit me with anything, but I can only hit where they pad. Fuck that.
I use pad work to perfect my technique, I'm not going to use perfect technique if I know my pad holder is going to wade in randomly swinging 2lbs of Thai pad when I finish. That's what sparring in is for.

When I hold pads, I throw strikes back at the guys mistakes.
If he always moves off to his left when he finishes, I'll right kick.
If he drops his hands after a combo, I'll throw a pad out.
If he doesn't recover his kick properly, I'll leg kick.
I won't just start throwing combos at the guy just because.

I agree 100%.

I kind of do the opposite and wear a full chest protector and thigh guards, allowing people to hit and kick them freely. Most of my pad work is freestyle and I trade off who controls the pace.

 

[TheFinerDetails]

No offence Mr Saamag, but I frigging HATE when pad holders do this.
I like to think of pad holding as inbetween bag work and sparring. It's away to rep things on a moving target and get a more natural flow. I've had pad holders basically spar me with Thai pads, they can hit me with anything, but I can only hit where they pad. Fuck that.
I use pad work to perfect my technique, I'm not going to use perfect technique if I know my pad holder is going to wade in randomly swinging 2lbs of Thai pad when I finish. That's what sparring in is for.

When I hold pads, I throw strikes back at the guys mistakes.
If he always moves off to his left when he finishes, I'll right kick.
If he drops his hands after a combo, I'll throw a pad out.
If he doesn't recover his kick properly, I'll leg kick.
I won't just start throwing combos at the guy just because.

Couldn't agree more. If I'm going to have a guy with pads throw combos at me, I may as well be sparring them. It's like watching those poor guys in the Tiger Muay Thai training team video! Getting whacked and not being able to fight back, you may as well take off your gloves and work pure defensive training.
The guy above me said he throws on some stuff and lets people throw when they can see openings, I respect that, definitely a nice way of trying to find openings, especially when sometimes you get so caught up in the combinations you're throwing, you forget to actually throw to what is in front of you.

 

[santaslilhelper*]

Don't stick the same combos every day
Don't deviate so much between combos and counters that you have no instinctual movements
Breathe and relax, be patient
learning to keep your hands up for long periods is a good idea too

If you have the dough, this can be of some help also:

 

[nomilkforsanta]

Don't stick the same combos every day
Don't deviate so much between combos and counters that you have no instinctual movements
Breathe and relax, be patient
learning to keep your hands up for long periods is a good idea too

If you have the dough, this can be of some help also:

Lol, 1,000$ for a retro free-standing heavy bag.

 

[santaslilhelper*]

The basic defensive techniques are applicable and you're conditioning the same parts of the arms when catching, unlike a bag. Also there is no time limit like there is with a partner and no gym fees either, so it could pay for itself. Not a substitute for sparring but neither is pad work.

 

[nomilkforsanta]

The basic defensive techniques are applicable and you're conditioning the same parts of the arms when catching, unlike a bag. Also there is no time limit like there is with a partner and no gym fees either, so it could pay for itself. Not a substitute for sparring but neither is pad work.

A year of gym fees will make you a much greater fighter than playing patty-cake with a mook jong.

If you had excess cash private lessons, heavy bag/light bags, weightlifting gear, and massages are a better investment.

 

[SAAMAG]

No offence Mr Saamag, but I frigging HATE when pad holders do this.
I like to think of pad holding as inbetween bag work and sparring. It's away to rep things on a moving target and get a more natural flow. I've had pad holders basically spar me with Thai pads, they can hit me with anything, but I can only hit where they pad. Fuck that.
I use pad work to perfect my technique, I'm not going to use perfect technique if I know my pad holder is going to wade in randomly swinging 2lbs of Thai pad when I finish. That's what sparring in is for.

When I hold pads, I throw strikes back at the guys mistakes.
If he always moves off to his left when he finishes, I'll right kick.
If he drops his hands after a combo, I'll throw a pad out.
If he doesn't recover his kick properly, I'll leg kick.
I won't just start throwing combos at the guy just because.

No offense taken. But I think you're reading INTO the text as opposed to reading THE text. If you note the examples I gave after the initial statement, did those ending counters seem to you like I was throwing 30 chain combo's on the guy or hitting him in between his hits? No. I would toss something out at the end of the chain to make sure the person remembers to move after and to keep a good guard. When I say it's like sparring, I'm talking about moving around, circling, moving forward and backward...etc. The footwork of sparring. Standing in one place and not using any dynamic movement is akin to him hitting a bag so might as well have him hitting the bag, right?

In essence, you hold the pads for the most part the same as me. With the exception that you only throw when mistakes are made and I throw to make sure the mistakes don't happen. ; )

Couldn't agree more. If I'm going to have a guy with pads throw combos at me, I may as well be sparring them. It's like watching those poor guys in the Tiger Muay Thai training team video! Getting whacked and not being able to fight back, you may as well take off your gloves and work pure defensive training.
The guy above me said he throws on some stuff and lets people throw when they can see openings, I respect that, definitely a nice way of trying to find openings, especially when sometimes you get so caught up in the combinations you're throwing, you forget to actually throw to what is in front of you.

And to you also, the same reply. I didn't say I would be throwing 30 chain combo's on folks. If you're not training to teach proper movement, defense, and positioning, you're doing it wrong. Plain and simple. You want to hit a bag that doesn't do anything back to you, then hit a bag. The both of you are ASSUMING quite a bit...probably because you are thinking of the TMT video and it's fresh in your mind.

Holding pads you absolutely should be incorporating return stimulus. If you don't, then you're wasting both your time and the fighter's time. With the exception of the most fundamental learning processes, there should NEVER be a time when a fighter isn't thinking about defense and counters and positioning. Even when hitting the heavy bag (except that it is up to the fighter to react to imaginary stimulus). Neural redundancy breeds the proper habits. And people are creatures of habits. Teach them to always think about those things while hitting, and they'll always do those things.

 

[santaslilhelper*]

A year of gym fees will make you a much greater fighter than playing patty-cake with a mook jong.

If you had excess cash private lessons, heavy bag/light bags, weightlifting gear, and massages are a better investment.

Maybe, there are no time limits on the at home dummy set up so it's really how much you put into it, but you still need to spar. I think for a beginner with no prior athletic experience who lives close enough to a reputable gym your idea is much better.

 

[facePuncher7]

Always been complemented on my pad holding ability. My tips:

Think about the intended target of the attack and try to replicate it away from your body. Make sure the angle of the pads represents the correct angle to strike the target.

Let the attacker come to you, don't go to meet them, and offer some resistance whilst not pushing back.

Hand speed is of great importance for a pad holder, but you can also make things smoother by being one step ahead.
Get used to holding the non targeted pad ready for the followup strike (for boxing). As soon as a pad is hit it has a new position to move to.

 

[NAKMUAY18]

No offense taken. But I think you're reading INTO the text as opposed to reading THE text. If you note the examples I gave after the initial statement, did those ending counters seem to you like I was throwing 30 chain combo's on the guy or hitting him in between his hits? No. I would toss something out at the end of the chain to make sure the person remembers to move after and to keep a good guard. When I say it's like sparring, I'm talking about moving around, circling, moving forward and backward...etc. The footwork of sparring. Standing in one place and not using any dynamic movement is akin to him hitting a bag so might as well have him hitting the bag, right?

In essence, you hold the pads for the most part the same as me. With the exception that you only throw when mistakes are made and I throw to make sure the mistakes don't happen. ; )



And to you also, the same reply. I didn't say I would be throwing 30 chain combo's on folks. If you're not training to teach proper movement, defense, and positioning, you're doing it wrong. Plain and simple. You want to hit a bag that doesn't do anything back to you, then hit a bag. The both of you are ASSUMING quite a bit...probably because you are thinking of the TMT video and it's fresh in your mind.

No problem, my bad, let's never disagree again.

Thunder buddy's?

 

[nomilkforsanta]

I tried to copy this style for about 20 rounds, it was fucking painful. At least it got me to buy a full chest pad and thigh guards....(everyone should own both)

 

[Babba]

i prefer shadowboxing and heavybag.

but, one guy held pads for me and i felt like a million bucks, a pole with about 10 national championships under his belt.

he was more rigid and forceful in the way he caught my punches, and moved me around in just the right range. he also used realistic combinations with single punches or double punches in between. i think its importnat to constantly tell ur guy what he doing wrong too..

 

[UWanaPlayDaGame]

let me tell y'all a sad story...

just got home from MT training, limping like a motherfucker because I kicked this guy's elbow with my foot - he was a terrible padholder - and in sherdog's preferred words my foot now has a "grotesque swelling".

it's not all that painful but believe me, it's swollen like hell. have some of you kicked an elbow and have something to chime in? like, if there was something serious, I wouldn't be able to withstand the pain, right?