Noob questions

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vankja

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Hi everyone,

I have been training MMA and a bit of kickboxing for some time now, and my general skill is pretty good, I have almost as good technique as people who fight in the ring (I have never fought in the ring). But this is for me a blessing and a curse.

While my technique is pretty good, I am basically a sissy in sparring as much as I hate to say it. As long as we're both going at like 25% I don't really have problems and can use my technique pretty good.

But as soon as we have to spar harder, I completely freeze. Turning my back, extending my arms instead of blocking,... All those bas things.

It really bugs me because somebody who have never trained before but who is willing to go hard in sparring, will probably be better than me because of this.

Now I have never been an aggressive person so I don't expect to become the best of the gym in sparring. I started training MMA and kickboxing to be able to defend my family and friends when it really mattered and I think I'm at a point that I can download that when my adrenaline starts pumping.

But still at the gym, I have to spar almost only with with people who have already fought in the ring, and as such I almost always go home with a jaw that I can't fully open .

Now for some questions I had which I hoped you guys could help me with:

- When sparring, de you always have to really bite down on your mouth piece? Because I haven't been doing that at all.

- is there a way to help the freezing in sparring what I talked about a bit earlier? I would really like to solve that.

- How do you guys cope with sparring with contact lenses? Mine get punched out almost every training which results in seeing dizzy or having to close one eye to see clearly.

These are some questions I have had for a long time now, and I hope you guys could help me out, every bit helps.

Maybe these questions will make you guys laugh but it is really bothering me, even as much that I am pretty scared to spar each time.

Thanks in advance guys.
 
I am noob to, but what I wonder.

You say you will be able to download your skill set when you are in a high pressured situation like somebody attacking your family. You also say you have pretty much the same skill level as fighters who go in the ring.

On the other hand you tell us that you act like a complete noob when you spar harder then 25%.

Those two stories seem to contradict eachother?
 
I think it's just one of those things that a coach can't really teach. Learning how to get hit. It's just from experience I guess. Maybe as your sparring partners to not go as hard so you can get used to being hit. Or it'd be a great opportunity to practice purely your defenses and counters, which you should be able to do if you have teh skillz u say u have.
 
Maybe youre just not as good as you think you are, spar progressively harder. 30% then 50 then 70 then 80 etc.
Escalate to a level where you are only getting beaten up slightly, not completely smashed lmao.

For the first 5 months I have only been sparring at about 50% to keep good technique, only now am I finally starting to hit people harder and faster to about 60-70%

I reckon it will take me at least another 6 months to a year before I get comfortable going 80-90%
 
Let me know if you ever solve the contact lens issue. Mine don't get knocked out but occasionally they slide out of place.
 
ask yourself firstly why are you nervous/afraid? Did you have an incident where you were hurt or is it the fear of getting hurt? If it's the former it's understandable, getting your confidence back takes time. If it's the latter, you need to get past it.
Sometimes we do defensive only drills, where you learn to defend ONLY, don't throw anything back for about 30 seconds. Obviously that does not transfer to a fight situation but you do learn to keep your hands up, to anticipate what follows what. That can really help with the fear, because you have some idea what's coming next and preparation makes things so much less scary. Then you can think about what counters to throw. If you block/parry or slip and opponent and then counter they become much more wary of you and you can then focus on getting comfortable in the ring.
 
It takes a long time transfering good technique on the bags and pads into sparring and even longer from sparring into competing.

With the help of good coaches and good sparring partners taking the time to show you where your holes are and how to look for openings you will improve week by week, just takes time and dedication
 
N00bLifter said:
I am noob to, but what I wonder.

You say you will be able to download your skill set when you are in a high pressured situation like somebody attacking your family. You also say you have pretty much the same skill level as fighters who go in the ring.

On the other hand you tell us that you act like a complete noob when you spar harder then 25%.

Those two stories seem to contradict eachother?
Click to expand...

Maybe a little yes, what I was trying to say is, in sparring, when going harder than 25%, I tend to freeze and do almost everything wrong.

But I have been driven to a point in training 2 times where I had enough, I wanted to quit, was hurt, but my trainer made my sparring partner keep going at me. Than at one point I made a click. I didn't care if I got hit anymore, no matter how hard. All I wanted to do at that moment was to bring all the pain I suffered during that sparring session, onto my training partner. I didn't care if I had to eat 10 shots, if only I was able to give him some hard ones back to.

And I think/know that when the moment arrives when I need to protect my family, I will have the same feeling. I have felt it before in my daily life. I'm probably the most easy going guy a lot of people know, but when my family needs help, I change, I won't let anything or anyone stop me. I have never had that in training, except for those 2 moments explained above.

But in normal sparring, I don't have that and still freeze etc.

I hope that makes it a bit more clear, I'm from Belgium so maybe the way I say things makes then a little harder to understand.
 
It sounds like you're afraid to get hit hard. Unfortunately, this is a combat sport and pain is a big part of that. Getting hit will also condition your body. Some hard sessions and competition will also help you manage your adrenaline, because you may think everything will click in a real life situation, it probably won't. Sometimes it doesn't even click going from sparring to competition. So 25% sparring to self defense is a huge jump. Learn to get hit! I'll be honest, at 6'2 250 lbs, I had this problem. I spent 3 months sparring with female golden glove champs because the were more "forgiving" then transitioned to the big guys. Lol. Try that, I guess. And keep training.
 
Bite down on that mouth piece, put on your game face and pick it up a notch in sparring. If your training for self defense you need to be comfortable getting knocked around and keeping sound technique in the face of an opponent who's trying to out you in your ass.

Thems the breaks kid
 
I'm not to sure why you are worrying about going above 80 percent for now. As you said your are new, your trainers should be letting you slowly progress through sparring with rising intensity, not jumping in the deep end.

Watch the Thais spar they rarely go above 50-60
Percent unless training for a fight.

Most importantly have fun with it, sparring should be fun not something that gives you anxiety. Plenty of practice and don't be afraid to ask to partner to take it down a notch, your there to make each other better it's not a dick measuring contest.
 
Matt said:
This is what I was going to say. Don't sit there over analyzing it. Just do it more until it becomes routine and you're not even thinking about it.
Click to expand...

it sounds to me like he's not really sparring, like he's become a punch bag because of whatever fears he has. It's hard to get used to sparring if you're just a punch bag tbh. What he probably needs is a slow increase in tempo from 25% to 40% etc and loads of drills where he gets hit and learns to hit back :)
 
jorgie said:
I'm not to sure why you are worrying about going above 80 percent for now. As you said your are new, your trainers should be letting you slowly progress through sparring with rising intensity, not jumping in the deep end.

Watch the Thais spar they rarely go above 50-60
Percent unless training for a fight.

Most importantly have fun with it, sparring should be fun not something that gives you anxiety. Plenty of practice and don't be afraid to ask to partner to take it down a notch, your there to make each other better it's not a dick measuring contest.
Click to expand...

He didn't say he was new. He said hes been training for a while and is as technically sound as the gyms competitive fighters. He has anxiety, and needs to learn to face his fears and operate when he's nervous.

Trading combination drills, "button" drills, sparring games can all help, but he bottom line is going softer in sparring wont change a thing
 
bump. i've just started sparring MT and quite simply i don't like getting hit, even through guard. this i imagine is cos ive never really been hit or done a combat sport before. is this something you get used to? i am 5'6" so basically i'm going to have to get used to in fighting and getting close.

after i get hit it doesn't even hurt, and im slowly realising that, but everytime i get a flight or freeze reaction and no fight. are there any exercises, articles, meditations i can look into?
 
Tug said:
bump. i've just started sparring MT and quite simply i don't like getting hit, even through guard. this i imagine is cos ive never really been hit or done a combat sport before. is this something you get used to? i am 5'6" so basically i'm going to have to get used to in fighting and getting close.

after i get hit it doesn't even hurt, and im slowly realising that, but everytime i get a flight or freeze reaction and no fight. are there any exercises, articles, meditations i can look into?
Click to expand...

I occasionally like to put my back on the wall and take a round or two of body shots and leg kicks. I'll do some moderate motion to defend some of it, but the point is to let it through without compromising your guard. The best analogy for it is, "standing in the rain." Just because the rain stresses you out, doesn't mean you are going to get less wet - and it isn't really doing anything to you anyway.

When you get caught in the rain, try not to change your posture or stride too much and think about the fight.

This is still a mental exercise - to prove to yourself that if you aren't injured, even without the benefit of adrenaline, you can control yourself.

Fundamentally, if a strike is too good for you to keep up with, you will either lose your posture or get hit. That's the nature of the game.

I like going to the batting cages, but I just can't seem to handle the last cage. The ball is just too fast and I can't track or time it. I have to keep it one lower. All the mental conditioning in the world won't help me. I just need to practice swinging at more fast balls.

Don't beat yourself up for not being able to track everything thrown at you yet. It will come with time so long as you have pitchers around who can play close to your level.
 
thanks for the advice. i guess it's just a case of getting used to it and drilling getting hit then. after the session i also noticed that i wasn't using my shoulders or holding my guard tight in enough. i also kept shutting my eyes and looking down when i felt overwhelmed (that's where EVERYTHING would fall apart) and backpedalling - huge mistake!

i don't think the session of people i sparred with were ideal for a beginner. most had just a year's first advantage on me, so way better than me but without the experience to go soft and at my level (probably to prove they're no longer bottom of the food chain). the more experienced guys who have had amateur fights were really great and gave me space to let me try things out. i get there is some learning and character building to be had in getting roughed up and dominated, but it is also demoralising to have no success whatsoever.
 
I hit myself in the face before i spar, i feel like it desensitizes my face or something. You should try it
 
interesting approach, but i think it's the unpredictability and anticipation of someone else's punch that's the problem
 
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